Celebrating the creation of our Magnificent Quartz Labyrinth

One weekend + many loving hands + abundant food and camaraderie = our quartz labyrinth almost complete. Laying down stones and finding more stones. The finished labyrinth is made of 10,111 quartz stones, it has eleven circuits and measures one hundred feet in diameter. It’s accessible for most people of all ages.

Friends,

SO MUCH is happening here! It's a challenge to keep up with the Spirit!

But let me try...

More and more people are coming to Community of Peace. Some stay short-term. Some long-term. We are welcoming families and individuals. People with different needs come and we offer what we can. A safe place. Shelter, a healing space. Daily prayer, silence, dialogue. Good food. Warm hospitality. Love. Laughter. We do what we can. We receive more than what we give. We are learning that we can do more than we thought. It is a joy to see so many people all working together to build a community that is following Jesus in learning the things that make for peace.

We completed our labyrinth! With the help of many people near and far we did it! Thanks especially to Jason and Changyeon for their hard work. Special thanks to Tom Nann who came all the way from California to lead the project. Now we have a beautiful labyrinth. It's the second largest in the state of Virginia. We are grateful. Many will walk this path that has been prayerfully created.

We're building a library here at Community of Peace. Suggestions for the greatest books of all time? As people come here from all over the world we want to have available the finest works of literature. Ready, set, GO!

A beautiful sung prayer is becoming even more beautiful drawing people to sing and pray and be in silence together. At the close of the day we often sing a prayer for peace: Grant Peace to All on Earth. We sing the word for peace in many languages: Hebrew, Arabic, Korean, Spanish, First-Peoples, Hindi, Portuguese, German, French...It is a beautiful moment when we call out for peace representing so many peoples of the world.

We're discovering that laughter and sacred song go hand in hand. Sometimes when we sing in our evening prayer our sacred songs there is improvisation and laughter. And God saw and laughed and said: "This is very good!"

We are grateful to Dennis and Ruben, two young men from Germany who are with us for one year. They are already adding to the life and energy here in very positive ways. Dennis created an online shop for Community of Peace so now you can shop and contribute to our community online. Ruben has cleared some beautiful pathways in the forest so now you walk these paths and enjoy the beauty of the woods. Manyam from India has been with us for a few months now. He has been such a delight! Besides making delicious meals he has been very helpful caring for my mother who is 94 years young. He makes her smile and laugh!
Michael and Ray and family have been staying with us as they seek to find a more permanent home. It has been a joy to welcome them and to enjoy their company each day. The two young boys love to fish in the pond. Ray has provided us with some delicious meals. Michael has built two extra rooms for us. And the two infants are growing each day. Such beauty! Such joy!

As we look to the autumn and winter we'll be welcoming new people for short-term and long-term stays. We cherish your prayers and financial support as we seek to provide a deepening hospitality to individuals and families.

We ask for special prayers for Barb's speedy recovery as she heals from a recent fall.
Prayers also for wisdom and guidance for the young people who come here seeking direction in their lives.

Thank you for your prayers and support,

Grace and Peace,

Br. Stefan

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I am reveling in the Life happening here at Community Of Peace. It is multi-aspect good. I love the community living; getting up every day to happy shiny people with glowing smiles. I wake up 7 days a week at 7 am with a quiet expectation of the unknown - what will this day bring? The thrice daily prayer times fulfill my spiritual inclinations. And the delicious combination of the community supporting spiritual growth – an unspoken support that that is what we are here for first and foremost, while that in turn supports us in being a joyful community. And on top of that, more and more happy visitors join us for prayer time, to just hang out, for social gathering like Sunday night game night, and for community meals to share in this joy.
The trickle of communion I had known while I lived alone, has developed into a powerful but gentle river, moving through us all and carrying us all along. Life is good, ‘mon’.

Tim

Excitement swirls through me as I push open the door to the worship center. “What will happen this time?” The gift of feeling such rapt curiosity before a meeting with God-oriented people is strikingly new for me. I don’t live here, and my relationship with Christianity has had a hefty serving of revulsion in the past. But since a chance errand brought me to worship at Community of Peace a few weeks ago, I can’t keep away. Something is happening here. It’s fresh. It’s open. It’s sturdy. It’s delicate. We sit around the beautiful red rose carpet and the music pours through our bodies, and something RISES and ROOTS. For my life, so familiar with terror and anguish, what’s happening in this place is a revolution and a homecoming wrapped up in song.

Claire

Jason reflects,
So, the Labyrinth is completed. There are eleven circuits. I found using the bigger stones around the outer edge gives the Labyrinth a sense of enclosure so people can experience a sense of being apart from what is outside of it. Surprisingly we ran out of stones (we must have had a few million, or so it seems, having gathered all of them) Changyeon and I gathered most of the stones. When we built it we worked from the smallest inner ring to the outward biggest. There were many volunteers. The Labyrinth was completed within two weeks of beginning. We needed to gather more stones to finish it so that people can now come to experience walking it. I hope you will all come walk it. And out of curiosity I counted the total number of stones. There are 10,111 quartz stones and it measures 100’ across ... Peace be with you.

Manyam shares,
Participating in building the Labyrinth was a special and happy moment. I always wanted to be present for that special moment. As I was wishing, I have met all the people not only across states but also different countries and even kids participated. Everyone took part; cooking food, arranging for water, bringing stones, building the Labyrinth.
Everyone told me a story during that week. I felt happy and welcomed. My journey to spirituality started at this place.
Thanks for helping me to explore myself .

Dennis is surprised
At first I was not really convinced about the labyrinth but after a few steps it started to feel comfortable. I really enjoyed the view. With time my thoughts went quiet and I could focus with all my attention on my senses. I took my shoes off so that I can feel the path. And it is amazing what you can hear, feel, see and smell if you are fully in the present moment. I felt so peaceful. It was an amazing experience. I couldn’t imagine before how relaxing it was.

Ruben reflects

I’m by now 3 weeks here in the Community of Peace. It had taken a bit to arrive, but the people helped me a lot with that. The Nature and the woods are so beautiful around here. Most of my time I’m working in the woods. My task is to create paths where people can walk and enjoy the beautiful silence of the woods. I’m so exited about what is upcoming because, something I realized very fast is, that everything here is just at the beginning.

Community of Peace participates in UNITED PLANET’s
Cultural Exchange Program.
This summer we said goodbye to Changyeon from S. Korea after an exciting year of sharing our countries unique cultures. We were sad to see him leave. A few days later we welcomed Dennis and Reuben from Germany. They will be with us through August 2024. We look forward to learning more about Germany and sharing our community with them..

EVENTS

“Contemplative Nature Walks for all ages” - during the summer we are offering Contemplative nature walks led by Tim every Saturday at 11:00 am followed by lunch at noon and Sung Prayer at 1:00 pm. 2 - 4 pm is free time to walk, explore . . .
Full day Contemplative offerings facilitated by Barb and Tim - dates and times TBD
Now that our cow barn has a new floor we are looking forward to hosting our first Event in this unique venue.
More outdoor experiences - like evenings around the fire circle are being planned. We will let you know as they are scheduled.
Monthly drum circles continue on the third Saturday.
Daily sung prayer morning (8am), midday (1pm) and evening (7pm).
We are now listed on the HIPCAMP website www.Hipcamp.com . Bring your tent or borrow one of ours. Camp in our beautiful forest, walk the trails, explore or relax by the pond. Enjoy the deep peace of being in the wilderness. Campers are welcome to join us at sung prayer or our occasional gatherings around a lovely fire for story telling, music and sharing at our fire circle near the pond.

If you have questions or to schedule a time to visit us or a time for Br. Stefan to visit you (flyer below), email us at communityofpeaceva@gmail.com .

Br. Stefan’s scheduled weekend retreats and concerts are listed below in date order: