Hymns and organ music resonated in downtown Blacksburg Sunday evening as one church opened a space designed to foster healing and serenity for the Virginia Tech community more than two years after the April 16, 2007 shootings.
Tucked away in downtown Blacksburg, the Christ Episcopal Church appears to be merely a small stone church with a red door - a picture from a textbook on Americana - but connected to the church is a quiet courtyard that now hosts a unique structure: a labyrinth.
Rev. Scott Russell, campus minister, said this labyrinth is no traditional outdoor maze with walls made from bushes or corn stalks.
Instead, it is a stone path on the ground in the church's courtyard. The path twists around itself many times, but there is only one way in, and the same conduit takes the walker out.
"We are offering this to the community as a response to April 16th," Russell said. "It can be a space to pray, heal or just have a quiet space off the street to reflect."
The labyrinth was dreamed up in the fall of 2007.
After the tragedy of April 16, 2007, an independent nonprofit religious organization, Episcopal Relief and Development, contacted the church.
ERD generally provides aid to Episcopalian communities affected by natural disaster, famine, epidemics and other situations that require outside assistance.
"They wanted to help us," Russell said, "but we didn't need food or clothing or medicine."
Malaika Kamunanwire, ERD spokesperson, said that the grant came together within the first couple of months after the tragedy.
"We wanted to talk about what might be a potential long-term response for the trauma to the students," Kamunanwire said. "We wanted to establish the basic framework for permanent relief."
Initially, the foundation provided funding for a psychiatrist to come speak with and counsel students.
In New York City, gardens of forgiveness were constructed in remembrance of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That project inspired the labyrinth in Blacksburg.
There was not enough space in Blacksburg for a full-scale garden to be a viable option, but the church's courtyard used to be a patch of grass between the sanctuary and the library with a large tree in the middle of the grass.
"The tree was getting pretty old anyway," Russell said.
So the church decided to convert the space to a labyrinth.
"At first we were like, 'Can we really do it?'" Russell said.
ERD stepped in and made the idea a concrete reality. The church received a grant of $25,000, roughly $15,000 of which has gone directly into the construction process, meaning that the church has not had to raise any extra money for the project.
"They did a lot," Russell said. "They worked with us as we went along."
Landscape architecture professor Ben Johnson oversaw the project in an advisory position.
"I was basically the contractor and designer," Johnson said.
Johnson helped the church lay out plans for the renovation. He also brought some of his landscape architecture students in to help the congregation with the project.
All of the work, from clearing the courtyard to laying stones and planting flowers around the perimeter of the labyrinth, was done by the congregation, made up of students and town residents alike.
Senior mechanical engineering major David Bergquist was part of the construction team.
"I was there at the start with five or 10 other students ripping up tree roots," Bergquist said.
Construction began in March 2008, and after about a year's worth of work the labyrinth was nearly completed by last Easter.
"We did the whole thing ourselves," Russell said. "We actually ordered the stones from a kit."
The space does not feature merely the labyrinth but also several benches and plants on the perimeter, as well as a handicap-accessible ramp.
Johnson said this was the first time handicap access was available directly into the main sanctuary of the church. Previously, those with mobility issues had to walk a much longer route through the church's library.
The courtyard also features a peace pole, which is a signpost with prayers for peace written on it in several different languages. The final addition to the courtyard will be lighting, Russell said. After the lights are added later this fall, the church's gardening committee will take over the care of the courtyard.
The final plan is to have a large garden cultivated around the labyrinth. Johnson's future vision is to have a therapeutic garden.
"These trees around the labyrinth need to grow so that while you're walking you're only seeing green and Hokie stone," Johnson said.
Various religious groups have used labyrinths since the Middle Ages.
The first recorded labyrinth used in a modern religious setting was around 1201 in the stone floor of the Chartes Cathedral in France. This labyrinth is a smaller model of the one in Chartes.
"They're an aid to meditation and prayer," Russell said. "Many people find it very peaceful because you know you'll get to your destination."
Russell said that he hopes students and town residents will use the labyrinth along with church members.
"We want it to be open 24 hours a day," Russell said. "People can come here to walk the labyrinth of course, or just sit and eat lunch on our benches."
The labyrinth was blessed by the regional Episcopalian bishop this past Easter. The dedication ceremony on Sunday officially opened it to the public.
"The desire was not to create a memorial," Johnson said, "but rather to create a place for future generations to find quiet and peace."
Johnson said since the church is the oldest in Blacksburg, they wanted to make sure that they offered something to the community that came from the whole congregation.
"Virginia Tech has always been connected to the community," Bergquist said. "This is a cool way for the church to offer a place for students to reflect."