Mid-Coast Maine
First Parish Church, Brunswick, Maine
“People really are hungry for finding a deeper meaning in life,” says Susan Firzgerald, labyrinth director.
Fitzgerald calls labyrinth walks as “right-brain enhancers.” They encourage you to look at things from a different perspective, a way of looking at life without using your cognitive, rational mind. They can be especially helpful to those who have trouble quieting their minds.
“The idea of a circle as symbol of wholeness and unity is basic to so many cultures, throughout history,” says Fitzgerald. Indeed, many sacred structures—such as stupas, basilicas, and medicine wheels also use the circle.
The circle that is the thirty-foot indoor cloth labyrinth at First Parish Church, like the outdoor forty-two-foot labyrinth at Grace Episcopal Church in San Francisco, replicates the same intricately detailed eleven circuits at Chartres Cathedral and therefore is called a Chartres labyrinth.
Whispering Grove
The classical seven, circuit design David-Anthony Curtis used at his Phippsburg labyrinth, Whispering Grove, differs from the more elaborate Chartres design, and duplicates the oldest known labyrinth design, sometimes known as the Cretan or Celtic labyrinth.
The Whispering Grove labyrinth offers a wide range of planned labyrinth walks for almost every holiday and season, including full-moon celebrations. Go online at for directions, to check for events, and to be added to an e-mail list.
Although the circles and squares of many labyrinths in Europe are delineated by hedges of shrubbery, all of the ones designed by David-Anthony Curtis are marked with stones from the Maine landscape.
Sweestser Labyrinth
The Sweetser Labyrinth, is located at 174 Mere Point Road, behind the Sweetser Learning and Recovery Center—a center which serves adults who are recovering from the effects of trauma, mental illness and substance abuse.
“When we decided to have a healing garden, I knew I wanted a labyrinth,” said Sweetser’s program coordinator, Kelly Staples. Staples had walked the labyrinth at First Parish Church, she said. “I liked it and wanted to have one, too. I thought it would be a nice connection to the community and could be accessible to the public, as long as there isn’t snow on the ground.”
