A message from Lane Norton of the Capital Improvements Committee;
Lane is the manager of our Labyrinth project:
A labyrinth is a sacred space that invites the community to come experience peace in God’s presence.
Visual incarnations of the Fibonacci Sequence, the circle and spiral have been used as spiritual symbols by people of many cultures for millennia.
The most famous labyrinths are found in medieval cathedrals throughout Europe, but lesser-known labyrinths can be found all around us, in church and hospital gardens, and even in your neighbors’ backyards. Local examples include labyrinths at Piedmont Hospital, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, and Barrow Elementary School.
Labyrinths have been used throughout history to bring our spirits closer to the presence of the divine; many have been used to make spiritual pilgrimages, in lieu of traditional journeys which are often too physically and financially demanding for most seekers of God’s peace.
We purchased our first labyrinth about 25 years ago, a 32-foot diameter canvas modeled on the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral. While it is a wonderful meditation tool, it is greatly limited in two ways: space and time.
Our labyrinth takes up much-needed space, and because it is indoors, users can come only when a caretaker is present to open the building.
Because of the space limitation, it is laid out only a few days a year, adding further time limitation.
A permanent, outdoor labyrinth is available to all, any time of day, without appointment: our personal need for meditative prayer does not always happen only during office hours.
Seekers of all ages can use a labyrinth for both personal meditation and for community-building experiences. Religious education classes, school groups, groups of friends, families with children, and individuals all gain personal and communal insight and peace from traveling the labyrinth. You may not be aware, but people from around the surrounding neighborhoods often use our grounds for their daily walks; many of them would welcome the opportunity to walk a labyrinth. What a wonderful and easy outreach we could offer to our neighbors! There is also an online site , World-Wide Labyrinth Locator, where we could register our labyrinth and welcome visitors from all over the world.
There are many types of labyrinths: they can be made from a wide variety of materials and there are many layouts to choose from. One layout we are considering is the Reconciliation, or Ceremonial, Path. It was designed by Clare Wilson of South Africa as she worked to bring about a peaceful end to apartheid. This labyrinth has two entrances that merge and lead to one exit, allowing multiple people to use it at once in an exercise focusing on bringing people together.
We have a display in the Parish Hall which includes images of different examples of labyrinths as well as a QR code to access Clare Wilson’s description of her journey to her labyrinth. The estimated cost of the labyrinths we are considering, including landscape preparation and installation, is about $20,000.
I am Lane Norton, a member of your Capital Improvements Campaign Committee, and you are always welcome to reach out to me with any questions. Thank you so much for all that you do to help bring peace and reconciliation to our community.
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