The Labyrinth at St. Peter’s of the Lakes
This labyrinth was built by the parishioners of St. Peter’s of the Lakes Episcopal Church in the spring of 2011, created as an act of prayer and service to others who will use it. It is offered to the wider Marshall County community, all residents and visitors of the lakes area, and the general public.
Our design is a modification of the great medieval labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral in France. The St. Peter’s Labyrinth is a 7 circuit left-handed design and is 45′ in diameter. The paths are of stone-dust with dividing lines made from red solid bricks, recycled from an old building in downtown Mayfield, Ky. The labyrinth, which is located adjacent to the Memorial Gardens, is in a natural, peaceful setting, giving the visitor a quiet place to reflect and contemplate.
The labyrinth is open year round and is wheelchair accessible.
“It is solved by walking” ~ St. AugustineWhat is a Labyrinth?
The labyrinth is an ancient spiritual tool, used for the purpose of prayer, meditation, reflection and contemplation. It is a universal image representing the path of life, winding in toward the centre and out again, to symbolize a pilgrim’s journey with God, a symbolic trek in the form of a walking meditation. Walking the path is a sacred ritual that can provide insights, courage, and understanding in facing life’s challenges.
The labyrinth is found in various forms in all religious traditions around the world and throughout history. The labyrinth is not a maze: there are no tricks to it and no dead ends. The labyrinth has only one path (uni-cursal) which leads to the centre and out again. If you make a misstep, you will simply end up at the centre or at the beginning. The path winds throughout and becomes a mirror of the way we live our lives; it touches our sorrows and releases our joy. Notice how the labyrinth is a non-lineal experience. The journey is not to figure out how to get to the centre, but how to take the next step with God. So walk it with an open heart and mind.
The History of the Labyrinth
The rediscovery of the medieval labyrinth, a twelfth century mystical tool, may be one of the most important spiritual developments of the late twentieth century. Throughout human history there has been the practice of making a spiritual pilgrimage – a search for the holy. The Hebrew scriptures refer to God’s people journeying to a land of promise, to Zion, to sacred places. The Psalms witness to this deep yearning within people. The first Christians were called “people of the Way”, as they tried to follow the path Jesus set before them.
In the middle ages Christians were expected to travel to the Holy Land at least once during their lives. As travel became too dangerous during the Crusades, certain cathedrals throughout Europe were designated as “pilgrimage cathedrals”. Christians would journey to those sites, where they would make a prayer-walk of the labyrinth, laid in the cathedral’s stone floor, as a symbolic completion of their pilgrimage. This is why these labyrinths were sometimes called the “New Jerusalem”. Today labyrinths are being used in churches, hospitals, retirement centres, parks, prisons, and in retreat and conference centres as we recover this sacred practice. The labyrinth appeals to all ages, from youth to senior citizens.
Guidelines for walking the labyrinth
- Before you begin, stand or sit at the entrance, and prepare yourself by clearing your mind of expectations. Quiet your thinking, become aware of your breathing, and open your heart to God.
- Reflect on those concerns you are bringing with you to this intentional time with God. You may want to say a prayer before you begin.
- Pay attention to your breathing and your body. Pace yourself in prayer. Walk, skip, run,dance, or crawl as the Holy Spirit is with you. You are welcome to walk with or without shoes according to your preference.
- As you need – stop, rest, meditate. Find your own pace. There is no need to rush. An average walk takes 20 to 30 minutes.
- Feel free to gently pass or to let another pass you on the path. Go at the pace the Holy Spirit guides in you. If you “get lost” you will walk either to the entrance or to the centre as it is a single path.
- Remember each one is in her or his own prayer time, do not intrude. Be considerate of their space and need for silence, as you would want for yourself. You may stay in the centre as long as you wish.
- After your walk, take time to journal, ponder or meditate on your experience
Some walk in prayer using the ancient Christian three-fold path of prayer.
- Releasing (purgation) – Pray for release of your fears, blockages and resistances. This is the emptying phase. Pray for release as you journey in toward the centre.
“I let go and I let God.”
- Receiving (illumination) – Pray for opening to insight and new awareness as you near the centre or sit or stand in the centre. The centre can be understood to symbolize the evolutionary process of Spirit coming into matter. Here is the in-filling. This may be on a sub-conscious level for you. Later, in the days and nights to come, you may come to know consciously God’s messages for you that you received in the centre of the labyrinth. Stay as long as you are called to be in the centre praying for illumination.
“Breathe on me breath of God; fill me with life anew.”
- Returning (union) – On the return path pray for integration of that which you received, consciously or beyond your conscious mind. Take the silence and peace and insight
- with you and pray that the Spirit’s guidance be manifested in your life.
“Thy will be done.”
Isaiah 30:20-21 “Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you saying: “This is the Way, walk in it.” (NRSV)
Acknowledgements: The Labyrinth Company design & construction ideas…….
www.labyrinthcompany.com
To find other Labyrinths ~ www.labyrinthlocator.com
“It is solved by walking” ~ St. Augustine
St. Peter’s of the Lakes Episcopal Church
47 Black River Rd., Gilbertsville, Ky 42044
stpetersotl@bellsouth.net
www.stpetersofthelakes.com
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