The Mirror Newspapers Reflecting Life Along The Maumee River
BY NANCY GAGNET | MIRROR REPORTER — The simple brick path assembled in a circular shape inlaid in the grassy lot next to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Maumee is designed to invoke inner peace and enhance spirituality.
Parishioner Karen Scribner, who led efforts to raise funds for the recently installed prayer path, said her hope is to bring people into a “cultural relationship with God.”
“You can meditate or pray or offer up your worries – people can make the experience whatever they want it to be,” she said.
The pathway itself is circular or built in the shape of a labyrinth and is a single, winding path that leads to a larger center space dedicated to reflection and meditation.
The path is comprised of three main parts. The first is considered the journey inward, which is a time to open the heart and quiet the mind. It takes place upon entering, in which a person may meditate, offer a prayer or focus on a problem. The second part happens at the center of the path, where there is a space for reflection, meditation and receiving the Lord. Then, upon exiting or in the third part, participants are asked to take into the world, or return to the world, what they have learned through the experience.
“I use it just about everyday,” Scribner said. “We want people to take time and not rush through. We want people to be with God or whoever their higher power is. We want this to be welcoming not just to our church family but to our larger community as well – anyone can use it.”
Money to fund the project was raised through a donor brick campaign, which generated $6,035.89.
In addition to paying for the prayer path, which cost $3,777.34, the donor brick campaign helped to raise over $2,000 for Mosaic Ministries, an organization serving those in need in South Toledo.
