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Rector and church celebrate building of new meditation labyrinth

First published: Saturday, October 20, 2007
Albany Times/Union

The Rev. Mary White: Rector at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Albany, which celebrates its new meditation labyrinth with a dinner on Wednesday.

Background: 51. Born and raised in Arizona, she graduated from the University of Arizona, received a reading specialist certification from California State University, earned a master's of divinity degree from the University of San Diego and is pursuing a doctor of ministry degree at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Evanston, Ill.

She moved to Colonie five years ago with her husband, John, and their three children after serving at churches in California and Arizona.

Tell us about your church's meditation labyrinth.

Labyrinths are an ancient symbol. They are actually pre-Christian in origin but have become Christianized over time. They are different from a maze because there is only one way in and out, which is symbolic of following the one path to God. In the past, people who couldn't afford a trip to the Holy Land walked them, which represented their own pilgrimage. Today, labyrinths are used by many different religions for meditation, reflection and prayer. Who's building the labyrinth at St. Andrew's?

Boy Scout Troop 2, one of the oldest in the city, has been meeting at our church for more than 100 years. Andrew Cohen, an Eagle Scout candidate, wanted to do something for our congregation. I had walked through a labyrinth at a retreat, and our music director is a member of a labyrinth society. We thought that building one would make a great Eagle Scout project. Andrew did all of the research and is almost finished with the construction. It's been just awesome to watch his progress, brick by brick. He really deserves all the credit.

How will it be used?

We wanted to build the labyrinth outside to make the parish more of a neighborhood church and offer people, not just church members, a place to pray day or night. It's a quiet place for people to go to meditate and reflect on what's going on in their lives. When it's completed, there will be a St. Andrew's cross in the middle, to remind us as we walk on God's path.

When will it be open to the public?

People can check it out now -- it's located on the corner of our property at Madison and Main avenues near the church entrance, between the St. Andrew's sign and a tree on the lot. We will officially introduce it to the community at a church dinner, which will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

This type of event, which is open to everyone, is new for our church and we're really excited about it.

-- Jennifer Patterson