Labyrinth at Pioneer Congregational Church

At Pioneer Congregational Church in Sacramento, a historic congregation's grounds carry a permanent outdoor labyrinth, walked in the church's contemplative program. The Labyrinth Locator's record lists it as a Medieval 11-circuit Chartres replica.

Every labyrinth is a walking practice, not a puzzle: a single path winds to a center and back out, and the walk is done slowly, as prayer or meditation. The pattern descends from the medieval pavement labyrinth at Chartres, and the modern urban revival began in the 1990s when Lauren Artress brought replicas of that path to American congregations and public grounds through Veriditas and the Labyrinth Society, whose World-Wide Labyrinth Locator now catalogs thousands. There is no branching and no trick to the path; walkers of every religion and none use it.

Visiting

pioneerucc.org carries the site's own information and schedule.

Photo: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APioneer_Congregational_Church%2C_Sacramento%2C_California_(51030445238).jpg), CC BY-SA 2.0.