Local church invites community 
to come around 

“I lost my son last year and that is how this came about,” said Barbara Smith as shoe and I watched volunteers crawling around in gravel and mud at Harmony Grove United Methodist Church in Lilburn. “I needed a place to meditate anytime I wanted, but this is not just for me. It’s for anyone who wants to use it for any occasion.”

Those volunteers, Jim Landiss, Gayla Huff, and David Kee were building a labyrinth, an ancient means of meditation consisting of circles with a convoluted path that leads to the center and out again. There is no right or wrong way to walk a labyrinth, so it can be used for deep reflection or just for fun.

Wanting a meaningful memorial for her son Jimmie C. Smith, Jr., Smith approached the people at her church about building a labyrinth for the community.

“Our church was blessed with a certified labyrinth facilitator and also blessed with a designer who has built other labyrinths and a congregation willing to reach out and help others,” said Smith.

The certified facilitator, Dr. John Rhodes, has a long history with labyrinths. 
“About ten years ago, I was sitting in the den and my wife handed me an article in the Faith and Values section of the newspaper about the indoor canvas labyrinth at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Decatur. She said it looked like something I’d be interested in and she was right,” said Rhodes. “When I get into something, I go all the way and I took the labyrinth facilitators training at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. I now conduct labyrinth events all over the southeast.”

Rhodes, who is chairman of the Research Committee of the Labyrinth Society, noted that labyrinths are becoming more widely recognized as a method for fostering people’s emotional growth and that in the southwest, even public schools are using them to assist students with conflict resolution.

The labyrinth designer, Charlie Jackson, after retiring from Bell South, pursued a second career in landscape design at Gwinnett Technical College, where he designed a labyrinth for a course in garden design.

“I didn’t see it as a career enhancing project, but when Dr. Richard Ludwig saw it, he asked if I would build it on the campus for my senior project. He said they already had a place set aside for a labyrinth, but no one wanted to do it.”

Jackson’s labyrinth at GTC became the third public outdoor labyrinth in the county. (The others are at Gwinnett Medical Center and Simpsonwood Retreat Center.) He’s also built several private paths, including the one in Rhodes’s backyard.

Several churches in the county have indoor canvas labyrinths that they set up at specific times, especially during Lent, which starts this Wednesday, but HGUMC is the only church in Gwinnett County and one of the few in the state to offer both an indoor and outdoor labyrinth.

HGUMC is now centering on their grand opening and dedication scheduled for March 23. Musicians from Lilburn Middle School will perform and the entire community is invited to gather round. 

For more information, call 770-921-7747. To schedule a labyrinth class or event, contact Rhodes at 770-846-7988 or jorhodes@mindspring.com. 

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