During January of 2005, several dozen members of the Williams College community helped to create a replica of the 13th century labyrinth inscribed on the floor of Chartres Cathedral – on a 36-foot-square expanse of portable canvas.
Since then, several times each semester for several days at a time, the labyrinth is spread out and available free of charge to the whole community for many kinds of meditative use. This month it will be available during Holy Week, Wednesday-Friday, April 20-22, in the Fellowship Hall of the First Congregational Church. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day.
The labyrinth is an ancient device for walking meditation. Though perhaps the most familiar version is the one at Chartes, it has pre-Christian roots in many cultures, and people have been following the path to the center of its beautiful convoluted design for countless centuries. The practice of walking the labyrinth has connections to many kinds of spirituality and can be enjoyed by people of all faiths as well as by those who feel no affiliation with any organized religion.
Walkers are asked only to remove their shoes to protect the canvas. Printed leaflets with suggestions on how to structure a walk, as well as several of the many books published on labyrinth walking as a spiritual exercise, are available. A public journal is available so that walkers can inscribe a few lines about their own journeys or enjoy the responses of others. One recent walker wrote: “Thanks for a calm place in the storm.”
The First Congregational Church is located at 906 Main St. (Route 2). The building is fully handicap accessible and parking is available behind the church off of Chapin Hall Drive.
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