NEWBURYPORT — Overtaken by undergrowth, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church’s outdoor labyrinth had seen better days.
Today, however, visitors to the High Street church can once again follow its winding path after a local family took it upon themselves this summer to reverse years of nature having its way.
“It was a fascinating project for us, and I think it’s really a communitywide thing,” Blayney Colmore said.
A retired Episcopal priest himself, Colmore said that upon moving to the area two years ago, he and his wife discovered the labyrinth in need of some care.
“We enlisted our grandson, Gabe, who’s 18 and bigger and stronger than either of us, and the three of us went over there and it meant digging up all the stones because the path is marked by stones,” Colmore said.
As far as he could tell, the labyrinth was created in the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church side yard in 2005, dedicated in honor of the Rev. Roger Cramer, who retired as rector that year.
The labyrinth fell into disuse for a time while the church sponsored two Afghan refugee families, during which time it acted as the families’ side yard, according to Colmore.
“Gradually, the grass and the dirt grew over it,” Colmore said.
Digging and grass cutting took them roughly six weeks and was completed about the end of the summer. Throughout the process, he learned about how people use labyrinths.
“It’s a meditation exercise,” Colmore said. “It’s a prayer exercise. For me, it’s a way of calming down in the midst of the chaos we’re all living with right now. So it’s been a great adventure for us.”
Asked to describe the labyrinth, he said going in and out takes about 10 minutes.
“The way the labyrinth is designed, you enter and then you walk until you reach the center place, and then you pivot and walk it all over again, and it takes you out to where you came in,” Colmore said. “That’s the point of it, it is the beginning and the center and end of your life.”
At 86, he said it was exciting to take on such physical work, though he admitted he and his wife definitely needed their grandson.
“I’m not sure we could have accomplished it without Gabe, he was a force,” Colmore said.
A freshman at Oberlin College, Gabe Nelson said he was not exactly sure what he was getting himself into when he first agreed to help.
“But I had a lot of time on my hands this summer, and so I was like, ‘Why not?’” Nelson said.
When Nelson first saw the labyrinth, it was completely buried.
“So it was a little intimidating, as you might expect, but still exciting,” Nelson said.
The part of the work he said was most challenging was lifting all the stones that mark the path.
“It was hard work because the grass, especially on the outer layers, was really, really thick, and the ground was really packed together, so getting shovels and tools in there was hard and then just lifting all those stones out was hard,” Nelson said.
The end result made it well worth all the effort, Nelson added.
“I was very proud and very proud of my grandparents,” Nelson said.
While he is now off at college, Nelson said his grandparents have kept him updated on their project.
“I’ve been getting texts from my grandfather and he’s like, ‘Yeah, people have been walking on it,’” Nelson said. “And so just hearing that people are actually using the labyrinth is really, really awesome.”
Asked about the church’s involvement with the project, Colmore said they left it to the family and were very enthusiastic that it was getting done.
The Rev. Jarred Mercer did not respond to a request for comment in time for this report.
Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.