South Transept Labyrinth

Our new 7-circuit Labyrinth is now complete! We are very grateful to all those who have helped to make this dream a reality!

Anyone is welcome to come and walk our Labyrinths. If there is no service or event on at the Cathedral, you can usually access our South Transept Labyrinth during Office Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 12 noon,  & 1 to 4 p.m. If the upstairs doors are closed, please come to the Office Entrance in the parking lot. You can also access the Labyrinth Sunday mornings, when the Cathedral is open for worship. Please contact the Office if you have any questions about access: office@ourcathedral.ca or phone 709-726-5677.

The Dedication of our New "Ocean Health" Labyrinth will take place at the 11 a.m. service on Sunday, September 29th. At this service we will Bless the Labyrinth and Decicate it as part of the Legacy Labyrinth Network. Visit www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/ for more information about the Legacy Labyrinth Project. All are welcome!

More information on our 'Ocean Health' Labyrinth

Walking a labyrinth offers opportunities for inner reflection and spiritual connection. It can be used for meditation, guidance seeking, and creativity enhancement. It helps to release mental or physical tension and reduce stress. Soon after Dean Roger Whalen arrived at the Cathedral, he and Sue Cummings, Lay Minister, formed a committee to explore the concept of an indoor Labyrinth.

After work began on improving accessibility, a temporary labyrinth was outlined on the floor of the south transept. Although it was small, it established energy and presence at the Cathedral and a few people walked it.  Connections with Veriditas (www.veriditas.org/ ), a nonprofit organization, led to a partnership with the Legacy Labyrinth Project (LLP) (www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/). The LLP began in 2013 with an aim to integrate the impact of the labyrinth experience with global peace and healing, bringing together labyrinth builders, supporters, and communities around the globe. The Cathedral now serves as the steward of the 9th Labyrinth in this international partnership. This aligns with the Strategic Set Sail Ship “Transforming Discipleship” and progresses our parish goal “To offer an exploration of alternate forms of spiritual contemplation and meditation through the Cathedral at Night Series and the installation of the Labyrinth”.

With the light shining in from the Fisherman’s Windows, in early April, 2024, a 7-circuit, Chartres styled labyrinth was created by master labyrinth builder and designer, Lisa Gidlow Moriarty (www.pathsofpeace.com). Our labyrinth’s theme of Ocean Health symbolizes a journey toward ecological awareness and renewal. The official dedication of the Labyrinth is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, September 29th, 2024, with a promise to draw people from near and far to share in the celebration and dedication service.

Our new 'Ocean Health' Labyrinth  has already inspired local artist, Dominique Hurley, to create a painting based on this theme. You can read about her experience and see her work here on her blog: https://www.dominiquehurley.com/into-the-sea-of-infinity-labyrinth-painting. We will be displaying an extra large print of her painting, "Into the Sea of Infinity," near our Labyrinth. You can see a picture of the painting on this page. 

The Cathedral is committed to building dynamic labyrinth programing for public and parish alike. This commitment is in keeping with its Mission Statement: to deliver ministry and outreach that meets people’s needs; and to nurture respect for all of God’s creation and, as a parish, take an active role in environmental stewardship.

Join us on the labyrinth as we embark on a journey of reflection, connection, and reverence of our world.

1. Find the opening in the outside ring. This is the entrance and as you will observe, presents you with a path on which to walk between the lines.

2. Follow the path into the labyrinth and it will lead you to the
centre. During this phase of your walk you find that you can release, shed or let go of worries and stress as you focus on the twists and turns of the path. 

3. At the centre you may wish to pause, rest and reorient yourself. Take whatever restorative moment you need.

4. Return to the outside of the labyrinth by re-walking the whole path again until you arrive at the opening where you started.

The Cathedral Garden Labyrinth

In the Summer of 2020, we created a beautiful space for reflection and meditation, in the Cathedral Church Yard, in the heart of downtown St. John's. We continue to maintain this Labyrinth and hope to make it a more permanent structure soon.

The labyrinth is a type of walking meditation with thousands of years of fascinating history. Christians have used labyrinths as an aid for prayer for many centuries. Labyrinths seem to emerge during times of great social change, so it is not surprising that they have become an increasingly common world-wide phenomenon in the last fifty years. 

When labyrinths are used as a walking meditation, there are a few suggestions that may prove helpful. There is no right or wrong way to engage the pattern but there is a traditional way that you may enjoy. The three-fold movement of Releasing, Resting/Receiving and then Return is a common meditative template of contemplative practice. May your time on the labyrinth be an experience of restoring inner reserves; an experience of renewal and of opening heart and mind to new possibilities.

The Garden Labyrinth is open to the public at all times. The weather, however, may determine if you are able, or want, to walk it at any given time.

Enjoy this ancient practice of prayer and reflection!