Labyrinth at Grace

On the eastern slope of this Grace full land is a winding path marked with stones gathered from local beaches and beyond. People of Grace — young and old — continue to gather stones in their travels and fit them in to Grace’s Labyrinth. In this and many other ways the labyrinth invites us to experience life.

The Labyrinth is an ancient symbol for the spiritual journey and is found in many cultures and in many lands. Used as a spiritual tool for thousands of years, it was built into numerous cathedrals in the 12th century. The labyrinth at Grace is modeled after the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral outside of Paris.

You are welcome to walk the labyrinth. If you’re new at Grace and would like to check in with someone before coming, feel free to contact Fran Moen at 206.842.6665 or Kathie McCarthy at 206.855.9220.

Walking a labyrinth...
As you might imagine, the labyrinth is more of a place to be than a thing to do. It is intended to be a place and time apart from our usual pace. You can spend 3 minutes looking at it, run through it, walk through it, spend an afternoon lying in the sun in the center of it. There is a bench beside it for quiet gazing. It is holy ground and reminds us that every step we take, everywhere we go brings us to holy ground.

Generally adults seem to enjoy walking through at a slow, quiet pace while children seem magnetically drawn to reach the center as quickly as possible. Walking at a slower pace would take about 20 minutes.

The labyrinth is a single path. When we follow it, we are led. We find our way to the center and back out again by putting one foot in front of the other. Again, much like life.If you’d like to print something to bring with you, click here: If you're curious to learn more, there are numerous resources.

Here are just a few:
Walking a Sacred Path Lauren Artress
The Way of the Labyrinth Helen Curry
Through the Labyrinth; Designs and Meanings over 5,000 years Hermann Kern
Ancient Labyrinths of the World Jeff Seward

Websites:
gracecathedral.com (Lauren Artress)
ashlandweb.com
labyrinthproject.com (Robert Ferre)

Manuals
“Ancient Labyrinths of the World” by Jeff Saward
“Notre-Dame de Chartres; the Enigma of the Labyrinth”