July 2010: Labyrinth and BBQ
The weather being fine, the Labyrinth was set up mostly outside. People did the labyrinth, then munched the BBQ.
The path of the labyrinth was marked with brightly coloured wool (Ariadne's Clew), which wove from tree to tree. People started in small groups, listening to the story of The Woman Who Searched For Wisdom, then followed the thread through four separate Stations, to the Decompression Chamber inside the church.
The Woman Who Searched For Wisdom:
A woman went on a long journey, over hills, along valleys, fording fast-flowing streams, to visit a mountain-top hermit. The hermit was of the approved story-type: filthy matted garments, long Monty Python hair and beard. She asked him where she could find Wisdom. The hermit replied: "Wisdom comes from Good Judgement".
She was about to return home when she thought "Hang on, I’ve come a long way – what does ‘Good Judgement’ actually mean? She asked him where she could find Good Judgement. The hermit told her: "Good Judgement comes from Experience".
Again, she was about to leave, when she realised that she didn’t know where she was supposed to find Experience. She asked the hermit, who finally answered...
"Experience comes .........from Bad Judgement".
Welcome to our Labyrinth
You are about to embark on a journey.
Theseus was the son of the King of Athens. Every year an order came from Crete, that seven young men and seven maidens be sent to Knossos, to be food for the Minotaur: the half-bull-half-man who lived in the Labyrinth under King Minos’s palace.
Theseus volunteered to go, to try and slay the monster. But he couldn’t work out how to decipher the Labyrinth until King Minos’ daughter, Ariadne, gave him a ball of wool. He tied the thread to the entrance: it would lead him back to safety once the Minotaur was dead.
Please follow the thread –Ariadne’s Clew– as it leads you into the Labyrinth.
Every so often there will be a "station" with another story.
Gird up your loins. Tighten the sandals on your feet and loosen the sword in your scabbard. Prepare to face your monsters.
Station 1 - between the tomb and the tree:
The thread led up the church tower to Station 2:
From there the thread led back down into the graveyard.
By the gravestones, Station 3:
Dealing With Pain
Under the next tree, Station 4 Prometheus:
Cartoon version of the story of Prometheus, followed by questions on personal and corporate responsibility.
The thread finally led inside the church, where a quiet place had been built with a circle of bean bags. On a low table in the centre, unlit candles, some rosemary (the herb, not the woman) and the Ern of Wisdom. This was the Decompression Chamber , a place to reflect on the whole service.
Decompression Chamber:
A prayer – part of St Patrick’s Breastplate:
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
Think of something that you’ve learned over the years, wisdom from God or from experience, or something that you’ve learnt today.
Write your wisdom on one of the small pieces of paper, and deposit it in the Ern of Wisdom.
Feel free to take another piece of paper from the Ern. This is somebody else’s wisdom – passed on to you.
Have some rosemary. Take some to throw on the Barbeque, and keep the rest to help you remember what you’ve learnt.
Now go and enjoy the Barbeque!