Prayer Labyrinth

The walk toward the center is a time of letting go. With each step, release the details of your busy life, shedding thoughts and emotions, quieting and emptying your mind.

The prayer labyrinth here at First Presbyterian Church is one of seven in Sarasota and is based on the 11-circuit labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral in France. The labyrinth was constructed using bricks from the original street built in 1928 that ran in front of the church. The street was named Bowman Court after one of the pastors at FPC. For a century, the saints of First Presbyterian Church have walked in and out of the worship space of the church. It seemed only right to honor those generations of Christians to create another sacred path using those same bricks.

In 2006, after a back-hoe dug up the bricks of Bowman Court, several dedicated members hand-selected the ones that were used for the project. It has been estimated that 37.5 tons of bricks were hand placed on pallets to be used by the Portuguese team who then laid the bricks into the labyrinth. Also included was the construction of a 2-foot high wall around the periphery to separate the sacred space from the parking lot and Fellowship Hall. It was not realized until after the project was completed that this wall created a phenomenon of sound amplification when standing in the center of the labyrinth.

May you be nourished.