THE LABYRINTH
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In Holy Week 2011, visitors are invited to explore the Christian message through a themed prayer labyrinth. The labyrinth is designed to help take visitors on a spiritual pilgrimage. Entry is free. |
An Introduction to the Labyrinth
Dating back over 4000 years labyrinths have a long association with spirituality, ritual and sacred dance. The pressures and demands of modern society and our need for deeper meaning in our lives has led to a resurgence in interest in this ancient form. The labyrinth symbol is a universal ‘tool’ that can assist the individual to reconnect with their inner self, spirit or God. This is achieved through ‘Walking the labyrinth’. There is no one prescribed method to do this.
Labyrinth or Maze?
There is often confusion as to the difference between a labyrinth and a maze. This is understandable as in some contexts and languages the names are interchangeable. In the sense of structures created for walking on or through, a labyrinth is unicursal that is it has one path which will lead the walker without offering choices to the goal (at the centre in most designs). It may be a flat design or have raised ‘walls’ separating the pathways. A maze is multicursal and presents choices to the walker who must solve its puzzle to find the goal and will usually have high ‘walls’ to hide the pattern and create a greater challenge. In summary it could be said ‘You enter a maze to lose yourself and a labyrinth to find yourself’. This is of course somewhat flippant. The experience of walking the labyrinth is often calming and restful and can be deep, profound and even life changing. Many Christians have found walking the labyrinth a valuable way of praying and discovering God on life’s journey.
"Building Relationships with God, One another, Our Community and God's World"
