An open space, two sacks of cracked maize, tent pegs, rope, and empty lemonade bottles sounds like an unusual recipe. But that's what facilitator Kay Barrett used, with a gang of willing volunteers, to create a labyrinth at Whittlesford parish church at Saturday's study day.
Kay began the day with an overview of the history of labyrinths, in pre-Christian cultures and across Christian traditions, and talked about how they can be used as an aid to prayer. At first sight, a labyrinth looks tangled and complex, but in fact there's only one path, and the person who follows it will be taken to the centre. It can be helpful to think of three stages:
walking towards the centre, we think of the things we wish to leave behind, the burdens we want to lay down
at the centre, we can pause to enjoy the stillness and simply be in God's presence
on the way back out, we can consider how to integrate any new insights into our spiritual lives
Then we moved outside to make our own labyrinth. The process looked complicated but Kay instructed us expertly and turned the ingredients listed at the top of this post into a classical seven-circle labyrinth. After that we had the opportunity to walk the labyrinth together or alone, have a go with finger labyrinths, or spend quiet time alone in the church, before eating lunch together.
It was very good to welcome a large group of attendees, some familiar faces and some who'd never heard of Cursillo at all before this. Do remember that non-Cursillistas are welcome at the vast majority of our events, and invite friends from your church and beyond - it's a great way of spreading the word about what Cursillo is and give a flavour of how it works.
To find out more about Kay and her work with labyrinths visit https://kayspathway.com/
You show me the path of life: in your presence there is fullness of joy.
Psalm 16:11