Hi, Folks!
Philadelphia Inquirer Outdoors Columnist Don Sapatkin visited our labyrinth last Sunday as part of his review of area labyrinths. The printed copy includes a nice photo of the community garden's labyrinth on the 2nd page of today's "City and Region" section - unfortunately, the photo is not included on the website. However, it's worth following the link for the lovely picture of Sarah Boote and the St. Asaph's labyrinth - both Sarah and St. Asaph's Church provided invaluable help when St. John's United Church of Christ was creating the Phoenixville labyrinth. Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth A mission of St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460 http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/outdoors/13026131.htm Based on ancient designs, labyrinths put meditation in motion. By Don Sapatkin Inquirer Staff Writer Think of the journey in three parts: the way in, the center, and the way out. Walking tip at a labyrinth Adhering to the path, mowed in narrow spirals through a suburban lawn, meant going back and forth and in and out and all around en route to the center. Gazing out 360 degrees, it was impossible to see the full contours of the walk in. They were visible in pieces, and as metaphors: A turn that had blocked a career, and opened another. The seed that had sprouted a family tree. The 10-minute trip back out was yet to come. Ancient, mystical, often geometrical designs known as labyrinths are frequently described using the modern concept of a maze. But a maze challenges the brain to act; success is finding a fast way to the end. Following a labyrinth's single, circuitous path in and then out requires only the feet. The goal is to experience the journey. Old stone formations are still being unearthed around the world, particularly in the East, even as spiritual yearnings have sparked an explosion of labyrinth-building in the West. Over the last five years, more than a dozen outdoor labyrinths have been created around the region, like little hiking circles in open courtyards. The Church of St. Asaph occupies a busy street corner in Bala Cynwyd. Within low rock walls, a path of grass edged in brick makes 11 circuits to the center in a precise mathematical pattern. Children skip along it; artists walk it; businesspeople bring problems along at lunch hour. "If you're having a really terrible morning, walk the labyrinth," advised Sarah Boote, a parishioner who spearheaded the installation. "So many times, people have described getting some kind of insight." St. Asaph's labyrinth is based on one at Chartres Cathedral, constructed in France around 1200 and believed to be the oldest existing labyrinth of medieval design. A simpler, classical design, based on a pattern first documented on a clay tablet from Pylos, Greece (circa 1200 B.C.), inspired the flowing 7-circuit path of mulch bordered by river stones beside St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Westville. The South Jersey labyrinth opened just before Sept. 11, 2001. One by one, the Rev. Mantelle Bradley recalled, people spontaneously walked the path. She views the experience as universal. On her tip sheet are Buddhist mantras to deepen the labyrinth's meditative power by focusing on oneself in the present moment, as Christians might focus on Jesus or Jews on God, "clearing your mind of the worries of the world." How labyrinths were seen by the ancients is largely guesswork filtered through myths. "[B]ut in all the labyrinth seems to symbolise the path to be followed, in daily and seasonal cycles, in life and in death and in rebirth," British authority Jeff Saward writes on his Web site, www.labyrinthos.net. Today's renaissance may have as much to do with technology as with interest in the mystical. Surfing the Web, Dorene Pasekoff read that labyrinths offered "all the benefits of meditation, but you didn't have to sit still." Without ever having walked a labyrinth, she persuaded her husband to reconfigure, to exact geometric proportions, the fine specimens he'd found through Google image searches. (He used an Excel formula.) Then Pasekoff got her Phoenixville church's community-garden volunteers to build the uncommon "turf" design - winding shallow trenches, framed by low mounds topped with herbs - based on one of England's eight surviving historic turf labyrinths. A labyrinth south of West Chester fits its setting, known as Bournelyf (Middle English for "spring of life"), as well as its church, whose worship space - shared with a synagogue - is a barn dating to the 1720s. The classical circuits eschew geometry in favor of nature's rougher road, meandering in among the shade trees, over roots and under crabapples. They form the outline of a leaf. To a walker pausing at the center, a pond seemed near. Sunlight presented mini-Rorschachs through the branches. Birds chirped. The inedible fruit mysteriously disappeared on the journey out, replaced by pine cones - all in all, a pleasant 20-minute voyage. Turning clockwise and then counterclockwise, spiraling in and then out, is said to represent a moving toward and a moving away that is analogous to breathing. On a bench in Souderton, behind the narrow path mowed in spirals through the grass, a watertight jar held a brief note: Thank you... . Since my daughter passed away (May 24, 2004) it has been very helpful coming here. Locating a Labyrinth Information The independent Labyrinth Society offers extensive background on history, meaning and design. Its worldwide labyrinth locator contains more than 2,000 sites. Call 1-877-446-4520 or go to www.labyrinthsociety.org. How to find a labyrinth near you For a list of all labyrinths in the region, go to the Web-based locator tool and enter partial zip codes 08, 18 and 19. Here are outdoor, public labyrinths, with full details online: Pennsylvania Bala Cynwyd: Church of St. Asaph, St. Asaph and Conshohocken State Roads. Limerick: St. James United Church of Christ, 321 S. Limerick Rd. 1 Morrisville: Snipes Farm, 890 W. Bridge St. Mt. Pocono: Trinity Episcopal Church, off Route 611. 2 Norristown: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 6 Hancock Ave. Philadelphia: Center for Human Integration, 8400 Pine Rd., Fox Chase. Phoenixville: St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden, 412 Fairview St. Souderton: Side yard of residence, 508 Noble St. West Chester: Church of the Loving Shepherd, 1066 S. New St. New Jersey Longport: Church of the Redeemer, 108 S. 20th Ave. Trenton: Trinity Cathedral, 801 W. State St. ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
