One of the many things that I love about being a parish minister is that you can have an off-the-wall idea and for the most part those who work with you seem to see it as a reasonable thought to have. It has taken a while to get to this place, but I am grateful for the elders and the church administrator who do not look at me as though I have lost my marbles.

Yesterday was one such experience.

I’ve been thinking for a while about how to have a better labyrinth experience within the Church sanctuary without the need of a complete refurbishment. Fixed pews don’t seem to offer the opportunity.

We do have a very small labyrinth that we have used at Holy Week and other times. To use it, all the furniture in a side chapel has to be removed for a suitable floor space. This can take a considerable amount of people and energy. It has been worth the work for those who use the labyrinth. However it is not very big, and there is not much space to journey between differing stations. If more than two people are using it you can find yourself almost on top of the other person even when standing in a different section of the mat.

Standing staring in the bathroom mirror looking at the large spot that had appeared on my nose and wondering how to deal with that for the full diary of encountering people, a labyrinth solution appeared. Don’t ask me the relevance of the two, for I have no idea.

I’m sure plenty of others have had and used the same idea, but it had never occurred to me before. Why fight against the pews? Why not use them? I worried a little about stumbling through them, but then thought in Holy Week perhaps stumbling invited us to encounter a more rugged journey. What about those with movement difficulties? My thought was that with clear areas to pause and reflect around the building, there was still an opportunity for them to take part by using these areas as prayer stations. My friend Nikki also would remind me that I could lay out some finger labyrinths, for those who would prefer something more personal.

The congregation I serve can sometimes seem a little traditional, and I thought perhaps I should check out the idea on a couple of folk. As I mentioned it to the church administrator, she seemed to not think it was completely off the wall – either that or in my brain patterns it seemed normal. I saw a couple of other folk and again no hands in horror to say absolutely not.

So last night as I tried to think of a pattern that would work, I wondered about the path of the Chatres. Of course we don’t have places for curves, but would their path work in a linear format, crossing pews and aisles?

Would you believe it, it fits!

So following the Passion Sunday service, I will be crawling around on the sanctuary floor with some white tape marking the path. There are a few repeats in the side aisles, but carefully marked it should still work. Then in the evening the service will offer a guided labyrinth walk for those who are not sure how to walk, and those who want to think of others way to encounter prayer.

Holy Week will have opening times, for anyone who wishes to use it.

I’m quite excited now, and for once feel I have done something proactive.