Article by Dan Eldridge
Seattle Magazine, 12/01/02
It may very well be the typical Seattleite's favorite mantra: "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual."
How convenient, then, that over the past few years nearly a dozen area churches have installed labyrinths--paths laid out on the ground in circular, maze-like patterns, which are meant to bring peace and comfort to those who walk them--under their steeples.
In 1996, Dr. Lauren Artress, then a canon pastor at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, started something of a nationwide labyrinth craze with the publication of her book Walking A Sacred Path. Today there are hundreds of labyrinths in the U.S., including four in Seattle. As with other ancient mysteries (think crop circles or Stonehenge), no one really knows why labyrinths were first built. Most religious scholars agree that in medieval times a stroll through a nearby labyrinth was an acceptable substitute for an expensive trip to the Holy Land. But according to Betty Behmke, labyrinth facilitator at Seattle's Plymouth Congregational Church, many modern crusaders come with a problem and use the meditative effects of the labyrinth to work through it.
This New Year's Eve, St. Mark's Cathedral (1245 10th Ave. E; 206.323.0300) will invite the public to zigzag its own labyrinth from 7 p.m. until midnight. Come prepared to reflect on the past year, and allow at least an hour to navigate your way to the middle and back again. With any luck, by 2003 your earthly troubles will be ancient history.
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