L8r | Reimagining Worship Conference, Clapton Park URC, London | May 1998

'Reimagining Worship' was a gathering of alternative worship groups at the church of Feast (called Host at the time). Live On Planet Earth (as they were then) staged their labyrinth service. This would develop into the St. Paul's Cathedral Labyrinth.

There were four parts to the installation: 'God' (the labyrinth), and separate stations called 'Self', 'Planet' and 'Others'. The stations meant that people were not queueing to go on the labyrinth or overcrowding it. The service ran for at least two hours to give plenty of time.

In the background are musicians, and someone speaking an 'overarching meditation' which labyrinth walkers can tune in or out of. There are also some things on the labyrinth, which had separate in and out paths unlike the traditional forms.

My flash went off by accident (I had only just started taking photos of worship events), but you can see what is actually happening. LOPE had a circular cloth, which they expanded with tape on the floor. See here for how it was made. People walk the labyrinth without shoes. There are soft wool and sharp stones to be walked on!