Letters from camp:
Lure of the labyrinth

By Charles Maynard

When I was at Lake Junaluska this summer to lead a hike for SEJ Ministers Week, I arrived early enough to walk the labyrinth. The labyrinth is "cut" into the grassy area beside Memorial Chapel and the lake. I had heard of labyrinths and read of them but had never experienced one until I walked the one at Lake Junaluska for the first time, years ago.

Labyrinths have been around since ancient days. One of the more famous ones at Chartres Cathedral was built during the Middle Ages. Their purpose is to help people focus on a spiritual walk.

A labyrinth does not require conscious thought. No analysis is required. To walk a labyrinth is a sensory experience, not a left-brained one. To wind along its circuitous path is to utilize intuition, creativity, and imagery. Unlike solving a maze with its twists and turns, a labyrinth has only one path. There are no choices except the one to walk on a spiritual path or not.

Whenever I visit one of our camps, I walk the paths at that camp. At Wesley Woods I traverse the long road and then hike up Blueberry. When I go to Dickenson, I like to travel the path along the New River. At Buffalo Mountain, I ponder the waterfall walk. Lookout's Trail of Silence is my favorite there. Each place has paths I'm so familiar with that I don't have to think about where I am going. The path will lead me to where I need to be. My mind is free to contemplate the wonder of God's creation. My senses are left open to soak in the richness of God's infinite power through creativity.

Thousands of people - children, youth, and adults - come to camp each year. Some are returning to familiar territory. They have their favorite spots just as I do. Others are experiencing these places for the first time. It doesn't matter. Each has the chance to walk the roads and trails that bring them closer to God. You don't have to know the way. The paths will take you there.

Just as the labyrinth at Chartres has the cross in its central design, so do the camps. Christ is central at each location. Now that summer camp is over, many churches are visiting the camps for retreats. They use our camps the way I do - as labyrinths that draw us closer to God in meditation and prayer. Some people physically walk the trails and roads at the camps. Others sit on the porch, lie in the shade, stand under the stars. All find their hearts and minds moving away from the press of everyday life toward an everyday life in God.

I tend to be too left-brained. Camp opens me to all God has for me - calls me to experience God's grace - silences me with wonder and awe.

The Rev. Maynard is development officer for Holston's Camp and Retreat Ministry.

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