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To celebrate the 70th anniversary of St. John's in Montclair, we have created a Labyrinth on our campus. To learn more, read the letter introducing the project here.
A Labyrinth is a spiritual pathway where members and visitors can prayerfully seek healing, strength and guidance. To learn more about Labyrinths, listen to the sermon accompanying the introduction letter here. We dedicated our new labyrinth on September 25, 2022. Come and visit it and appreciate what it has to offer. |
The Labyrinth at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Oakland:
The Labyrinth we have created on the property of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Oakland is a five-circuit Baltic Wheel with a “triple meander." The Baltic Wheel, translated from the German ‘Rad’ is a variation of the Classical pattern which is the oldest archetypal labyrinth dating back some 4-6,000 years. In the tradition of the turf labyrinths of Germany from 400 years ago, St. John’s Labyrinth resemblea a tree when seen from above.
Our Labyrinth was dedicated September 25, 2022. For more information read below:
The Labyrinth we have created on the property of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Oakland is a five-circuit Baltic Wheel with a “triple meander." The Baltic Wheel, translated from the German ‘Rad’ is a variation of the Classical pattern which is the oldest archetypal labyrinth dating back some 4-6,000 years. In the tradition of the turf labyrinths of Germany from 400 years ago, St. John’s Labyrinth resemblea a tree when seen from above.
Our Labyrinth was dedicated September 25, 2022. For more information read below:
What is a Labyrinth?
The labyrinth is a walking meditation, a path of prayer and an archetypal blueprint where psyche meets Spirit. It has a path that leads from the outer edge in a circuitous way to the center.
The labyrinth is not a maze. There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. Unlike a maze where you lose your way, the labyrinth is a spiritual tool that can help you find your way. Labyrinths invite intuitive pattern seeking. To enter a labyrinth is to choose to enter a spiritual path. Walking the Labyrinth quiets the mind, opens the heart and grounds the body. Some people find answers to questions long asked, some find healing, creativity, or a sense of wholeness.
What will you find on your labyrinth journey? https://www.veriditas.org/New-to-the-Labyrinth
The labyrinth is a walking meditation, a path of prayer and an archetypal blueprint where psyche meets Spirit. It has a path that leads from the outer edge in a circuitous way to the center.
The labyrinth is not a maze. There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. Unlike a maze where you lose your way, the labyrinth is a spiritual tool that can help you find your way. Labyrinths invite intuitive pattern seeking. To enter a labyrinth is to choose to enter a spiritual path. Walking the Labyrinth quiets the mind, opens the heart and grounds the body. Some people find answers to questions long asked, some find healing, creativity, or a sense of wholeness.
What will you find on your labyrinth journey? https://www.veriditas.org/New-to-the-Labyrinth
Brief History of Labyrinths
The history of creating complex pathways to approach the Divinity is evident in many cultures from Native America to Peru to Tibet. Labyrinths have been dated to the Neolithic age in regions as diverse as India, Turkey, and Ireland. All the great religions of the world articulate the journey of the spiritual seeker and the path one must walk.
Although there is no mention of labyrinths in the Bible, as early as the 4th century CE labyrinths were adopted by Christians as a spiritual practice. Christian labyrinths were almost exclusively placed within the sacred spaces of churches. The most famous of the cathedral labyrinths can still be walked today in Chartres, France.
Labyrinths fell out of favor during the Age of Reason but have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years. Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress introduced labyrinths to Grace Cathedral during the AIDS epidemic. Labyrinths can now be found in a wide variety of settings including parks, prisons, hospitals and schools. People still find their way to the divine along the labyrinth path.
What are you searching for on your journey?
The history of creating complex pathways to approach the Divinity is evident in many cultures from Native America to Peru to Tibet. Labyrinths have been dated to the Neolithic age in regions as diverse as India, Turkey, and Ireland. All the great religions of the world articulate the journey of the spiritual seeker and the path one must walk.
Although there is no mention of labyrinths in the Bible, as early as the 4th century CE labyrinths were adopted by Christians as a spiritual practice. Christian labyrinths were almost exclusively placed within the sacred spaces of churches. The most famous of the cathedral labyrinths can still be walked today in Chartres, France.
Labyrinths fell out of favor during the Age of Reason but have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years. Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress introduced labyrinths to Grace Cathedral during the AIDS epidemic. Labyrinths can now be found in a wide variety of settings including parks, prisons, hospitals and schools. People still find their way to the divine along the labyrinth path.
What are you searching for on your journey?
Labyrinth Practical Practices
There are variety ways to walk a labyrinth. You may walk alone or with others. You may chose to pray or meditate or simply to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings. Remember the walk is yours alone. Relax. Receive. Reflect.
Some helpful suggestions for your labyrinth walk are:
There are variety ways to walk a labyrinth. You may walk alone or with others. You may chose to pray or meditate or simply to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings. Remember the walk is yours alone. Relax. Receive. Reflect.
Some helpful suggestions for your labyrinth walk are:
- It is a two-way street. You will meet people on the path. Feel free to move around people. The turns are a good place to pass. If you encounter someone going the opposite direction, simply step off the path momentarily to allow the other person to pass.
- Be respectful of other people’s journeys. Some may be celebrating and others grieving. Find space for all walkers and emotions.
- Follow your natural pace. You do not have to walk slowly. Children love to run the path (which is encouraged at the appropriate times).
- Let your gaze be soft as you walk, and let your heart be at peace. See you soon on our Labyrinth path of prayer.
Walking your own Path
Labyrinths invite you to enter with an open heart and open mind. There are as many ways to walk the labyrinth as there are people walking. No one way of walking is for everyone every time. Make the walk your own. As you begin, reflect on where you are in your life at that moment. You may want to approach your walk from one of these perspectives:
As you walk the labyrinth how will you
Enjoy the generous gifts of nature?
Enjoy the generous gift of time?
Enjoy the generous insights of self reflection?
Labyrinths invite you to enter with an open heart and open mind. There are as many ways to walk the labyrinth as there are people walking. No one way of walking is for everyone every time. Make the walk your own. As you begin, reflect on where you are in your life at that moment. You may want to approach your walk from one of these perspectives:
- Quieting the mind: Time on the labyrinth can allow you to let go of conscious thoughts and allow a gracious sense of mindful attention flow through you. The simple act of walking can renew and refresh your body and spirit.
- Asking Questions: Maybe there is a burden you are carrying or a decision you need to make. Unspoken questions that only you can hear. The labyrinth experience can open your awareness so that deeper parts of you can speak to these questions.
- Encouraging creativity: Perhaps you are working on a creative project or innovating a solution at work. Walking the labyrinth can restore your energy and renew your creative resources. The labyrinth can be a place to be receptive to images that will deepen the creative process.
As you walk the labyrinth how will you
Enjoy the generous gifts of nature?
Enjoy the generous gift of time?
Enjoy the generous insights of self reflection?
Walking the Path with God Link to this passage from the July 15 Friday email blast
“Spiritual discipline sets us free to pray, or to say it better, allows the Spirit of God to pray in us.” Henri Nouwen
Labyrinth prayer is a contemplative spiritual discipline. It involves prayerfully walking a marked path like a pilgrim. Labyrinths have been spiritual symbols of pilgrimage for centuries. A pilgrimage offers us the opportunity to open our hearts and minds and walk humbly with God. On this sacred journey we can learn a little bit more about ourselves, explore thoughts and feelings and discern new ways that might be before us. The labyrinth journey gives us a place to remember, recognize and welcome God‘s presence at the center of our lives.
Consider these prayerful ways to walk and pray the labyrinth.
“Spiritual discipline sets us free to pray, or to say it better, allows the Spirit of God to pray in us.” Henri Nouwen
Labyrinth prayer is a contemplative spiritual discipline. It involves prayerfully walking a marked path like a pilgrim. Labyrinths have been spiritual symbols of pilgrimage for centuries. A pilgrimage offers us the opportunity to open our hearts and minds and walk humbly with God. On this sacred journey we can learn a little bit more about ourselves, explore thoughts and feelings and discern new ways that might be before us. The labyrinth journey gives us a place to remember, recognize and welcome God‘s presence at the center of our lives.
Consider these prayerful ways to walk and pray the labyrinth.
- Meditation. Meditate on a specific word or short phrase of scripture. Or recite a breath prayer such as “Lord have mercy” or “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
- Conversation. Have a conversation with God. Perhaps use the path to the center for speaking and the return path for listening.
- Intercession. Offer prayers for specific people, for the church, for our community and for the world.
- Discernment. Ask God a question as you enter the path. Then as you walk slowly through the twists and turns, listen for an answer. Let your steps and your silence invite God’s guidance.
- Unburdening. Lay down your burdens as you walk to the center of the labyrinth. Pause to thank God for taking your burdens on God‘s self. Give thanks to God accompanying you on your journey.
The Shared Path
Whether you chose to walk alone or with others, your labyrinth experience will be a unique and powerful way to walk the path to greater understanding of self, neighbor and God. Please join us on the path.
As brainstorming with others brings minds together for new ideas, walking the labyrinth with others unifies hearts and minds for new inspiration, hope and clarity of vision.
As the prayers of the people increase our awareness of the presence of God in community and can strengthen our resolve, so also International Labyrinth prayer practices such as Global Healing Response seek to increase worldwide unified intentions for peace, cohesion, and healing.
Sharing our labyrinth with our neighbors, with school children, with people of other faiths and people whose faith is known to themselves alone, will show our unconditional love for and invitation to our neighbors.
What inspiration might you want to seek in community? In what global prayer effort might you want to participate? Who might you want to invite to walk the labyrinth?
Whether you chose to walk alone or with others, your labyrinth experience will be a unique and powerful way to walk the path to greater understanding of self, neighbor and God. Please join us on the path.
As brainstorming with others brings minds together for new ideas, walking the labyrinth with others unifies hearts and minds for new inspiration, hope and clarity of vision.
As the prayers of the people increase our awareness of the presence of God in community and can strengthen our resolve, so also International Labyrinth prayer practices such as Global Healing Response seek to increase worldwide unified intentions for peace, cohesion, and healing.
Sharing our labyrinth with our neighbors, with school children, with people of other faiths and people whose faith is known to themselves alone, will show our unconditional love for and invitation to our neighbors.
What inspiration might you want to seek in community? In what global prayer effort might you want to participate? Who might you want to invite to walk the labyrinth?
