Labyrinth
First created in 2015 by our members Mark and Kiki Corry, this place is an opportunity for you to be still and be with God, to meditate, to refresh, however the space can pour into you.
As the song goes, I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses….
Isn’t that the essence of finding peace and comfort with our Lord? Don’t we all have a mental image of that place. Maybe a grandparents’ garden. Maybe the tended geometric landscaping of a formal palace. Perhaps a grove of olive trees. For me it is a respite, an outdoor sanctuary; protected from the noise of the world, filled with nature’s beauty. A place with a winding path that I can follow as meditation.
Memorial United Methodist Church’s labyrinth is just that. Sheltered on three sides by the stone church and shaded by two towering elms it is calm, quiet, cool, and still. Although the path is not a traditional church labyrinth, it was built so that I enter on one side, follow a continuous spiral to the center and out on the other side. I can see from the outset exactly where it goes, but walk the twisty turns one step at a time. It is a physical metaphor for my walk with Christ. After spending time in contemplation with Him in the center, how could I leave the same way I entered? Like the wise men, I go home in a different way. To the casual eye, the “garden” is landscaped in the loosest possible sense of the word. Upon closer study, you find remnants of the hearty dichondra lovingly planted and tended by the founders on this space who imagined it a flat green canvas for church activity. Here and there are native plants that thrive and bloom in the shade on heaven-sent rain. The best of those came up on their own.
Native gardens and groves take a long time to grow into their potential. As teens go through awkward stages, so do gardens. Sometimes Memorial’s labyrinth has seemed a little shaggy and unruly. Nurturing the desirable parts while carefully pruning back the troublesome takes discernment and patience.
Luckily the granite gravel path is packed smooth. The few weeds don’t get in the way of a meditative stroll. Take a moment to walk it. Listen for the calm still voice of God. Notice the stages and seasons of the garden.
by Kiki Corry, March 2023 Newsletter, Prayer Leader Afton Cherry's daughter
