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Monday, September 3, 2012

Labyrinth


Over the past 15 years or so, labyrinths have become sort of de rigueur for some churches. The tale told is that Christians who could not make a pilgrimage in the Middle Ages would instead walk the labyrinth.

Not to be out of vogue, a couple from St. James in Tupelo built their own labyrinth. The story is here.

When the morning sun is gentle and geese are landing silently on the surface of the pond, you might catch Nancy Bridges walking barefoot in her yard.

From the road – County Road 183 – her winding way may seem random, but that is part of the point. Nancy is walking the path of her labyrinth.

“It symbolizes getting to the center of who you are,” Nancy said. “It is peaceful to walk.”

The Tupelo Labyrinth

And there's a bit more:

Nancy recalled an experience four years ago when she invited the youth of her church, St. James Catholic Church, to come walk the labyrinth during Lent.

After giving a brief history of the practice, she had the kids write on a slip of paper anything that was weighing on their hearts, drop the paper in a bowl at the entrance of the labyrinth, and walk the pattern.

“It was amazing to see guys you wouldn’t think it would mean anything to come out with tears in their eyes,” said Gary.
 
Ok, this may not seem so bad but I think there may be more to it. She talks about finding the center...and then she tells of children crying.
 
Folks, it's obvious. That labyrinth has a minotaur!! Minotaurs LOVE labyrinths! 
NO ONE EXPECTS A MINOTAUR!
 And they usually are at the center and they make teens cry. They eat teens too. And all sorts of nasty Greek mythy stuff. Bad. Bad. BAD!
Minotaurs are the center of every good labyrinth
I'd be careful. Bring a sword. Even during Lent, be armed.
 
Dudes on the Tri-Delta labyrinth. As close as they'll get to anything Tri-Delt.
Turns out we at Ole Miss have a labyrinth, too. The Tri-Delts built one. Wonder if they have a mini-Minotaur so they can put him in a purse?

Finally, not to be outdone by the progressive church of Northeast Mississippi, we at St. John's have a labyrinth. I didn't know it but then a person told me, "Getting up that thing was like up one way, around, up another, and around and finally, I made it to the door."
 
PROFOUND! WE HAZ LABYRINTH!
Our labyrinth has guardrails.