This is a fall picture of our outdoor labyirnth.
Madison Labyrinth Walks: Deepening Spiritual Paths
Labyrinth Walks open to the public are scheduled for the second Sunday of the month from 1:00-2:30 p. and the second Wednesday of the month from 9:00 a. - 6:00 p. from November through April. Please enjoy our outdoor labyrinth from May through October.
For more information, contact Lois Komai at 238-2503. If you would like to be on the labyrinth mailing list (mailings twice per year), please email office@madisonchristiancommunity.org.
Enjoying the Outdoor Labyrinth
The outdoor labyrinth is in a very pleasant setting and lends itself well to spending some quiet time before or after your walk. Bring your own lawn chair or a blanket, your journal and maybe even a cup of coffee. You could place your lawn chair in the center of the labyrinth before you begin your walk in anticipation of a quiet and relaxing time in the center. If you come in the evening, sunsets can be spectacular.
What is a Labyrinth?
The labyrinth is a prayer tool as well as a walking meditation tool found in many religious traditions around the world. It is a spiritual pathway for people seeking the Divine. This appears to be true regardless of our faith tradition. This labyrinth is a circular two-dimensional pattern printed on a surface for walking. The labyrinth ahs only one continuous path which leads you to the center and the same path lead you back out. It is not a maze with tricks and dead ends.
The winding path helps us to become quiet and reflective. Walking the labyrinth invites us to experience our gratitude for life. It can help us to be in-touch with our sorrows and our joys. It is a wonderful tool for helping us discover metaphors that reflect our spiritual journey or help us to learn what we need to know.
The labyrinths at Madison Christian Community are patterned after the labyrinth laid into the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France between 1200-1220. During the Middle Ages many Christians completed their pilgrimages by walking the labyrinth. The center rose was seen as the spiritual Jerusalem.
To find locations of labyrinths in other communities and for more labyrinth information go to www.labyrinthproject.com.
Why Walk a Labyrinth?
A central purpose of all spiritual disciplines — prayer, fasting, meditation — is to help us quiet our outer world so we might have the opportunity not only for prayer but to listen to our inner world and the Divine.
Since the labyrinth walk can encourage us to get in touch with our inner selves, many people find their walk on the labyrinth helps them to discern what they need to accept and affirm in their lives and what they need to leave behind. Walking the labyrinth can be used to help in decision making, healing from illness or just to find a few minutes of peacefulness.
The best way to learn about the labyrinth is to walk one a few times with an open heart and mind, then allow your experience to guide you as to whether this might be a useful tool for you.
Opportunities for a Congregation or Group to Use the Labyrinth
Since the labyrinth is a metaphor for our spiritual journey, it is a wonderful tool for retreats and other occasions when people are asked to reflect on their journey.
The labyrinth lends itself well to special times of transition in individual lives and in the life of a congregation or organization. An anniversary, or the dedication of a new building, the arrival of a new pastor or staff person, beginning of a new program, seasonal celebrations would all be strategic times to use the labyrinth.
The labyrinth is also a very good processing tool and may be helpful during times of decision making or situations that call for healing and reconciliation.