Magic Island will include something different this year: a Labyrinth.
A Labyrinth is a winding pathway that starts on the edge of a large circle, leads to a
center point, and then back out again. During the ten minutes it takes to walk through it,
a person will often start to think about the direction and course of his or her life.
“It is a good way to reflect on the past and consider the future,” says the Rev.
Sky Kershner, Clinical Director of the Kanawha Pastoral Counseling Center, who has
developed the event. “A person might think about the goals they’ve had, or the
choices they’ve made. It’s a way to reevaluate the direction of one’s life.
It’s also fun for kids.”
The idea of walking as a way of thinking about one’s life is an ancient one and can
be found in many different religious traditions. Sometimes the walk is in the form of a
pilgrimage which may take many miles and lasts for many months. Walking through the
Labyrinth is a way to make a symbolic pilgrimage. “It only takes ten minutes,”
Kershner says, “but the effects can be profound.”
The Magic Island Labyrinth design is based loosely on a 1200 year old design found at
Chartes Cathedral in France. A similar design has been used in many other locations
including Westminster Abbey in London and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.
The Labyrinth will be at Magic Island throughout the summer and is open to the public.
For more information, please contact Sky Kershner at the Kanawha Pastoral Counseling
Center:
346-9689.
Charleston Labyrinth part of First Night Celebration 1997
The Charleston First Night Celebration will include something different this year: a
Labyrinth.
A Labyrinth is a winding pathway that starts on the edge of a large circle, leads to a
center point, and then back out again. During the ten minutes it takes to walk through it,
a person will often start to think about the direction and course of his or her life.
“It is a good way to reflect on the past and consider the future,” says Sky
Kershner, the Clinical Director of the Kanawha Pastoral Counseling Center, who is
developing the event. “A person might think about the goals they’ve had, or the
choices they’ve made. It’s a way to reevaluate the direction of one’s life.
We thought this made a nice fit with the spirit of the First Night and celebrating the New
Year and dreaming about goals and visions for the future.”
The idea of walking as a way of thinking about one’s life is an ancient one and can
be found in many different religious traditions. Sometimes the walk is in the form of a
pilgrimage which may take many miles and lasts for many months. Walking through the
Labyrinth is a way to make a symbolic pilgrimage. “It only takes ten minutes,”
Kershner says, “but the effects can be profound.”
The Charleston Labyrinth design is based on a 1200 year old design found at Chartes
Cathedral in France. This same design has been used in many other locations including
Westminster Abbey in London and the Labyrinth at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.
The Charleston Labyrinth will be open to the public during the First Night Celebration on
New Years Eve, Wednesday Jan 31 from 6 pm to 10:30 pm. It will be set up in the Parish
Hall of the Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral on Broad Street. Hot chocolate and snacks will be
served.
For more information, please contact Sky Kershner at the Kanawha Pastoral Counseling
Center:
346-9689.
As is in keeping with the mission of the Pastoral Counseling Center, The
Labyrinth is not promoting any single religious or cultural tradition. As indicated on the
fact sheet enclosed, labyrinths are found in many ancient cultures and seem to have served
many different cultural purposes.
more than
just a quiet presencefor over
35
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an accredited samaritan
counseling center
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