As I have mentioned recently I have just begun a new call. I am serving a wonderful congregation right outside of Harrisburg. One of the many things I love about this church is how intentional they were when they moved from their historic church building into a new building. One of the things they felt passionate about was having a church and grounds that fulfilled many needs.
One of those needs is spiritual direction. On the grounds of the church is a beautiful labyrinth. If you are unfamiliar with the term a very brief explanation is a focused walking path of prayer. At first glimpse it looks like a maze, with lines that go in a circle and appear to dead end. When in reality it is a single path that takes you around twists and turns as you head towards the center, and then you follow the same pathway out.
It is a truly marvelous tool, one in which you walk, perhaps with a question or a prayer and as you twist and turn the rhythm you begin to take, leads you away from your own thoughts and allows for God to enter in a way that took me by surprise the first time I walked a labyrinth close to 20 years ago.
One of the ways I use a labyrinth is by first sitting down, praying, and sometimes journaling to try and get some of the clutter out of my mind. And then after a little while of centering myself I begin my journey, on the way to the center. I try and keep my hands open but facing down in a physical expression of opening myself and letting my concerns or prayers out. Once I reach the center I pause, perhaps sit and experience a moment of pure spiritual solitude, sitting alone with God in the middle of a journey. On the way out, I walk with my hands open and facing up, to receive. I simply walk and pray while listening and accepting, and allowing the Spirit to move within me. When I finish my walk, I again sit and pray and reflect and journal.
I love this practice, and you don’t need to have a beautiful walking labyrinth at your disposal, but can Google a finger labyrinth, one you can trace with your finger in the same way you would walk one. Or simply find a trail or a path somewhere, and use the time for a concentrated spiritual prayer walk.It is amazing how different our prayers can be when we relocate where we are praying them. I know as we draw closer to the cross, closer to Holy Week I will be spending some time walking, praying, and reflecting. I will be thinking about the path Christ walked for me and for you, I hope you will too.
Janice has just begun a new ministry as Pastor at Monaghan Presbyterian Church in Dillsburg, PA. Prior to this move she was serving a church in Beckley WV. She has two beautiful daughters, Eleanor (Ella) and Lillian (Lily) and is married to Jay, the most talented and creative person she has ever met. Together they enjoy the outdoors and spending time together experiencing the creativity of God through the world around them.