Is there new life and vision in retirement?  Can the Path cross generations and move throughout a community? Certainly one woman’s story shows us the way…

Following a retirement move to Santa Fe, New Mexico, Marge McCarthy was introduced to the labyrinth at a 1998 retreat led by Lauren Artress in Sedona, AZ.  Later, while on a pilgrimage with Lauren to Germany she visited Hildegard’s area, and then while in France, Marge walked the Chartres labyrinth for the first of many times.  Her journey had officially begun.

In 1999, Marge founded the Labyrinth Resource Group in Santa Fe and was president for eleven years. This group has created approximately thirty labyrinths in the Santa Fe area and has sponsored labyrinth walks and educational programs throughout the community.  Her husband, Bob, has also been very active in the group and is now focusing on constructing and maintaining labyrinths in the city.

Annual Auction: October 7-28, 2013

Save The Date!

Veriditas Community Gathering: 

Creating Community & Visioning the Future

Veriditas Council 

Fall Meeting

Global Healing Response (GHR)

Little Miracles on the Path

Donor Spotlight

As the new Development Coordinator, I am very excited to be presenting this new column each month with interviews and information on some of our wonderful donors.  This inaugural column is an interview that Sarah Elliott, Veriditas Board Chair did recently with Certified Facilitator, donor and previous Board Member Tina Margason.

Sarah: When did you first encounter a labyrinth?

In the 1990’s I did my first labyrinth walk.  I was smitten right away!  I thought to myself, “What IS this thing?!”  I had to know more about it, so I spent the next few years researching and reading about labyrinths.  I had to do the head work before I could do the heart work.

Sarah: How did you get involved with Veriditas?

Tina: 

The closest labyrinth to me at that time was at Grace Cathedral.  When I was there walking the labyrinth, I saw a sign about Veriditas.  At that time, the Veriditas office was located in the cathedral, so one day I went up to the office and offered to volunteer.  I helped out in the office, folding flyers and stuffing envelopes and things like that.  At some point, I went on my first pilgrimage with Veriditas.  I was so nourished by the experience that I became a habitual pilgrim!  During a pilgrimage to Chartres, I was asked to serve on the Board of Directors, which I did for about 7 years.  I also served as the editor of the Veriditas Journal for several years.  Although I have stepped back from those leadership roles, I am still connected to the Veriditas community. 

I’m a Veriditas trained facilitator and I do labyrinth work at several different places. I facilitate at the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment here in San Jose, CA, exploring the connection between yoga

philosophy and the labyrinth. I also facilitate at San Jose State University. I am also doing some interesting work with a conflict resolution labyrinth program at a public school on the east side of San Jose.

In addition to all of that, I have my own outdoor labyrinth at my house. John Ridder created a 7-circuit Petite Chartres labyrinth on my driveway. Several of my friends came to help and we wrote 28 blessings in the field that we sealed into the labyrinth by painting over them. So when I walk this labyrinth, I am walking right through all of these blessings.

I probably made my first financial contribution to Veriditas when I went on my first pilgrimage. After that, I would make a contribution on my birthday or other “peaks of life” days, but that system was too hit or miss. My volunteer work in the office made me realize that the office and the needs of the office are there all the time, and I wanted to be there all the time, too. I couldn’t do that in person but by making a regular monthly financial gift, I could support the valuable work of Veriditas all the time. When the Sustaining Giver program started about 4 or 5 years ago, I signed up for that right away. The labyrinth has given me a gift of understanding and I want everyone to be able to receive that same gift.