Walking the “Sacred Taize Path”
Members and guests of Christ Church, Bethel, entered sacred space by song, word, and body prayer on May 16th in an early evening Taize service which was combined with a seven-circuit labyrinth walk. Heather Leavitt Heather@leavitts.us of South Royalton offers either of her two canvases (the other, an eleven-circuit Chartres’ style canvas) to anyone interested (and who has the thirty to forty foot indoor space in which to lay it out.) Ever since Christ Church exchanged the dark pews for brighter blue chairs, the interior of the village church can accommodate creative liturgical events such as this one which brought people together for a unique meditative experience.
A poem by Marilyn McEntyre was read before people began walking the labyrinth. In part, it reads: “Every turning moves us toward the center…We learn how little we can measure, how great can be the gift of a moment, a pause along the path…We circle inward, consenting, outward, trusting and are taught again the folly of laying up treasures…But all we have comes down to this: yes to what is here, now. Thanks be to God, for what is here now, again, and again.”
“Holding our tender questions, we moved through the labyrinth, and in return, were moved by the presence of God. “Ubi caritas…where true charity and love abide, God is there.” Our combined labyrinth/Taize service was so deeply meditative that we didn’t want it to end. It drew us more closely into the desire and the ability to pray without ceasing.”
Deborah Aldrich
“The repetition of the chords on the piano, along with the quiet singing and walking enveloped the space with amazing sense of peace and calm.”
Kathy Hartman
“My experience was very healing. It grounded me, and renewed my sense of letting go and trusting that whatever is meant to be, will be. I needed that more than I knew.”
Heather Leavitt