With its
burned-out lawn
and overgrown
bushes, the
corner lot next
to Bethel
Tabernacle
Church in Venice
struck sculptor
Robin Murez as
ripe for
resurrection. So
Murez laid plans
to turn the
church-owned lot
into a pocket
park with
an in-ground
labyrinth,
where neighbors
could gather to
chat, and aging
churchgoers
could park there
for suppers and
Bible study.
"A labyrinth is
a very serene
place made for
spiritual
meditation,"
Murez said. "The
neighborhood
needs some
healing. The
site looked like
a scar." After
months of
plotting and
planting, the
Oakwood
Labyrinth at 6th
and San Juan
avenues was
officially
unveiled on
Saturday —
World Labyrinth
Day.
Although
passers-by and
many neighbors
are delighted by
the change, the
dozen or so
elderly
churchgoers
(oldest member:
94) remain
divided on the
merits.
"My neighbors
told me
it was a
pagan-type thing,"
said
Carol Powell, a
member who lives
a few blocks
from the church.
"My concern is
you don't walk
in a circle. You
come inside the
church to
worship."
Moore and Smith
said they have
done their best
to explain to
the congregation
the concept of a
labyrinth as a
path for
personal,
psychological
and spiritual
transformation.
After all, one
of the most
famous prayer
labyrinths,
dating from
about 1200, is
embedded in the
floor at
Chartres
Cathedral near
Paris.
Alyson Horn, who
lives across the
street, said
the labyrinth
"creates a
feeling of
community and …
actually ends up
making the area
safer. It
changes the
energy."
