Labyrinth

When it's not covered in snow, you can enjoy the meditative walk of our labyrinth!

The labyrinth goes back 5,000 years or more. There are many indirect references to it as a spiritual tool. Abbess Hildegard of Bingen defined divinity as “a circle, a wheel, a whole.” In the Divine Comedy, Dante uses both the metaphor and the image of the labyrinth. It is from the tradition of the Knights Templar. Legend says that the design was part of King Solomon’s temple and was carried to France by the Templars. This style of labyrinth is also associated with the Freemasons, the guilds that provided the expertise and labor for the building of the Gothic cathedrals throughout Europe.

Enjoy our eight-circuit labyrinth. The path enters on the east, and the meditative walk may be viewed as a three-stage process.

The first stage of the process is moving to the center of the labyrinth, releasing and letting go of the details of your life, bringing quiet to the mind.

The second is the center. This is a place of meditation, illumination and prayer. The Hebrew Scriptures represent God’s people journeying to a land of Promise, to Zion, to sacred places.

The third state begins upon leaving the center – union, which is joining God, your Higher Power or the healing forces at work in the world. The winding walk of the Labyrinth symbolizes a pilgrim’s walk with God. It is not a maze; there are no tricks to it and no dead ends. The path winds throughout and becomes a mirror to the way we live our lives. Walk it with an open heart and mind.

Download scripture for meditation here.

The labyrinth is located on the northeast side of the St. John's campus outside of the parish hall. It is available to everyone year-round, but can be covered with snow during the winter months.