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Zion United Church Labyrinth Can Also Be Used For Picnics
Girls from Zion United Church of Christ Sunday School formed the Labyrinth Dancers for a dance at the Labyrinth Festival and Picnic.
STORY, PHOTOS BY BOB LINDSEY
The inspirational and meditative Zion United Church of Christ Labyinth and Prayer Gardens can also work for a Suunday School picnic.
The church held its 3rd annual Labyrinth Festival and Picnic on Sunday, June 14. Activities included a petting zoo, balloons, Leaping Lizards & More, barbecue, a water slide, crafts, and face painting.
Visitors are also urged to walk in the Labyrinth on church grounds for quiet time. The Labyrinth began as a vision of Pastor Mark Milligan. He remembered a labyrinth at a seminar he attended at the Thompson Center and created one at Zion.
The church previously designed labyrinths in the grass and on asphalt before constructing the present cut stone labyrinth in 2005.
The following year, a memorial prayer garden was added, designed by a master horticultural architect from the Missouri Botanical Garden, and later a water feature. The labyrinth is fully accessible to people with disabilities.
A labyrinth is not a maze. It is a place for one to find oneself. It has only one path, which leads to the center and back out again. Its design is used to designate a sacred space, according to Reverend Mark Millegan,
The labyrinth is used to help people understand their relation to nature and God’s design, and to promote a sense of well-being and healing. The first known example of a Christian labyrinth comes from North Africa and dates from the fourth century. The labyrinth is a mosaic in the Roman style and can be found in the Basilica of St. Reparatus, 100 miles west of Algiers.
The Labyrinth and Prayer Garden is accessible from sunrise to sunset, he said. Labyrinth may be walked by individuals at any time from sunrise to sunset. Groups should schedule their visits through the church office by calling 314-741-1590
The first known example of a Christian labyrinth comes from North Africa and dates from the fourth century. The labyrinth is a mosaic in the Roman style and can be found in the Basilica of St. Reparatus, 100 miles west of Algiers. At the center of this labyrinth are word-squares which repeat the phrase Sancta Eclesia (Holy Church) many times. By placing the church in the center of the labyrinth, the builder placed the church in the center of the Civitas Dei (City of God), which is itself in the midst of the Civitas Mundi (City of the World).
Between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, many labyrinths were laid out in cathedral floors. During these times, pilgrimages were very popular, especially pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Christians at the time believed Jerusalem to be at the center of the world, and it was placed centrally on their maps.
Since most people could not get to Jerusalem, they went instead to cathedrals like Canterbury, Chartres, or Santiago de Compostella, and completed their pilgrimage by walking to the center of the labyrinth in the church floor. They would then slowly retrace their steps out of the labyrinth to once again embrace the outside world. (History from Zion UCC website)
