Labyrinth & Sacred Garden

Creating pathways to spiritual insight and renewal since 2002

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Nestled in the back corner of Millbrook’s campus, you’ll find North Raleigh’s most unique, inclusive, and accessible space for worship. For more than 20 years, an extended community of believers have cultivated a garden rich in history and meaning.

What is a Labyrinth:

A labyrinth is an ancient spiritual tool found in multiple religious traditions. Labyrinths can be found throughout history and in various forms around the world.

Millbrook’s labyrinth is the Chartres design with a single, winding, circuitous path into and out of the center.

A Symbol of Millbrook

The Millbrook labyrinth is a meaningful symbol of our faith. Adorned with dozens of native plants, and ever-changing with the seasons, she reminds us of God’s beautiful creation. She is accessible. And peaceful, too. Always ready to meet us, comfort us, listen to us, despite the busyness of the world. And while she may be similar to a maze, she’s not the same thing. There are no dead ends or forking roads here. There is one path that leads to the center. She offers space to wander and wonder. She twists and turns, allowing us to see all sorts of perspectives. She reminds us that in God, we can never be lost, and in God, we can always come home.

Millbrook Baptist Church Labyrinth Archway Raleigh NC

Walking the Labyrinth

The Journey

The winding path of the labyrinth is a metaphor of life’s journey with its many twists and turns. It also symbolizes a pilgrim’s walk with God. The labyrinth experience is different each time one walks. Often people find peace, solace, release and a deep sense of joy as they meditate and pray on the labyrinth.

The Fellowship

Individuals or small groups of 3 – 4 may walk MBC’s labyrinth at any time.
When walked with a community of people, the walk is a shared journey which can be unifying and empowering.

If you would like to bring a larger group, please call the church office at 919-876-1519 to reserve a time.

The labyrinth is easily accessible to wheelchairs, walkers, and crutches. For those who do not wish to walk, benches are provided in the garden area for reflection and meditation.

Labyrinth & Sacred Garden Raleigh Millbrook Baptist Church

Worship Services

Millbrook Baptist Church offers several community-wide worship services on the labyrinth each year, including an animal blessing in the fall, an advent-themed walk, and an Easter sunrise service. Be sure to check our church calendar and website for updates.

The Process

Sometimes it is helpful to think about your walk as having three parts.

RELEASING

RELEASING is the walk toward the center, letting go of the details of life, shedding thoughts and emotions. It empties and quiets the mind.

RECEIVING

RECEIVING is when you reach the center. It is a place of meditation and prayer. Receive what is there for you.

RETURNING

RETURNING is the walk out which empowers you to take what you have received and move back into the world, replenished and directed.

There is no need to rush your walk.
A typical walk usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes.

Labyrinth Meditations

Not sure where to begin or how to get started?
Check out these guided meditations. New content is added on a seasonal basis.

Click below to view all 4 meditations. You can print one or all of them to bring with you to the labyrinth.

4 Labyrinth Meditations

Millbrook Baptist Church Raleigh NC building

LABYRINTH MEDITATION #1 - THE PATH

Consider this meditation as you enter the labyrinth today. How might God guide your path? And what might you bring – joy, sorrow, anxiety, even a sense of playfulness – to share with God at the center?

The Path
as found in Celtic Blessings: Prayers for Everyday Life by Ray Simpson

God bless the path on which you go.
God bless the earth beneath your feet.
God bless your destination.
God be a smooth way before you,
A guiding star above you,
A keen eye behind you
This day, this night, and forever.

God be with you whatever you pass.
Jesus be with you whatever you climb.
Spirit be with you wherever you stay.

As you leave the center and re-enter the world, hear this as a blessing for the week ahead. May you find a sense of peace, and may know that you are created in the image of and celebrated by a loving God.

A Celtic Prayer
Sister Susan, Nada Hermitage, Crestone Colorado

Deep peace of the shing star to you,
Deep peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep joy of the leaping fire to you,
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.

God be with you at each stop and each sea,
At each lying down and each rising up,
In the trough of the waves,
on the crest of the billows
each step of the journey you take.

LABYRINTH MEDITATION #2 - THE SEARCH

Consider this meditation as you enter the labyrinth today. What have you been searching for? What are you still searching for? What’s getting in the way of what you really seek?

Give Up Your Endless Searching
by Christine Valters Painter

Lay down your map and compass,
and those dog-eared travel guides.
Rest your weary eyes from so much looking,
your tired feet from so much wandering,
your aching heart from so much hoping.

Lay down on the soft green grass
wet with morning dew, and watch as
the tree heavy with pendulous pears
bends her long branches toward you,
offering you perfection in every sweet bite.

Give up the weight of knowing,
for the reverence of quiet attention
and curiosity, for the delight of
juice that runs in generous streams
down your chin.

As you leave the center and re-enter the world, hear this as a blessing for the week ahead. There is gratitude in our universe for you! And for what you will bring into the world with you. And you are held in the hands of a loving God, who will support you in your journey. Always.

Thanks to Thee, O God, that I have risen today,
To the rising of this life itself;
May it be to Thine own glory, O God of every gift,
And to the glory of my soul likewise.
O great God, aid Thou my soul
With the aiding of Thine own mercy;
Even as I clothe my body with wool,
Cover Thou my soul with the shadow of Thy wing.
Help me to avoid every sin,
And the source of every sin to forsake;
And as the mist scatters on the crest of the hills,
May each ill haze clear from my soul, O God.

This Gaelic grace was collected by Alexaner Carmichael in the nineteenth century and used in Avery Brooke’s Celtic Prayers.

LABYRINTH MEDITATION #3 - THE JOURNEY

Consider this meditation as you enter the labyrinth today. Where is your journey headed? Who and what are accompanying you? What might bring a sense of clarity, purpose, and direction as you move to the center?

Prayer Song from Ghana
as found in The Soul of a Pilgrim by Christine Valters Painter

Journeying God,
Pitch your tent with mine so that I may not be deterred
by hardship, strangeness, doubt.
Show me the movement I must make
toward a wealth not dependent on possessions,
toward a wisdom not based on books,
toward a strength not bolstered by might,
toward a god not confined to heaven.
Help me to find myself as I walk in others’ shoes.

Know this, wherever your journey takes you, God holds you in loving hands. May you experience God’s presence in every sense, and through every expression of the season.

Beloved, Lord Almighty God,
Through the rays of the sun,
Through the waves of the air,
Through the all-pervading life in space
Purify me and revivify me,
And, I pray, heal my body, heart, and soul.
Amen.

Nayaz by Hazrat Inayat Khan

LABYRINTH MEDITATION #4 - THREE-FOLD PRAYER

One way to pray at our labyrinth is to use a medieval practice for a three-fold act of prayer.

FIRST MOVEMENT – ENTERING
The first step is letting go. Ancients called this “purgation.” As you walk into the labyrinth let go of worries, busy thoughts, and emotions. These “purging” prayers are a way of cleaning your spiritual windows.

SECOND MOVEMENT – CENTERING
When you reach the center of the labyrinth, rest. You may want to sit down, or even lay on your back. Feel the warmth of the sun on your face. Is the surface of the labyrinth cool or warm? Look up and around. Notice the sky, the trees, the vegetation around you. Listen for the chimes. Here, you are seeking “illumination.” Now that you have cleaned your windows, let the light come in. Seek a word from God.

THIRD MOVEMENT – RETURNING
As you retrace your steps through the labyrinth, remember that the presence of God goes before you. Reflect on the insights or blessings you’ve received. Seek “union” with God as you unwind and return to what you left behind – strengthened by the provisions you received from God.

Gardening Days

It takes many hands to maintain the beauty and serenity of this sacred space. The Labyrinth Committee organizes bi-monthly opportunities to address seasonal upkeep and maintenance. Volunteers are always welcome! Email the church office office@millbrookbaptistchurch.org for additional details.