In celebration of winter solstice, the community was invited to walk Powell River’s only public labyrinth, Sunday, December 21.
The labyrinth is located inside Sycamore Commons, a community-based permaculture project on the grounds of St. David and St. Paul Anglican Church in Townsite.
Fifty-five people were drawn to celebrate the labyrinth’s opening on the shortest day of the year, just a half hour before the sun set. Those attending learned more about why the church had built the garden feature and the feature’s significance. They were led in a simple circle dance and walked the maze created from local crushed gravel, piled stones and recycled red brick from Vancouver Island.
Ron Berezan is one of the project organizers and a member of the congregation at the church. “It was really nice,” he said. Berezan started work on the permaculture project three years ago with Erin Innes. The labyrinth is one of many small projects Berezan and Innes have planned for the church grounds.
The intension of the project is that these grounds be a resource and a place for the whole community, Berezan said, explaining that there are not any other public labyrinths in Powell River. “A few people have them in their yards, though,” he added.
The pattern is a copy of a famous design in a Chartres Cathedral, France. There are many different kinds of labyrinths in the world and many different traditions have them, said Berezan.
They are part of a spiritual practice for some, and for others they are more of a quiet form of meditation or relaxation, he said. “They can mean different things to different people and we’re not prescribing what the labyrinth must mean to anyone.”
He has watched a few people walk the labyrinth and whatever their reasons, he explained that it was easy to see them slow down, become more calm and inwardly focused.
“In our busy lives, I think it’s valuable to have this,” he said.
Beyond its more meditative benefit, the labyrinth also gives the church some level ground, on its sloped parcel of land, and provides space for people to hold meetings outside or have dances and performances.
“We’re thrilled with it,” said Dr. Adela Torchia, reverend of the Townsite church. She added that the labyrinth is one part of a larger aim to make community connections.
The parish received grant money for this and other projects on the grounds from the Diocese of New Westminster, one of the five regions in British Columbia and the Yukon of the Anglican Church of Canada.
“The diocese in Vancouver recognizes that this kind of thing is a good way to respond to community needs; that church isn’t just what goes on Sunday morning,” said Torchia. “Churches offer things that people can make use of in their day-to-day lives whether or not they come in the door Sunday morning.”
As labyrinths have a long history of being in places with people of many different spiritualities, there is no one specific religion attached. A labyrinth is just an invitation to deepen one’s own spiritual awareness, sharpen focus and find one’s centre to become more productive, she said.
Torchia invites everyone to walk the labyrinth which only takes about 10 minutes at medium pace. The church is located at 6310 Sycamore Street.
