Cross of Grace Lutheran Church New Palestine, Indiana

Cross of Grace Lutheran Church in New Palestine, in an adjacent county to Indianapolis, has a contemporary labyrinth on the lawn next to the church.  It looked like the dancing woman style of labyrinth when I first viewed it from a satellite image.  Upon arriving, however, I instead saw a large question mark amidst the circuits.  This made me think about the people who come to labyrinths with a question.  One of the beauties of labyrinths is that you can approach them on your own terms—a tool for your journey.  

What does this labyrinth hold for me today?  As I walked, I took in the open feeling all around me.  The large expanse of farmland.  The great distance from the road.  And the welcoming church at my back.  It was freeing and a great reminder of God’s openness to all people.  

As I noted the little cherub on the bench as pictured below, my feet traveled along a path created on the same ground where I had married Daryl and Shea EMowery several years before, back when I pastored at First Trinity.  At that time the labyrinth was not there, but it raised the curious question of what might it be like to be married in a labyrinth?  I envisioned the groom entering first, waiting in the center; then the bride entering along that same path.

As we walk inward we empty ourselves, quiet our minds, unwind, setting aside all that is swirling around in our minds.  The groom, and then the bride, empty their lives of their separateness as they journey toward the center to be joined as one.

At the center is the place of stillness.  The place of blessing and receiving, so this is where I envision the marriage ceremony taking place.  The blessing of a union where two become one.

Then there is the journey outward.  It is the walk back into our ordinary life with an extraordinary and refreshed spirit.  This is where the bride and groom join hands to forge ahead into life together, over the hills and valleys of life.  They are walking the same path out as that they arrived on, but this time they are together

I can hear Psalm 121:8 as I walk this labyrinth:  "The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.“  That brings great comfort into my life and I most fervently hope yours as well.