First out, we chose to call our event an Advent Labyrinth knowing that it is traditionally called an Advent Garden or Winter Spiral. The idea came from seeing photos of a Winter Spiral festival from a Waldorf school on Instagram. If you are familiar with Waldorf ways, they may seem sort of hippie or too new age, but I dug deep and found that the spiral was originally used by Christians and the parts of it have a lot of important meanings. Thanks Google! (http://www.waldorflibrary.org/articles/1172-the-advent-garden)
I took all of my research to the discipleship pastor at our church because I wanted to make sure that everything we were going to do was in line with our church's beliefs. Some may not be comfortable with how similar it is to the Winter Spiral -- traditions that now honor nature and not specifically the Creator of nature. (https://www.clws.org/events/winter-spiral-and-the-meaning-of-advent/) The church was comfortable with the way our children's leadership presented the labyrinth so we moved ahead.
The labyrinth provides a unique opportunity to explain the Gospel to kids. (More on the specifics of that later.) Each physical piece of it has meaning and is purposefully placed in the spiral. We found the time to be extremely beautiful in its simplicity; it was contemplative, quiet, and felt important. Each child (and adult) has their own special moment when they walk the labyrinth -- at their own speed, in their own way. There are so many things you can draw from the event, but there was opportunity for everyone to experience the labyrinth how they would choose.
Event Prep
We held our labyrinth in the fellowship room of our church. It is not carpet (whoo fire!), and we had two 5 gallon buckets of water on standby. We also had a fire extinguisher. I laid out our labyrinth in a traditional spiral form. It was wide enough across so that a wheelchair or walker could easily navigate the turns. We used a combination of cheaper dollar store garland and faux evergreen garland the church already owned. This year, we will be purchasing extra boughs from a Christmas tree farm to add more realistic texture and smell. (Last year we burnt an evergreen candle to try to add the scent haha!) We added some faux sprigs of berries, pinecones, etc. We set up two rows of chairs around the spiral in a circle. On both sides of the path, we put gold and silver star cut outs. This is so the participants know where to put their candle when they leave the labyrinth. At the center of the spiral was a single larger candle, elevated so participants' candles could easily be lit from it. At the mouth of the spiral was a bowl of small candles waiting to be taken through the spiral.
We made the candles by using our candle-lighting candles and securing them in apples. This was actually fairly easy. Using an older style carrot peeler, we created a candle sized hole in the top and wedged the candle in. Using apples creates something for easy little hands to hold when carrying a lit candle, the candles do not topple easily when set on the floor, and they can symbolize the fruit we bear as we grow in faith. We had extra candles made up just in case we ran out or something and kept them back so as to keep the spiral looking as simple as possible.
The rest of the room was already decorated for Christmas. We kept the lights low -- we lit a couple of Christmas trees and maybe a few other white fairy lights, but it was dim. The goal is light enough to see where you are going, but dark enough so you get the story.
Just a taste of the symbolism...
Evergreen boughs - The Garden / The World
Apples - The Fruit of the Spirit
Light - Salvation / Christ's love
Center Candle - God / Christ
Spiral design - Our journey through life
Carrying a candle through the dark labyrinth - navigating the world without Christ
Carrying a lit candle through the dark labyrinth - carrying Christ in our heart through life
Stars - Encounters with others in our lives
The Labyrinth
We began the event with a reception in the church's narthex -- cookies, wassail, spiced cider, hot cocoa, etc. Everyone had about 10-15 minutes to socialize, and then I was able to gather everyone's attention and lead them into the labyrinth space quietly. The labyrinth was dark as we entered except for the center candle. Everyone got a seat, and I explained the story of the labyrinth. In the beginning, God created a beautiful garden and created man. Man sinned and our holy God could not stand the sin, and man was cut off from the Creator. Then I blew out the candle and plunged the room into darkness. The world became a dark place because of sin. But God cared so much for us that he sent us Jesus. And Jesus restored our relationship with God and light came back into the world. I re-lit the candle. Then I explained that we can know Christ and have his light in our hearts. I showed them my candle. When Christ is Lord of our lives, we carry his light with us into that broken, dark world. And we can share it with those we meet. We leave can leave the light along our path. I put down the candle on the path.
I took a couple of minutes to explain the procedure for walking the labyrinth -- one at a time, pick up a candle on the way in, walk however you want, take as much time as you need, light the candle at the center, pick a star to leave your candle on, return to your seat. I suggested for adults to accompany the littlest participants and emphasized for everyone to be respectful of each other -- quiet and serious -- letting each person experience the spiral their own way. I told them once the labyrinth was completely lit, I would come back to end our time together. I had pre-arranged for one of the children to be the first person through the labyrinth and had gone over with them exactly what to do. They had arrived early and walked it out with me so they wouldn't be nervous. I told everyone that she would be first and to watch her if you still weren't sure what to do.
We arranged for a violinist and pianist to play some lesser known Christmas carols quietly in the background. (Here's a playlist of some songs we included) It took maybe 45 minutes for about 30 people to walk the labyrinth. A few people went multiple times. Once everyone had their turn, I walked the labyrinth one last time. At the very center, I said a few more words about the light of Christ and we prayed together. Everyone was asked to leave the space in silence. If they wanted to stay and meditate or pray, they were welcome to. The instrumentalists played for another 20 minutes. Many people did not want to leave. The glow of the candles was mesmerizing. Eventually, the candles had burned down so much that I thought it was getting a bit dangerous so I called it, turned the lights back on, and everyone reluctantly left. Christmas began for us that night.
Other Thoughts
This year, we are planning on doing 3 waves of the labyrinth scheduled for 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30. It was so popularly requested, and our children's department has increased by 50 children, we absolutely need extra time. I would say that I think 30 people is about the largest group that should go through at a time. Our spiral was pretty large, but it is nice to keep the space cozy and intimate. There was such a quiet joy that reigned over the labyrinth, and I can see it not having quite the same feeling if it were really huge, and if you had to wait a really long time to have your turn. 40 minutes is a long time for littles to wait as is!
I hope that explains the labyrinth. If you have any more specific questions feel free to find me on facebook or email me at britany@centralfreemethodist.org
And now, the part you have all been waiting for, photos!
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