Susan V and the Labyrinth

It was a gorgeous day here today, made more beautiful by the worship service to celebrate the dedication and naming of the new prayer labyrinth at St. Paul School of Theology in honor of my good friend, Susan Sonnenday Vogel. The picture is of the back of our celebrant Adam Hamilton and those who helped in serving. Jim Simpson who preached profoundly and transcendently is to the right of the altar. Amidst spring time blossoms and the warmth of people who love her, Susan was recognized for her long tenure on the staff of St. Paul and especially for her steadfast and patient work with students in their spiritual formation. The labyrinth itself has been a dream of the Order of St. Luke for a number of years and it was a joy to see so many students whose hearts are gladdened by this mysterious way of seeking God while knowing that they are already found.

















The first labyrinth I walked was in New Harmony, IN---a labyrinth made up of tall bushes and well worn paths. The second, probably the one next to the New Life Center near the campus of SIU in Carbondale. Then the one that now is in the old parking lot of Westport UMC. Over the years I have had a growing love for that walk--and how it places me in the presence of God in a way nothing else can. There are no sharp corners or dead end paths...this is no turning path that turns us away from God, but a constant turning toward him. You have to keep going but God has laid the path. Something happens when you walk the labyrinth as fully open to the Spirit's guidance as you can. It is something that is to be savored and placed down deep inside, and to allow to rise up when life doesn't just become circuitous but becomes chaos. There is order, not a stagnant thing that enslaves our spirits, but a way of walking our lives that brings joy instead of hysteria, wholeness instead of the compartmental, presence instead of mere remembrance.

Thank you St Paul and but mostly thanks Susan, who has been there to listen to me through these last five year when the times when my life has turned to chaos, when I have felt my soul enslaved and who always encourages me to think beyond what is into what could be.