Transformation

The St Luke's land is slowly transforming into a space the community can use. There are old and new trees, gardens, a Labyrinth, paths, grass and some seating. It's certainly softened the landscape.

This shows part of the Labyrinth made with the help of the Student Army out of old bricks and masonry from the destroyed building. The plantings are starting to take hold and the whole corner of Manchester and Kilmore Streets looks more inviting. Soon there will be green spaces on the other corners too as part of new city plan.

In the background you can see a little of a damaged complex of apartments. The row on the right is uninhabitable but people still live in the row on the left.

We don't yet know the fate the any future building of St Lukes. That fate lies with the powerful institution of the Anglican church, which like all other powerful institutions is pretty much what you'd expect.

The parish offers this outdoor Labyrinth to the city as a place for quiet, reflection, and spiritual nourishment. Here's a bit about it.

"The Labyrinth is an ancient path of wisdom, healing and peace, found in many major religious traditions and cultures around the world, and dates back at least 5,000 years.

A Labyrinth is sometimes compared to the more familiar maze. However, they are quite different. A maze has many paths. It is used as a puzzle, a game, a competitive engagement of the mind. A Labyrinth, however, is a symbol of a long forgotten mystical tradition - the path to the sacred centre.

Walking a Labyrinth is a form of wordless prayer, a spiritual pilgrimage - without having to travel to another country! Requiring about 30 - 45 minutes to walk, a distance of almost half a kilometer, a Labyrinth has only one path that leads slowly to the centre and back again by the same path. Many people find that walking this path naturally quietens the mind and helps them become more centred and in touch with their spiritual nature".

Tomorrow I'm to off to climb a steep, jagged and rocky part of the Torlesse Range known as The Gap.