The Labyrinth in the Woods: A Community Resource in Honor of Susan Fitzgerald

From Pastor Mary

Susan Fitzgerald

Susan Fitzgerald has been dreaming about an outdoor labyrinth for many years. We are inviting you to help make that dream come true. First Parish Church and The Brunswick Topsham Land Trust are working jointly on an outdoor labyrinth that will be located on one of the BTLT trails near the Community Gardens just off Baribeau Drive. The setting is lovely, set gently into the wooded area, but with a clear view of the field. Our intention is for this labyrinth to be a spiritual resource to the wider community. We are very excited about this project and this opportunity to work together on a project for the whole community.

A labyrinth is a single path that winds around itself, drawing participants into a center space. People find that walking the labyrinth provides an opportunity for relaxation and spiritual reflection. We have a portable indoor labyrinth that Susan Fitzgerald and a group of people made over ten years ago. This labyrinth is set up in Fellowship Hall six times a year and open to the public. Many people from the wider community come to walk the path. We believe that a permanent outdoor labyrinth will make this spiritual practice available to many more people. In fact, we hope as word gets out that school groups may walk to the labyrinth and church groups may travel here to use this labyrinth.

We would like to raise the money for this project in just one month – this month of April. The estimated cost for this project is $35,000 to cover both construction and ongoing maintenance. This is an opportunity for all of us to express appreciation and gratitude to Susan for her loving ministry in the church over the last 16 years. It is also a way for us to reach out to the wider community with spiritual nurture. If 350 people (which is about half our church membership) each gave $100 we’d have the money we need. We are grateful for whatever gift you are able to give – no matter how small or large. I encourage parents to invite their children to give some of their own money as well. If you have friends outside the congregation that you believe would like to contribute, please invite them to do so. We’d like everyone to be a part of this project both in its construction and in its use. We will have an opening celebration when it is completed.

If you’d like to, you may bring gifts to worship (drop them in the wooden “church boxes” at the door) or send gifts to the office. Make your check out to First Parish Church, and note “Labyrinth Project” on the memo line. Additionally, you may give to the project through our e-Giving page by clicking here.