Dedication ceremony planned for Labyrinth at Chandlers Landing

Drone photo by Chandlers Landing resident Evan Matteson.

ROCKWALL, TX (May 25, 2022) – Unless you live inside the gates of Chandlers Landing in Rockwall, you may not be aware of the beautifully designed labyrinth located across from the guard house, bordering Yacht Club Drive.

The Labyrinth at Chandlers Landing is the hard work and realization of several community residents and volunteers, including Holy Trinity by the Lake Episcopal Church of Heath member Herb Moltzan and his wife Jan, a licensed labyrinth facilitator with the international labyrinth organization known as Veriditas; graphic artist Linda Oistad and her husband Erik, an engineer who executed the design of the Labyrinth; and community resident Jan Self. According to Self, the Labyrinth at Chandlers Landing is a copy of a labyrinth inside the Chartres Cathedral in France, circa 1215 AD.

Self dreamed of creating the Labyrinth at Chandlers Landing for a long time. She often walks the labyrinth painted on the back parking lot of Holy Trinity, as well as other labyrinths she discovers across Texas.

“I love labyrinths!” she wrote in The Mainsheet, the community newsletter of Chandlers Landing. “People around the world use the labyrinth to quiet the mind, find balance, and encourage meditation, insight and celebration.”

Self pointed out that unlike a maze – which is a puzzle – a labyrinth is a journey. A maze may have multiple entrances, exits and dead ends, with different choices of paths and directions. A labyrinth features a single non-branching path which leads to the center and exits back the same direction, with only one entrance/exit.

“When you start a labyrinth progression, your awareness shifts to your steps; your outside thoughts and distractions fade away. The pathway serves as both a visual and a physical cue, helping you turn your attention inward, toward the prayer, challenge, or emotion upon which you are working,” she explained. “Often I have set out upon walking the labyrinth with a problem/question. An answer or direction usually comes to me during my time. Other times I walk it with no purpose and find joy with my spirit.”

The center mosaic within the Labyrinth was created by the Winnsboro Mosaic Guild. It is a compass atop the Chandlers Landing burgee (logo). Photo courtesy of Jan Self.

A formal dedication of the Labyrinth at Chandlers Landing is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 16, when community residents are invited to recognize all those who made the project possible. In the event of rain, the dedication will be held the next evening. Those not living within Chandlers Landing are welcome to experience the labyrinth when accompanied by a community resident.

“Experience The Labyrinth at Chandlers Landing! Use it, own it, claim it. It is to be enjoyed by all ages,” Self wrote to her neighbors in the newsletter. There are numerous people to thank for their contributions of knowledge, execution, muscle and fervent belief in the project. I will recognize them by name at our upcoming celebratory dedication.”

By Dawn Redig, Blue Ribbon News.