Labyrinth at Landbeach

Landbeach is one of the two parishes in which Pam, my wife and I minister. It is a small village about seven miles north of Cambridge UK. Recently we held a quiet day there, part of which was to use a temporarily constructed labyrinth as an aid to reflection on our lives’ paths. The labyrinth had been constructed by F C (who is a trained labyrinth constructor – we met her laying out a more permanent labyrinth at a retreat house in Umbria) from the spent votive lights from one of the principal churches in London (ideally portable for such a purpose). I was particularly struck by the idea F offered us that prayers we might offer whilst walking the Landbeach Labyrinth would be ‘mingled with’ the prayers of the many, many people – more than 400 of them from all over the world – who had offered their prayers when they visited London. The votives have had to be collected up but the labyrinth in Landbeach churchyard remains, at least for the time being. If you are in the vicinity, you might like to visit. It lies between the right hand side of the church as you enter the main gate and a further gate in the wall on the right. The churchyard is a beautiful place in its own right. Reflecting on all of this as I sat in the churchyard on that quiet day, I  started to pen the following.

Labyrinth at Landbeach

The prayers of Imogen from Idaho,

of Hassan from Cairo,

of Letina from Harare,

of Nicolai from Irkutsk,

of Saeed from Nablus ,

of Divine from Kishasa,

of Kevin from Poplar and many more

have ascended in an Abbey church;

and now delineate a pathway for reflection

In a tranquil country churchyard.

Consider the interweaving of those prayers,

(perhaps of anguish, of  life and death,

of fear, of joy, of terror or thanksgiving)

our prayers, and the prayers

of the people of this parish,

many of whom lie in this haven,

where butterflies weave their erratic pathways

towards the next bounty of nectar, the next mating,

the next egg laying,

the next death.

Brief lives,'
unlike those of John Diver, Aged 71

and of us, who walk this transient labyrinth.

We have made choices, good and bad,

affected the lives of others,

played our parts in communities

and now seek a glimpse of that still centre

to which we all must go

to meet with the Maker

of the cosmic dust that forms us all

and this loving landscape.

This theme also ties in a little with the ideas I have explored in ‘A Cosmic Labyrinth’, a sequential poem of twelve parts (ultimately) with Parts 1 – 6 to be found at A Cosmic Labyrinth

If you want to know more about the purpose and nature of a labyrinth, you will find a lot of information on the 'Veriditas' site Click here to access the site