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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Oct. 14, 2016) – Milligan College will host a photography exhibit by alum Joel Carillet titled “And Who Is My Neighbor,” inspired by the parable of the Good Samaritan, opening during the college’s Homecoming celebration, Oct. 21-23. Free and open to the public, the show will run from Oct. 22 to Nov. 30 in the Milligan Art Gallery located in Derthick Hall, with an opening reception on Saturday, Oct. 22, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Carillet, who received his Bachelor of Arts in 1996 and Master of Arts in Religion from Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan in 1999, was inspired by the story told by Jesus about a man, the Good Samaritan, who stops to help a beaten traveler on the side of the road. Carillet’s photographs in this series cover people, landscapes and current events across international borders.
“The parable of the Good Samaritan poses the question, ‘who is my neighbor?’ Then it flips the question, leaving us to ask ‘to whom must we become a neighbor?’” said Carillet, who tries to link each image to these ongoing questions. “I hope to introduce the viewer to some of our global neighbors and also examine what it means to be a neighbor.”
One photo shows Deir Mar Musa in Syria, an old monastery that was revitalized by an Italian priest, Father Paolo Dall’Oglio. The priest wanted to bring Muslims and Christians together, but was later kidnapped by ISIS and hasn’t been heard from since.
Another photo shows two young Israelis who picked Carillet up when he was hitchhiking. After he thanked them for the ride, the Israelis said they should also thank him for helping them honor God and love their neighbors.
Carillet also shows an Arab family, having just landed in Turkey on a small boat, walking up from the beach toward a road on the Greek island of Lesbos. They are among more than 500,000 migrants and refugees who crossed from Turkey to the Greek island in 2015.
“Ultimately, I want to encourage the viewer to consider what it means to live in a ‘neighborly’ relationship to what is happening around us,” said Carillet. “Like the Good Samaritan, we should care about what we see around us, taking risks and making sacrifices as we respond to what we see.”