On Sunday, the Episcopal Church of the
Good Shepherd welcomed the public to walk its labyrinth for its 10th
anniversary celebration.
The church’s canvas labyrinth, measuring 40 feet in diameter, is the same design as found worldwide.
“Our labyrinth is a replica of the
labyrinth laid in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France in the early
1200s,” said Martha
Whelan, who is the leader of the church’s labyrinth efforts. “The
history is not written about why this labyrinth was placed
on the floor, but it is believed that for medieval Christians, the
labyrinth was a symbolic pilgrimage: instead of taking
a costly and dangerous pilgrimage to Jerusalem, worshipers made a
symbolic journey on a cathedral labyrinth.”
Today, the labyrinth is an ancient tool for individual prayer, she said.
“It is important to me because in our
very hectic lives it’s hard for many of us to quiet down and to pray in a
non-church
setting where we are not in a church service,” Whelan said. “We
are all so busy with great intentions and sometimes we just
don’t find the time to pray. This is a wonderful way to come for a
couple of hours, have a peaceful setting with beautiful
music, where you can spend time with God and walk as you spend
time.”
The setting, which takes place in the church’s gym, is conducive to reading and writing.
“We have scripture all around and written prayers that you can walk with,” Whelan said. “It is a way to calm down and to make
empty space within us to receive what God has to tell us.”
There is one path to the center of the labyrinth and one path back out.
“It is the same path. It is not
designed to trick you or to make you lost, but you can get turned
around,” she said. “We can
use the walk and the path of the labyrinth as a metaphor for life
or for our spiritual journey. In our spiritual journey and
our walk of faith we often get turned around or get lost. If you
notice in the labyrinth some of the paths are very long and
without curves and at other times the path curves with
switchbacks. Isn’t that how life is?”
In life, sometimes things are going very smoothly and easily, she said, while other times one may go back and forth — undecided
about what to do.
“It seems like we twist and turn, so we can use the walk of the labyrinth as a metaphor for the spiritual journey,” she said.
Whelan said most people pray throughout the entire walk, but one way to do it is in three stages.
“When we walk on the labyrinth to the
center — that’s the stage of releasing and letting go,” she said. “The
next stage, when
you reach the center, would be where we receive — open to hear
what God has to say. People will stay in the middle for as
long as they want. The third stage is when you walk back out and
return to the world or when we are in union with God. After
you’ve spent a lot of time with God and you feel in union with
God.”
The labyrinth will be available again to the public from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9. For more information contact Whelan at
494-0825.