Labyrinth

Westminster has provided opportunities for walking a labyrinth for contemplation since 2007 when anonymous donors provided a Chartres-style pathway. The labyrinth usually is available from 4 to 6 p.m. on the third Saturday of the month, but times may change during some seasons. Please check the church calendar.

The labyrinth has one pathway into its center and the same pathway out so that walkers can't get "lost." Unlike a maze, a labyrinth doesn't have dead ends. Walkers may use the labyrinth for special prayers, for praise or for a time of meditation.

Christians began using labyrinths as a spiritual tool at least as early as the 4th century when the Basilica of Reparatus in Algeria was built with a labyrinth. Older labyrinths have been found in various parts of the world, including India, Scandinavia, southern Europe and Native American territory in the southwest United States.

The labyrinth design best known in the U.S. is from the Chartres Cathedral in France, built between 1194 and 1220. It has a stylized rose at the center, reflecting the cathedral's famous rose window. The Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress of Grace Episcopal Cathedral in San Francisco introduced the labyrinth to the United States in 1988 after visiting Chartres. Labyrinth use may have declined with the Enlightenment in the 18th century when a scientific view of the universe replaced the metaphysical and spiritual. Artress says, "There is a spiritual revolution going on in this country, and the labyrinth, in a way, is a church without walls, or it can be, because so many people are looking and are very sincere in their seeking."