Labyrinth
The labyrinth is located on the front lawn of our Gathering Place and is always available and accessible for you to walk at your convenience and without charge.
Walking a labyrinth is a form of mindfulness, an ancient practice that provides a walking meditation path which can help with our personal, spiritual and psychological transformation. There are many ways to mindfully walk the labyrinth. You may come up with your own way, but here are some suggestions:
- Simply walk the path in and out with awareness, attuning to your senses or following your breath. You can open to love and peace in this silent practice.
- You can ask a question in silence on the way in, meditating on the question as you go, then stopping at the center until an answer comes. You can then meditate on the answer on your way out.
- You may wish to ponder what you need to let go of in life as you walk in, then visualize letting go at the center. By emptying, you are making space for more love and peace to fill as you walk out.
Walking a labyrinth is also a form of pilgrimage. Going on pilgrimage has long been recognized as a significant spiritual practice, encompassing two simultaneous journeys: an outward spatial journey that helps to facilitate a more significant inward spiritual journey. Something subtle but significant can shift within us when we travel on a pilgrimage. Often a pilgrimage is to a recognized sacred site or “thin place”, where the boundary between the visible and invisible worlds softens and we are able to taste something of the mystery always so near yet not always experienced. Labyrinths were developed in part to allow us to go on pilgrimage without the need of time-consuming and costly travel that may be beyond our means. We have our own sacred site and thin place right here on Denman Island.
Our small stone labyrinth was installed on the church lawn in the Spring of 2019. The inspiration for an outdoor labyrinth arose from the Elements of Creation art installation and performance event held over the Summer Solstice weekend that year with the theme of celebrating Spirit in nature. A simple rope form was laid down, in one of the classic seed-shapes known as the 7-circuit variety with a left opening entrance. Since then, the rope has been replaced with rocks and shells, lovingly placed by people walking the paths. It will continue to evolve as more stones and shells are added. We are particularly grateful to Wendy Pope, Stacey Armstrong, Tish Scott, and Mike Morrel who laid the rope design and to all who have contributed stones, particularly the center tile from Heather McLean and Lisa Pierce.
It has been so fortunate that we have had the labyrinth during the COVID closure, as in fair weather we have held our Sunday gathering around the labyrinth in a circle, in the fresh air. It feels more and more sacred with its increasing use. It also has brought our attention to the outdoor Church space, so we have mounted hearts on the wall in support of front line COVID workers, and we held a successful ‘Art from the Attic’ art display fundraiser on the outside church walls in the summer, 2020. We also planted lots of Spring flower bulbs at the Autumn Equinox gathering.
Sanctuary and Gathering Place

“A Gathering of Reds” a 2019 church yard installation by Michael Dennis
Our gorgeous dark wood, classic sanctuary has been home to Christian services and weddings, memorial services, baptism and other ceremonies since 1889. From those many years of worship and celebration, the sanctuary and property exudes a lovely energy. The building is designated as heritage (http://www.islandstrust.bc.ca/media/341818/islandheritagebuildings.pdf). It is valued by the Denman community, and sits atop the highest point of land on the island. The acoustics are perfect for singing and music and in recent years we have opened the sanctuary to allow community recitals, performances and art display.
Our church lounge hosts our regular Sunday lunch potlucks and has been home to our gifted, island quilters for many years. Other groups have traditionally used the meeting space and kitchen as well, including the recent and successful No Coal Mine initiative. In 2020, we named our church lounge the Gathering Place which was born of a desire to further extend our arms into the community and to receive and partner with people of diverse faiths, and others, who share in our love of the earth and all beings.
We recognize that the Christian church throughout the ages has been both the agent of comfort, help, and humanitarian aid, but also a big perpetrator of interpersonal violence, systemic oppression and for the most part, turning a blind eye to environmental concerns. We want to be a part of the continued turning and healing.
In addition to our regular Sunday Services and Pastoral Care, some examples of our new direction include:
- Elements of Community workshop led by two women from the Reclaiming movement
- Celtic Spirituality Weekend
- Elements of Creation art installation and performance
- Tree of Life art installation and performance
- Art fundraiser on the outdoor walls
- Wisdom of Jesus study
- Enneagram study
- First Nations button-blanket ceremony
- Music and meditation evenings
We are also developing a pattern of gathering together to celebrate the seasonal festivals of Equinox and Solstices. These gatherings are a beautiful time to mark the turning of the seasons together. These include creating a sacred circle, reading poetry, sharing our thoughts together, enacting a rite appropriate to the season. At Winter solstice we walked the labyrinth by candle light. At Summer Solstice we collectively tossed out what we wanted to discard, and spoke out loud what we wanted to call more of into our lives and community. At the most recent Autumnal Equionx we planted bulbs around the property to embody our hope for the future and springtime. We welcome collaboration in crafting these community events.
Helen Wilson, our current Chair, wrote this piece to open the Elements of Community performance in 2019. It evokes how we feel about our old church, and the metaphor of the old apple tree seems apt.