Amazing how a simple triangle with right angles and right proportions can help make a circle. That was the genius of Robert Ferre, "geometrician of the sacred," who led the "Seeking the Symmetry of the Soul" conference at Louisville Seminary last week. Forty people learned how to do the geometry and the lay out classical and Chartres style labyrinths in the classroom. About 15 people stayed for the second part of the experience--building a brick lined, 11-circuit, Chartres-style labyrinth on the grounds of Historic Farmington in Louisville. The picture above is the early work of laying bricks in place to create the circles that are the basis of the labyrinth. That group included folks from Ontario Canada and Maryland and North Carolina and Florida who were here to learn to put a labyrinth together in their places of worship.
Building the labyrinth was a joint venture of Louisville Seminary and its Biennial Labyrinth Conference, and Farmington, the historical foundation preserving the home of the Speed family in Louisville on Bardstown Road, and Sullivan University, right next to Farmington.
The Chaplain/Wellness Director at Sullivan, Dr. Renee Rust-Yarmuth, a trained labyrinth facilitator herself, has been wanting a labyrinth to use in her work with students so she was a strong force in pulling this three-way collaboration together. She was able to call into action the inspiring ethos of inter-departmental collaboration within Sullivan University to make this a reality. I was moved by the willingness of administrators and facilities workers to lend their resources to make the event so successful.
The cooperation of Farmington, with its director Andrea and the properties committee chair Herb Shulhafer was also gratifying. Herb found enthusiastic donors of the bricks needed for the project (about 4000 altogether) in the Russells of Lee Brick and Block Company.
Stop by Farmington at 3033 Bardstown Road and see the labyrinth created at the back of the property. It's a "liberty labyrinth" in tribute to the slaves who worked those fields. A truly redemptive project.
