Our stories and the connections we make are the threads that bind us together on the path of life, weaving a beautiful tapestry of shared experiences, hopes and dreams. 

"We tell our stories to remember who we are and what matters to us. Our stories are stepping stones on our journeys. In telling our stories we touch our souls. Listening connects us to each other, deepening the importance of our stories.” 

 ~adapted from Barbara Hamilton Holway     

In this qualifying workshop we will engage in the intuitive spiritual practices of the Labyrinth and Soul Collage® to reflect and listen deeply. 

There will be space for sharing stories, soul care, for tears and laughter and all that is between.

This workshop is an invitation to take intentional time out of the routine of your daily life, joining others for rest and renewal both individually and collectively in community. 

Sharry Nyberg:  is Co-Founder of Glide into Grace Retreats. She is passionate about sharing the labyrinth with others, training with the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress in San Francisco in 2002 and becoming a Veriditas certified Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator in 2019.  She is a trained SoulCollage® Facilitator and a creator of art. She retired after serving the United Church of Christ for over 21 years and continues to lead retreats, workshops and creative opportunities, as a spiritual companion on the journey, holding sacred space for others to experience and engage in rituals and practices noticing moments of sacred-nicity.

The Virtual Facilitator Training, led by the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress, will be held online Sunday through Thursday each afternoon from 2:00 pm - 5:30 pm pacific time. We will mail you the Facilitator Training manual so you will have it to follow along with in the class. There will be plenty of time for questions along with the didactic material. Programs will be held on Zoom and you will be sent the link to join once you register.

The goal of Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator Training is to prepare people to introduce others to the labyrinth in an articulate, professional and effective way.The training addresses meditative walking in a variety of settings, with a variety of different populations. It is focused primarily on the Eleven Circuit Medieval Labyrinth but is inclusive of all forms.

Walking the labyrinth is being embraced as a spiritual practice throughout the Western world mostly because of Veriditas trained facilitators. The Veriditas Facilitator Training -- which began in 1997 -- remains the most rigorous and comprehensive training offered. 

How to know if Facilitator Training is right for you?

• Want to deepen your own labyrinth practice?
• Want the tools and guidance that will enable you to bring the labyrinth to your community?
• Want to connect with a supportive community of Labyrinth Facilitators around the world?
• Find yourself heading up a labyrinth program at your church, school, hospital, college etc. and need broad training and/or specific answers?
• Considering offering labyrinth walking as part of your healing, counseling, yoga or  coaching business and are curious about the business considerations involved?
• Love the labyrinth and want to offer workshops of your own? Consider completing Facilitator Training on the path to becoming Certified, Advance Trained and Accredited. Our Veriditas Accredited Presenters are now offering some of our qualifying workshops.

We encourage you to join us! 

Please note: prior attendance at a Veriditas qualifying workshop is required. The online workshop prior to this training considered a qualifying workshop.

Learn more about becoming a Veriditas Trained Facilitator.

Payment plans are available - please select that option when you register.

The Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress

As we approach the 2024 election,  we are all aware of the prevailing tension and anxiety in our nation and in our world.    The season of Samhain, All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day is time when the veils of consciousness  are thin and it is  more possible to attune to the wisdom of the ancestors, the saintly ones and to our precious Earth, herself— in short a perfect time to gather the spiritual circle to share ways to navigate these times.  

Because we have needed to postpone the in person Women’s Dream Quest at Grace Cathedral, we have the opportunity to offer this on line gathering to our greater community.  

We will offer: 

• The  psychospiritual exercises of the Women’s Dream Quest
• Practices to maintain our Equanimity 
• Facilitated Small groups
• Songs of the Quest
• Live music for handheld labyrinth walks
• An opportunity to build an altar to your beloved ancestors as a way to commemorate the Day of the Dead and to share stories with other participants.

Facilitated by:

Judith Tripp, MA MFT,  is a transpersonal psychotherapist, pilgrimage leader and musician. She is on the Veriditas faculty and teaches at Chartres Cathedral.  She has led the Women’s Dream Quest at Grace Cathedral for 37 years as well as other venues all over the world.    She also  leads pilgrimages to Iona, Portugal and Avalon.  Judith has created the  musical offerings Homage, Return Again, and To Bless the Walk and authored the Book: Circleway, The Story of the Women’s Dream Quest.  More information on Circleway.com. 

Small group leaders from the Women’s Dream Quest

Music: Diana Stork will play live harp music for our online labyrinth walk.

Note:  Judith will facilitate the Veriditas Handheld Labyrinth on Friday Nov 1.

Please make an altar including photographs of your beloved ancestors that can be seen by the camera.

Have a Handheld Labyrinth at the Ready.

Join Veriditas Accredited Labyrinth Facilitators Lars Howlett and Mary Ann Wamhoff to learn about labyrinths, experience a group walk, and explore the history and folklore of labyrinths. Lars and Mary Ann will share applications and approaches for walking including their stories and provide opportunities for reflection and optional sharing. Lars will discuss the myths and mystery of Classical Labyrinths in Sweden based on his research and visits to islands in the Baltic Sea. Mary Ann will lead us in practices for unblocking and accessing a fertile creative process. 

How were archetypal labyrinths used in Scandinavia? What ways are people walking labyrinths today? When have labyrinths appeared throughout history and why is there a resurgence today? Join us for a day of insight and inspiration as we travel these winding paths together!

While the main workshop (above) is for adults, children are welcome to the afternoon finger labyrinth crafting class and evening full moon labyrinth walk listed below.

Create your Own Handheld Finger Labyrinth, 4-6p, $50 (light dinner provided)
This 2-hour workshop will provide you with a simple method and everyday materials for drawing a labyrinth and creating your own handheld design. Practices for labyrinth ‘finger walks’ will be introduced, and you can take your labyrinth home.

Full Day Combined Workshop and Craft Registration, $125 (save $25)

Facilitated Full Moon Labyrinth Walk, 7p, free with RSVP (donations accepted)

To register, please email Mary Ann Wamhoff at cslabyrinth@outlook.com

Lars Howlett

Lars Howlett is a leading expert in the design and creation of sacred space for walking meditation, centering prayer, personal healing, conflict resolution and community building. Lars is a practitioner of mindfulness and student of sacred geometry since 2003, experimenting with a wide variety of designs, materials, intentions and settings in his personal and professional projects. Universities, churches, health centers, retirement communities, mental health centers, retreats, and individuals find Lars for inspiration and insight in creating exact replicas of historical patterns or one-of-a-kind artistic installations. 

Lars was a three year apprentice to Robert Ferré, inheriting the tools, techniques, and teaching curriculum of a master builder. Lars is a Veriditas Faculty Member and Certified Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator trained by the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress at Grace and Chartres Cathedrals. He was the Chairperson of World Labyrinth Day from 2013-18.

Lars is an inspiring teacher and passionate speaker on the history, spirituality, and practice of walking labyrinths, leading workshops to cultivate inner wisdom for personal transformation with slideshows of personal projects and visits to sacred sites on four continents. www.DiscoverLabyrinths.com

Mary Ann Wamhoff

After training with Lauren Artress in Chartres, Mary Ann became a Veriditas Advanced Accredited Labyrinth Facilitator. She has walked labyrinths since at least 1995, has studied with Caroline Myss, Andrew Harvey, Mirabai Starr, and Matt Fox among others, and is a Reiki Master. She regularly facilitated public walks sponsored by the Labyrinth Resource Group of Santa Fe, and spearheaded and helped build a 48-foot Chartres-style labyrinth. She is presently introducing her new Virginian community to the joys of labyrinth walking! As a Veriditas Council member, she supports facilitators in listening to what people need and is excited about being part of the Veriditas Inclusion Initiative. Coming from a tradition that believes in the unseen, she has both felt and seen the labyrinth's amazing power! 

Imagination is the most powerful tool we have to make sense of the complex world and times in which we live. In this retreat we will explore what our lives might look like if we used our imagination to direct our energy and passion towards the longings of our Soul. Using the labyrinth and SoulCollage®, Lauren Artress and Catherine Anderson will guide you to discover new ways to reclaim, replenish and rediscover your imagination.

This retreat offers you to a time of stillness from the outside world in which to nourish your soul, still your mind and explore your imagination. We will explore how you can use your imagination as an inner compass … a gateway to your inner world … a decoder for an often noisy, messy and complex outer world. You’ll spend each day nourishing your connection to your interior world while learning new ways to direct and focus your energy into creating the world you want for yourself and others.

Through Lauren’s deep and rich labyrinth teachings and Catherine’s SoulCollage® practices, the creative landscape of the imagination comes alive as you explore new practices to befriend, strengthen and bring clarity to your imagination.

In addition to a rich selection of collage images, participants will receive their own book of “Imaginary Images” to use in the retreat as well as a box of SoulCollage® supplies which will include 12 blank cards and clear bags and glue stick. No labyrinth or SoulCollage® experience is necessary to attend this retreat.

If you would like accommodation at the Mercy Center for the duration of the Retreat, please select the accommodation option during the registration process. Overnight accommodation is $150 for Friday and Saturday night and includes breakfast and dinner.

Catherine Anderson, Faculty

cathy@catherineandersonstudio.com

The labyrinth Catherine constructed in her backyard in 2007 has been an important element in her mindfulness and creativity practices and Catherine loves showing others how the labyrinth can support us in quietening our mind and uncover our creativity. She is the author of Journaling the Labyrinth Path, a book of finger labyrinths, quotes and journal prompts inspiring you to find your unique work in the world, and Meeting Your Soul on the Labyrinth: SoulCollage® and the Labyrinth as Pathways for Transformation.

Catherine uses the labyrinth, SoulCollage®, expressive arts, poetry and mindfulness as pathways for self-discovery and as ways of uncovering meaning and purpose in life. Her personal journey of self-discovery has taken her from a career as an attorney to photography-franchise owner, to creativity-workshop facilitator.

Photography is another creative passion for Catherine and her book The Creative Photographer won a Silver Nautilus Award in the Creative Process Category in 2012.  As a SoulCollage® Facilitator Trainer, Catherine loves teaching others how to facilitate workshops using the SoulCollage® process which uses images as a form of “soul language” to access our inner wisdom.

As a life-long learner, Catherine has been fortunate to train with Jean Houston, Seena Frost, Lauren Artress, Jan Phillips and many other wise teachers. In addition to her work in the US, Catherine leads creative pilgrimage retreats in South Africa, France, Italy, Mexico and Portugal.

www.CreativePilgrimage.com

And co-taught with:

The Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress

Lauren is the grandmother of the modern day Labyrinth movement and is the Founder of Veriditas. She is the author of: Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool (Putnam/Riverhead Books, New York), The Sand Labyrinth Kit, (Tuttle Publishers), The Sacred Path Companion: A Guide to Walking the Labyrinth to Heal and Transform (Riverhead, 2006) and most recently, The Path of the Holy Fool: How the Labyrinth Ignites Our Visionary Powers (Rose Petal Press, 2020). In May of 2006, Lauren's rediscovery of the labyrinth was honored by Grace Cathedral and she was designated Honorary Canon, a lifetime title.

*Will be taught in Cantonese*
By invitation only.

The goal of Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator Training is to prepare people to introduce others to the labyrinth in an articulate, professional and effective way. The training addresses meditative walking in a variety of settings, with a variety of different populations. It is focused primarily on the Eleven Circuit Medieval Labyrinth but is inclusive of all forms.

Walking the labyrinth is being embraced as a spiritual practice throughout the Western world mostly because of Veriditas trained facilitators. The Veriditas Facilitator Training -- which began in 1997 -- remains the most rigorous and comprehensive training offered. 

Educational Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, attendees will be able to enhance knowledge about labyrinth in general and specifically, design the labyrinth events, present the labyrinth to and hold labyrinth walks for the attendee’s community.

Dates and Locations:

Day 1 2-Dec-2024 (Monday)

Time 9:30 to 17:00

Venue Tao Fung Shan Christian Centre, Tai Wai, Hong Kong SAR, China 新界沙田道風山尊道廳

Transportation Minibus is booked to leave Tai Wai MTR station at 9:10am, and Tao Fung Shan Christian Centre at 17:10. Please indicate your request for a seat in the application form.

Day 2 9-Dec-2024 (Monday)

Time 9:30 to 17:30

Venue HKSKH The Church of St John the Baptist, 103 Po Lam Rd N, Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong SAR, China 新界將軍澳寶琳北路103號聖公會施洗聖約翰堂一樓良善室 (Entrance located at King Yin Lane, 入口位於敬賢里)

Enrolment: By invitation (For the participants who attended the Veriditas Qualifying Workshop on August 15,2022)

Facilitator Trainer: Dr LAM, Chi-Shan

Number of participants: 12

Enrolment: By invitation (Prior attendance of a Veriditas Qualifying Workshop is a pre-request)

Workshop Fee: HK$3,300 (Please contact the Hong Kong Labyrinth Society for payment method)

Teaching language: Cantonese (Supplement with English training manual)

Enquiry: Hong Kong Labyrinth Society

Mobile: (852)59897374

Email contact: info@hongkonglabyrinthsociety.org

Remark: Administrative and application process will be handled by the Hong Kong Labyrinth Society. Personal information and course evaluation will be shared with the Veriditas after the workshop.

Facilitator Trainer: Dr LAM, Chi-Shan

Dr. Chi-Shan Lam is a specialist Anaesthesiologist serving in public hospital in Hong Kong. He is a candidate of the Professional Doctorate in Practical Theology. His ongoing thesis “Labyrinth, Spirituality and Theology” is based on his research “A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of labyrinth walking on chronic pain patient” which is kindly supported by the Hong Kong Pain Society research grant (2015).

Dr. Lam is a Veriditas facilitator trainer/faculty who has been offering qualifying workshop for the local communities since 2019, and facilitator training workshop since 2021. He is one of the founders of the Hong Kong Labyrinth Society.

The labyrinth is an interactive field of memory, information and creative potential, offering metaphors for wherever you are on life’s journey. Could it offer us a cosmic map or a pattern for how the universe is unfolding through us? How can we tune into the field of the labyrinth and discover for ourselves what the labyrinth offers?

Come take a peek at some of the wisdom and metaphors embedded in the labyrinth experience, while discovering ways of interacting with the labyrinth to inspire you on your quest and support you in turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones. Bringing new insights from her recent Walking a Sacred Path pilgrimage to Chartres, Laura invites us into questions of personal and cosmic relevance inspired by the teachings of Brian Thomas Swimme, Lauren Artress, Phil Cousineau, and many more. 

You will emerge from the experience with an expanded understanding of how to relate with the labyrinth in this unfolding quest we call life.

Laura Esculcas, Faculty

With passion for myth and metaphor, Laura curates wisdom journeys and immersion experiences in Portugal’s mystical landscape. Laura is co-founder of EarthShamans, a SoulCollage® facilitator, and teaches Energetics of Art with Ubiquity University Wisdom School. She is trained in Sacred Landscapes, Intuitive Feng Shui, and the Personessence™ System of Understanding People. Laura holds both an M.A. in Wisdom Studies and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.

Originally from the US and having worked in Silicon Valley for over ten years in high tech operations and management, Laura moved to Portugal to pursue her dream of an integrated life lived as a sacred journey shared with others. Now informed by more than ten years of immersion in the Portugal ecofield, Laura uniquely blends depth of experience, keen curiosity, and genuine open-heartedness as she facilitates wisdom journeys and pilgrimage experiences into Portugal's place-based myths.

Laura first met the labyrinth in 2001, on an Advent Quiet Day in Santa Cruz, California. Since that day, Laura has been a Labyrinth Enthusiast. She has served with Veriditas as a small group facilitator in Chartres, and teaches qualifying workshops and Labyrinth Facilitator Training in Europe.

Laura speaks English and Portuguese and lives near Lisbon with her husband and son, and their two dogs.

Would you like to introduce the labyrinth to others, facilitate group walks and lead transformative workshops? Join Veriditas Faculty Members Laura Esculcas and Lars Howlett (see bios below) for our next Virtual Labyrinth Facilitator Training. Go deeper with your personal practice in the labyrinth, meet others on a similar path, and receive a hard copy of our updated 160-page facilitator's manual with a wealth of labyrinth resources! Past participants can also enroll in the course again for half-price as a refresher.

Take the training from the comfort of your home in five consecutive 4 hour Zoom sessions (with breaks totaling one hour). Laura and Lars will share their insights, experiences, and inspiration from their personal and professional work with the labyrinth. Attendance in a Qualifying Workshop within the past two years is required for participants to experience a shared labyrinth journey led by a Veriditas Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator. (Check our calendar for in-person or online qualifying workshops).  To become trained, you must actively participate in the entire 16-hour training. For more information about scholarship opportunities and the program see: Veriditas.org/ft  

So, what is a labyrinth facilitator? First, it's someone who understands what a labyrinth is and can speak about it to a variety of audiences. This is actually a bit tricky, since the definition is quite slippery, and the origins are mysterious. Also, the terminology and applications of labyrinths vary a lot depending on if you’re talking to a group of high school students, a church congregation, patients at a cancer treatment center, or employees in a corporate office. Likewise, there are an infinite number of applications for the labyrinth. You could walk for prayer, healing, transformation, creativity, problem solving, community building, or stress reduction, among other things. 
 The second main aspect is organizing events and optimizing the labyrinth experience. There are many aspects to leading a group walk from framing the labyrinth with music, light, and thematic elements to incorporating a ritual or interactive element. There's also the pace and flow of the walk-- conducting the symphony of different people entering and exiting into sacred time and space. Lastly, there is the practice of holding space for a variety of experiences and providing opportunities for processing the walk through small group sharing, journaling, or other creative reflective exercises. Finally, becoming a labyrinth facilitator creates a pathway to working professionally in the realm of labyrinths. 

This training runs from Monday, December 9th through Friday December 13th, from 9 AM to 1:00 PM Pacific time each day.

Laura Esculcas, Faculty

http://www.mysticalportugal.com

With passion for myth and metaphor, Laura curates wisdom journeys and immersion experiences in Portugal’s mystical landscape. Laura is co-founder of EarthShamans, a SoulCollage® facilitator, and teaches Energetics of Art with Ubiquity University Wisdom School. She is trained in Sacred Landscapes, 

Intuitive Feng Shui, and the Personessence™ System of Understanding People. Laura holds both an M.A. in Wisdom Studies and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. 

Originally from the US and having worked in Silicon Valley for over ten years in high tech operations and management, Laura moved to Portugal to pursue her dream of an integrated life lived as a sacred journey shared with others. Now informed by more than ten years of immersion in the Portugal ecofield, Laura uniquely blends depth of experience, keen curiosity, and genuine open-heartedness as she facilitates wisdom journeys and pilgrimage experiences into Portugal's place-based myths.

Laura first met the labyrinth in 2001, on an Advent Quiet Day in Santa Cruz, California. Since that day, Laura has been a Labyrinth Enthusiast. She has served with Veriditas as a small group facilitator in Chartres, and teaches qualifying workshops and Labyrinth Facilitator Training in Europe.

Laura speaks English and Portuguese and lives near Lisbon with her husband and son, and their two dogs.

Lars Howlett, Faculty

www.DiscoverLabyrinths.com

Lars Howlett is a leading expert in the design and creation of sacred space for walking meditation, centering prayer, personal healing, conflict resolution and community building. Lars is a practitioner of mindfulness and student of sacred geometry since 2003, experimenting with a wide variety of designs, materials, intentions and settings in his personal and professional projects. Universities, churches, health centers, retirement communities, mental health centers, retreats, and individuals find Lars for inspiration and insight in creating exact replicas of historical patterns or one-of-a-kind artistic installations. 

Lars was a three year apprentice to Robert Ferré, inheriting the tools, techniques, and teaching curriculum of a master builder. Lars is a Veriditas Faculty Member and Certified Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator trained by the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress at Grace and Chartres Cathedrals. He was the Chairperson of World Labyrinth Day from 2013-18.

Lars is an inspiring teacher and passionate speaker on the history, spirituality, and practice of walking labyrinths, leading workshops to cultivate inner wisdom for personal transformation with slideshows of personal projects and visits to sacred sites on four continents. 

Save the date! More information coming soon.

Please click here to read the Council Biographical Sketches

7 days, 45 miles of flat water canoeing, designing / creating / walking labyrinths, delicious food, 15 participants max.

Join labyrinth maker Lars Howlett and naturalist Lauren Bond for a one-week retreat along Utah’s Green River. Together we’ll paddle, camp, cook, and savor a shared journey through Labyrinth Canyon. Learn to design, create and walk archetypal labyrinths made from natural materials along the riverbanks. Take meditative walks alone or as a group down canyon trails and swap stories and sing songs around the campfire each evening. Create a map that reflects your very own River of Life and learn how to embrace the meander as we wind our way together.

Like a labyrinth, the river traces a long, winding path from source to sea. The twists and turns slow its pace, allowing more time and space for absorption. Nature’s wisdom is woven into this organic design and replicated in the labyrinth. For thousands of years people have designed, drawn, and walked labyrinths to reflect and reconsider their own life journey. The labyrinth was born from the meander—a pattern that takes its name from an ancient river. The mystery of the meander forces us out of linear thinking and our rational mind allowing us to get lost in the present moment and tap into timelessness and innate wisdom.

https://www.theriverspath.org/utah-river-retreats/meander-the-river-of-life/

You are invited on a Veriditas Pilgrimage to The Sacred Valley of Peru facilitated by Judith Tripp and led by Mary Jo Saavedra as a Soul Shift Journey, May 10-15, 2025. Engage with Judith’s CircleWay, live the Blue Zones lifestyle of Urubamba, and experience radical amazement through mindfulness, live music, culinary delights, and cultural treasures of the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and the Cuzco region. As you traverse the awe-inspiring landscapes and iconic landmarks, witness the seamless fusion of Incan heritage and the vibrant pulse of modern Cuzco. 

Engage with healthy-longevity practices that inspire your path ahead with the included post-tour HOMELife Design Master Class. Designed to expand your experiences of positive aging from the pilgrimage, Mary Jo Saavedra, Gerontologist and Aging Life Care Manager, has developed a framework based on her Six Pillars of Aging Wellbeing that integrates step-by step evidence based healthy-longevity strategies to unlock your second half of life pathway to purpose, meaning, and connection. You will learn the practice of creating growth and resilience at every stage and age.

Please download the brochure for more information and the itinerary.

To register, please click here.

For more information see: https://maryjosaav.com/masterclass (early bird savings of $500 through Nov. 1^st)