Creating a contemplative space, the Unity Church of Traverse City welcomes the community to take Sacred Steps with them.
Their new labyrinth lives up to that name, a quiet clearing nestled on the church's beautifully wooded 24-acre property.
Throughout the summer, volunteers prepared the land, assembled stones and laid them out in the characteristic interwoven geometric pattern. They also created a quiet pathway leading up to the labyrinth and are completing natural landscaping around it.
Situated a short walk from the church's main building, a member created the handmade sign proclaiming "Sacred Steps." Mounted on a natural trellis, the words welcome visitors to enter; as they exit, the back of the sign sends they away with "Peace." Children in the congregation decorated some of the thousands of stones forming the labyrinth with messages of love and peace.
"It's definitely a place for people to use the land, a very wonderful meditative place," said Crystal Yarlott, minister of the Unity Church. "There's a lot of love here and a sense of accomplishment for this."
Tapping the ancient spirals found in cultures around the world and throughout time, walking a labyrinth is a journey both real and metaphorical: inward to the center and back outward again. The interlocking spiral paths weave a pattern that participants travel at their own pace, each pursuing their own spiritual quest.
There is no "right" way to walk a labyrinth. It may be done alone or in a group, seriously or with joy, in prayer or quiet contemplation. Mostly completed by Labor Day, the labyrinth served the congregation during the Unity World Day of Prayer on September 11.
"It's a very centering thing to do," said Lori Weldon, a trustee with the Unity Church, of walking the labyrinth. "I've walked it as a group and I walked it as an individual -- it's one of my favorite places to come."
"It takes a little longer than it looks because there are switchbacks," added Weldon of the traditional design.
Leveraging the potential of their outdoor assets even more, the Unity Church has also created an outdoor amphitheater behind the church in another clearing. They plan to use this area, which features three rows of stone benches, a fire pit and natural stage, for outdoor services during warmer weather. The amphitheater will also be available for weddings and might be used for concerts there as well.
"I can see lots of uses for this -- I do children's theater and I can see kids out here putting on plays or rehearsing," said June Neal of possible future uses of the facility.
Built 21 years ago, the church sits on 20 acres on the east side of the road and also includes four across Five Mile Road. Before recent additions, the east side property already featured a small walking trail, which connected to a trail system in Holiday Hills.
The labyrinth and the amphitheater are other ways the congregation can share the blessings of their land with more than just the church membership.
"We just have so much land," Yarlott said. "We definitely want to make things more available to the community."
A session of appreciative inquiry at a board meeting earlier this year sifted through several ideas. Discussing various ways to use the land with a mission to share it with the community, the board found synergy in the idea for the labyrinth as it brought together a cohesive vision.
Spending a summer hauling tons of small rocks, donated by a church member, provided another version of cohesion. But the volunteers kept at it for countless hours over the months, determined to complete their labyrinth and most of the surrounding landscaping before fall.
"It ended up being a huge labor of love," Weldon said.
For more information on the Unity Church of Traverse City, call 938-9587 or see www.unity-traverse.org.
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