Carleton is full of places that are sacred and significant, reflective and peaceful. Some offer space for specific religious practice, others invite us into contemplation and stillness, and still others honor those we have lost and should remember.
We invite you visit these spaces, whether you believe they are grounded in some divinity or simply experience them as spaces of profound meaning. They are touchstones that by entering them, connect us more deeply to the wider universe and to ourselves.
Religious and spiritual life at Carleton is centered at Skinner Memorial Chapel, which contains a beautiful sanctuary space, in addition to a Muslim Prayer Room, a Buddhist and Hindu Meditation Room, a Beit Midrash, and a Christian Chapel. Beyond the Chapel, Carleton contains the Stewsie Island Labyrinth, Japanese Sculpture Garden, Student Memorial, and Druid Stone Circle, all detailed below.
Stewsie Island Labyrinth
Located on Stewsie Island on the Lyman Lakes, the Carleton College Labyrinth offers community members an opportunity for reflection, grounding, and meditation. Moving through a labyrinth is a spiritual practice, an experience of pilgrimage and going inwards, and symbolic of the journey we all take through life.
The labyrinths at Carleton grew out of planning meetings for the Class of 1951’s Fiftieth Reunion. An initial gift from Marge McCarthy, ’51 created the Labyrinth Fund, which grew through the contributions of community members and alumni from many classes. A committee of Carleton staff and students worked with Northfield resident Marilyn Larson to design the labyrinth for Stewsie Island (as well as for a movable canvas labyrinth used in Skinner Memorial Chapel).
Completed in the spring of 2001, the labyrinth on Stewsie Island is composed of paving stone lines and grass pathways 35 feet in diameter that echo the design of the Chapel labyrinth. Simplified for the outdoor installation, the design uses a simple circle as the center of this contemplative path. The Stewsie Island labyrinth is a permanent outdoor installation, and is available for walking at any time.
Japanese Sculpture Garden
Japanese gardens have their roots in early Zen Buddhism, as well as among the first landscaped gardens in mainland China. They embody a philosophy that suggests that fulfillment is found within the harmony and tranquility of body, mind, and spirit. The nobedan, or stone-paved walk, invites one in measured steps to leave the busy world behind and gaze upon the garden, connecting to the beauty of nature.
At Carleton’s garden, we see this appreciation of and relatedness to the natural world in the asymmetry and basic simplicity of design. Jōryō-en’s designer, David Slawson, regards the landscape garden as an art form meant to be experienced by drawing the viewer into its solitude. Carleton’s Jōryō-en (the Garden of Quiet Listening) combines a dry garden and a tea garden, which come from traditions associated with Zen Buddhism and are used specifically as aids to a deeper understanding of Zen concepts. Both garden types are intended to induce a meditational mind-set.
Learn more about Carleton’s Japanese Garden.
Druid Stone Circle
Nestled in the southern part of the Arboretum, the Druid circle serves as a sacred site for the Carleton grove of the Reformed Druids of North America, as well as Druid visitors from around the world. The circle first appeared informally on the Hill of Three Oaks in 1996. After several instances of vandalism, Druid leaders approached the college to ask for a permanent and official location. Within a year, thanks to support from Interim Chaplain Lisa Ebert and the Grounds Department, the circle was moved to the current location, then known as the Three Bird Grove. The new circle incorporated four stones from the original circle: the original center stone now serves as the current south stone and the three largest original stones now supports the current center stone.
Today, Druids and other earth centered practitioners recognize the circle as sacred space. Other sites used for Druidic ritual and practice include the Council Ring, Druid Den, Mai Fete Island, Monument Hill, and the Hill of Three Oaks.
Student Memorial
Each member of our community has in some way shaped the College’s history and touched the lives of their fellow Carls. The College respectfully honors these students’ legacies with the Carleton Student Memorial. Its 15-foot-high steel structure displays the name and class year of each student engraved on six-inch cast bronze broken circles, hung randomly, linked together, and suspended from the top of the frame.
The height of the frame allows the wind to move the strands to create audible chimes and the sunlight to illuminate the broken circles in varying patterns. The memorial is on the east side of Lower Lyman Lake, providing a natural setting for peaceful reflection.
