OCEAN PARK — “Finding the way” is a core theme among faith communities.

Pastor Louise Buckles has found a practical way to incorporate it at Ocean Park Lutheran Church.

A labyrinth has been installed in the entry part of the church property at 24002 U St., Ocean Park. With it is a “wind phone.”

The two features will be dedicated after the 9:30 a.m. service on April 7.

No dead ends

A labyrinth, which draws on Greek myths including the legendary Minotaur, appears in several religious traditions. It is often a circle leading to a significant center, designed in part for contemplation.

Pull Quote

‘It’s about the journey of life.’

Louise Buckles,

Lutheran pastor

Adherents consider it may resemble life’s journey; in some contexts it has been employed to substitute for a pilgrimage. One prominent example is embedded in the limestone floor of nave at the Chartres Cathedral in France, which was completed in 1220.

Ocean Park’s labyrinth was created from paver stones. The concept has been so important in Buckles’ life that she has two examples in her office, one covering a tabletop.

“It’s about the journey of life,” said Buckles, who was encouraged by a parishioner who revered the concept.

“What I really like about it is that the labyrinth doesn’t go straight toward the center,” she said. “You end up walking away from the center — then back towards it.

“There are no dead ends — It always goes to the center.”

Finding solace

The other new “object” is a wind phone, suggested by another parishioner. It dovetails with Buckles’ work helping people cope with grief. “We thought it was a great connection,” she said.

Wind phones exist in 150 communities in the United States and Canada, tracked online by mywindphone.com. The concept is believed to have begun in Japan in 2010 with a garden designer who wanted to be able to “speak” to his late cousin. Later, when the region was devastated by an earthquake, the phone became a place of solace.

A scannable “QR” code in the Ocean Park phone booth allows people to share personal details of their visit with the national website. Instructions mention “solace,” too, and encourage people to use the phone to “connect” with those who have been lost, taking comfort in their memories.

“I know there are times when you are grieving and you have to have that physical connection, and that you can’t get it because the person isn’t here,” said Buckles. “It’s that chance to say goodbye — some people have to have that physical connection. It’s helping people to grieve whatever they have lost.”

A sign in the booth quotes Millet Israeli, a modern psychotherapist and grief specialist, “May you hear their voices in the wind. May you be at peace with your losses.”

Facing the world

Buckles’ path took many turns from the 12-year-old who felt a call to ministry who went into bookkeeping and retail management jobs and raised a family before embarking on further education. “I realized it was not ‘fitting.’ I returned to my dream.”

If You Go

If You Go

Dedication of labyrinth, wind phone

Ocean Park Lutheran Church, 24002 U St., Ocean Park.

Service 9:30 a.m. Sunday, April 7; dedication to follow.

For details, log on to oceanparklutheran.org or call 360-665-6344

More about wind phones at mywindphone.com.

She moved from Montana to Washington in 2006, attended colleges in Tacoma, graduating with a religion degree from Pacific Lutheran University before a 4-year program at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary at Berkeley, Calif. She moved to the Peninsula in 2020 and was ordained in May 2021.

When helping people cope with troubles, Buckles suggests loading a metaphorical backpack with worries, taking a journey to find a center, then leaving the contents there.

“You can lift your shoulders high and face the world free of your burdens.”