Labyrinth

More Than a Labyrinth

Grace Church’s community labyrinth, at the corner of North B Street and 12th Street, offers a welcoming place for reflection, prayer, and connection. Designed for people of all ages and abilities, its accessible path invites visitors to slow down, quiet their minds, and spend time in the present. Whether you come alone or with others, walking the labyrinth offers an opportunity to connect with yourself, your community, and the natural world.

The labyrinth brings to life a longstanding community vision for Kittitas County. Its development draws on the talents of local artists, gardeners, landscapers, disability advocates, spiritual practitioners, and members of Grace Church and other faith communities. The site also holds a special place in the church’s history: in March 2021, the Right Reverend Gretchen Rehberg, Bishop of Spokane, joined church leaders and project representatives to bless it from each of the four cardinal directions.

At the heart of the project is a commitment to accessibility and environmental care. The need for a firm, accessible walking surface inspires a broader approach to the surrounding landscape—one that brings together sustainable gardening, recycled materials, and art. With guidance from local landscaper Heather Kestrel, the project embraces hügelkultur, a gardening method that uses logs, branches, leaves, and other organic materials to build raised beds and mounds. These features create additional planting space, retain moisture, and help slow stormwater runoff while putting garden debris to use rather than sending it to landfills or burn piles.

Mycelium—the network of fungal threads that grows through soil and organic matter—is another part of this approach. By helping break down organic materials and recycle nutrients, fungi support the living soil on which healthy landscapes depend. Together, these practices encourage visitors to consider how small changes in their own gardens can help care for soil and water.

A partnership with the Ellensburg Glass Recycling Co-op brings another dimension to the project. Its design incorporates recycled glass, including bottles for raised-bed walls, and demonstrates possibilities for using raw sand, sieved sand, and tumbled glass. These materials connect practical reuse with creative expression, showing how discarded objects can become useful and beautiful parts of a landscape.

More than a place to walk, the community labyrinth brings contemplation, creativity, and care for the earth into one shared space. It expresses Grace Church’s commitment to Creation Care and invites everyone to take part—through quiet reflection, time together, or a renewed awareness of the world around us.