The Labyrinth

St. David's Episcopal Church has a labyrinth. It is patterned after the 11 circuit labyrinth built in the Chartres Cathedral near Paris, France, in about 1200 A.D. Unlike a maze, where there are dead ends, the labyrinth has one path that meanders through the four quadrants to the center.

Christians of the Medieval Period often walked the labyrinth as a symbolic pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It was their way to become closer to God. Sometimes it was walked on the knees as an act of penance. Today, it is often walked meditatively as one seeks a solution to a problem, or as an act of prayer. There is no right way to walk the labyrinth. The reasons are diverse and private.

On Pentecost weekend, the last shovelful of gravel was spread on the path of the Chartres-pattern labyrinth constructed by the congregation of St David's Church with the help of the greater community of Friday Harbor. St David's vestry designated $1500 from memorial funds to the labyrinth committee for the project in October 2002.

The project was a community effort starting with the gift of labor to deliver and spread the sand given by a local excavating firm, Jack's Septic. Members of the congregation and the larger community donated bricks and dollars to buy bricks. Once bricks began arriving at the site in the front yard, volunteer teams of two started laying bricks in the pattern drawn in sand. The geometry teacher at Friday Harbor High School agreed to give her classes an assignment to figure out how many bricks were needed to line the path of a 47' diameter labyrinth with 11 circuits, using 7" bricks. One of our parishioners donated pizza and a night of bowling for the winning math teams. St David's own acolytes and youth gathered and set the beach rocks in the 12 labyrs of the labyrinth and learned how to split bricks to create the rose petals at the center.

The last of the 2149 (give or take a few) bricks was set in place on Tuesday of Holy Week. The labyrinth was walkable by Easter! Our Rector, the Rev. Nancy Tiederman wrote a blessing service that was led by Richard Wright, LEM and Senior Warden, on Easter Sunday II. Stage Two of construction began with 16 yards of gravel donated and delivered by a local business, Lawson Construction. With help from our local Boy Scout troop and Mormon missionaries plus lots of donated wheel barrows and shovels, the labyrinth committee moved the gravel into the pathway between the hand-placed bricks. Steve Simpson drove his tractor to church and moved large rocks between the labyrinth and the street. Plants will be added near the edges of the labyrinth in the future.

This labyrinth, created by members of the parish and the community at large, is a tool for walking prayer and meditation. It is open to the public, and is used daily by parishioners, neighbors, and a number of teens who seem intrigued by this ancient, archetypal symbol. Whenever you are visiting the San Juan Islands, be sure to come by St. David's Church at 760 Park Street in Friday Harbor and walk our new labyrinth.

The first bricks were laid by Ev Tuller and Steve Simpson on the pad of sand to define the outer circle. New and older donated bricks are mixed together. A mathematical project with the local high school estimated close to 2,149 bricks needed to be laid.

The bricks were laid on a pad of sand. A generous donation of gravel from a local contractor, Richard Lawson, is being spread between the bricks. Labor for the final step of spreading gravel was supplied by some local Boy Scouts and a couple of Morman missionaries. This labyrinth turned out to be a community project, not just St. David's !

The labyrinth is finished and ready for walking !!!