The Labyrinth is available for walking, praying and meditating at various times throughout the year in Francis Chapel. Watch for coming dates! We also make this portable canvas mat available to outside groups who wish to set it up at their location. For information about use, please contact Christine at 704-295-4815 or cmull@mpumc.org.
The Labyrinth
The labyrinth is an ancient spiritual tool, a single path of prayer and meditation leading to a center and returning back again. Symbolizing our spiritual journey, the inward and outward turns are, unlike a maze, deliberate in design - there are no dead ends.
This circular path directs us in three ways:
·Inward for releasing (Purgation)
·Center for receiving (Illumination)
·Back out for returning (Union)
The journey quiets the mind of typical daily life distractions, moving the soul toward wholeness and renewal in God. Simple and yet, somehow mystical.
History
Labyrinths have a history steeped in ancient religion. Cathedrals have long been the home of the labyrinth in the past. Today, resurgence in the prayer and meditation path is occurring as churches, hospitals, prisons and schools install them as tools to improved spiritual and physical health.
Walking the Labyrinth
Join fellow pilgrims and walk the labyrinth as a gentle yet powerful discipline of transformation. When you arrive, a labyrinth guide will provide you with simple guidelines for walking and reflecting.
You may choose to experience the labyrinth at your own pace or by using the guided meditations available on CD. The CD directs you to various stations setup along the walkway and may offer an enhanced labyrinth experience for you.
Inward Path
The first step of a labyrinth walk is an inward one, taken before you step onto the path. A pause before entering allows you to prepare for the walk and leave the world behind for a short time. Take time to be still and consider where you are at this point in your life.
Moving into the labyrinth requires nothing more than putting one foot in front of the other to follow the path and remaining open to the awesomeness of the journey.
The Center
The center of the labyrinth is intended as a place of illumination, of receiving from God whatever it is He would offer each walker. Remain in the sacred center to listen, to consider, to rest for the return journey.
Outward Path
Walkers return from center on the same path they entered. We return with new insights and strength to pick up what we left outside the labyrinth and perhaps, to take up a new mission in our world.
