Children from St Mabyn C of E School were among over 250 who enjoyed a labyrinth adventure at St Mabyn Church during a labyrinth week organised by members of the church.

Seen as a divine imprint and found in Christian traditions in various forms all over the world, the labyrinth is a place of healing and celebration, a place where new direction for life is sought and found.

David Bishop, one of those who helped organise the event, said: “There was active involvement form everyone – the staff and children at St Mabyn School as well as the people in the community and church. It proved a most uplifting and inspiring addition to the life of the village and we are grateful to Revd Robert Thewsey of Boscastle who lent us the labyrinth canvas.”

During the week the labyrinth was laid out in the nave and three separate stations were created for those starting their labyrinth walk. Each station represented something different from Beginning which provided a time for silence and contemplation around the font, Burdens, which provided a bin under a picture called Amazing Grace to get rid of the rubbish from life and Seeds of Hope, an area by the pulpit where those taking part could plant seeds that would enable them to achieve more of what they were good at.

After the walk there were two further “stations”: Prayers of thanks, for the community, for families and for the world, and Reflections, which included “footprints, drawing and writing”.

David added: “There is clearly a need for us all to take ‘time out’ for contemplation and to reflect on our and the world’s Burdens and Seeds of Hope. The exit surveys gave many examples of deep thinking and humour that are never far away in so-called normal life!

“This was a starting point for exploring the nature of one’s spirituality. The aura in this very large, late medieval building is always calm and inspiring and bright sunlight pouring through the beautiful large stained glass windows is always uplifting and made the whole experience something which, in the words of many attending ‘must be taken to other churches!’.”

David and his team are happy to share their experiences of running a Labyrinth Week with other churches. To find out more contact David Bishop at david.bishop987@gmail.com