By MARY RICHE
DES MOINES, Iowa, April 12, 2025 — Walking a candlelit labyrinth on Easter weekend has been a tradition at our Plymouth Church here since 2002.
This year, walkers will be welcomed on Good Friday, April 18, from noon to 9:30 p.m., and again on Holy Saturday, April 19, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. All are welcome, because, as our Plymouth slogan goes, “no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are always welcome here.”
The church is located 4126 Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines.
Labyrinths have been used for centuries as meditative tools for personal and spiritual transformation. The design in Plymouth’s 36-by-36-foot canvas labyrinth is ancient, replicating the most famous labyrinth, which is on the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France, dating back to the year 1200. It is not a maze.
Walking the Plymouth Labyrinth on Easter weekend.
All labyrinths include a symmetrical and balanced pathway that leads into the sacred center and out again, serving as a metaphor for one’s journey through life. This act of intentional walking engages body, mind and spirit in a way that seeks to quiet the mind while solely focusing on the present and leaving behind distractions.
Walking the labyrinth can be a form of prayer, resulting in a deeply personal transformative experience that offers insight, peace and connection to the universe. Many walkers believe it’s a way of winding into the center of self, adding a spiritual balm while connecting a person to the sacred within.
The Plymouth Labyrinth was first used as part of a weekend celebration in 2002 for two major additions to the main church building — Waveland Hall and a parking ramp. For the first several years, the labyrinth was stored in my garage and was offered at different times throughout Plymouth’s program year.
Our youth choir’s members provided the needed extra hands and brawn required to lift the container for transport, then to unload the heavy container at church. The Plymouth Labyrinth has also been loaned to other churches for use with their confirmation classes or other church programs. And in 2022, we loaned our labyrinth for use in Louisiana by Johns Hopkins University.
Plymouth volunteers have always been responsible for the labyrinth’s schedule, including the set-up and tear-down of the canvas, which takes up three-fourths of our Waveland Hall. They also do placement of the battery-powered candles around the large room; play soothing music with instrumental hymns, and they welcome all walkers when they arrive and depart.
Volunteers folding the labyrinth at Plymouth Church.
Since that annual Easter tradition began, storage of the labyrinth moved to the church. Another change upgraded the enormous original plastic crate with a more substantial bright pink container that has four wheels, one on each corner, making the task of moving the heavy canvas labyrinth much easier.
Another significant change occurred with the passing of time: The circle of original Plymouth Labyrinth volunteers had aged over those 20+ years and were becoming less physically able to set up and take down the heavy canvas.
About that same time, Plymouth’s “Stephen Ministers” decided to become more involved with the labyrinth. It was a Plymouth match made in Heaven (forgive the pun), and the relationship between the original volunteer circle and Stephen Ministers has continued and deepened Plymouth’s commitment to this annual Easter tradition.
One tradition that remains unchanged is the brief ceremony that blesses the folded canvas before it is returned to the container. After a short prayer, each volunteer signs the underside of the canvas and a group photo records the conclusion of another Easter weekend offering the labyrinth to walkers at Plymouth Church.
The signatures of labyrinth volunteers over the years.
Walking the Plymouth Labyrinth can be a simple, powerful practice that allows spiritual exploration, and I’ve walked many in the last four decades since a lifetime friend introduced me to my first walk on one.
Almost 25 years ago, her gift of this labyrinth blessed me, and I became the personal steward of this precious and sacred canvas. In turn, it will be my legacy gift to Plymouth Church for continued use this year and far into the future.
The volunteers in 2024.
A smaller glass labyrinth that some meditators “walk” with their fingers.
The labyrinth packed for storeage in the quickly-identifiable pink trunk.
Mary Riche has been worshiping at Plymouth since meeting Rev. Faith Ferre when they served together on the board of Children and Families of Iowa. Mary now calls herself “a woman in the pew” after more than 40 years of membership and volunteer service on many of the Plymouth boards. An earlier form of this story was published in the spring 2025 edition of Plymouth Magazine. You can comment by using the handy form below or by writing Mary directly at maryriche@gmail.com.
