The Beauty of Taize Worship

It’s almost 30 years since I first visited the beautiful little village of Taize in Burgundy in France. I had experienced the beauty of its distinctive style of worship in a number of settings, including the Church of Ireland Theological College, where I had trained for ordination.

I travelled there on pilgrimage with a friend of mine, who had visited a number of times. We got on a coach in London’s Victoria Station and travelled by ferry and coach to Taize overnight.

We had a tent and pitched it amongst many others as thousands of people gathered for that week in August 1996. We had survived our first two months in ordained ministry, which represented a huge change in our lives, and we came to live simply with other pilgrims gathering for all sorts of reasons from all across the world.

Three times a day we went to the daily prayers in the big marquee called, ‘The Church of the Resurrection.’ We sang these beautiful scriptural songs in different languages, we heard short Bible readings and reflections in different languages, and in silence allowed the scriptures to speak to us and nourish our souls.

We took part in small groups with people from all over the world each day, reflecting on our lives and experiences with others and, each evening, went to the simple cafe called the Oyak where drinks and food were served, and often youth groups, or groups of friends, spontaneously began to jam together using guitars and flutes and other musical instruments people had brought.

Food was simple and basic. You got into great conversations as you queued for bread and cheese or soup or stew or hot chocolate. Everyone who came as a pilgrim got a job, and so you sometimes served out some of the food or cleaned the showers and toilets or picked litter around the site of the community.

The community began in 1940 when Brother Roger, a Swiss monk from a Protestant background, moved to France to the homeland of his mother. With the help of a small loan, he bought a disused house and some outlying buildings and began to shelter refugees fleeing from the war. His sister, Genevieve, came to assist him in offering hospitality and, after the war ended, they welcomed children who had lost their parents in the war and German prisoners of war who were interned in a camp nearby.

They sought to live simply in community with other brothers and to live and worship in such a way that expressed the unity of the church in the midst of a world torn apart by division.

Today, 80 brothers from different church backgrounds –  Catholic, Anglican and Protestant, from nearly 30 countries, welcome pilgrims from all over the world to pray and work and encounter people who are different to themselves in the context of community.

I returned on two occasions in the 1990’s to take the opportunity, when making major life decisions, to live a week in silence. On those occasions, you live in separate accommodation, you receive daily Bible teaching from one of the brothers in a separate place, but still attend the communal worship 3 times a day. You still have chores, though it is on a smaller scale, and you don’t venture down to the Oyak, as you take time for reflection and prayer. I remember beautiful walks and daily meetings with a brother who was helping me in my discernment . He would give me passages to read and suggest good routes to walk as I reflected and prayed.

The cross is a very special place for those who worship at Taize. It’s the place essentially that brings us all together under the banner of Christ’s love and His call to reconciliation. It represents one of the central teachings of the Taize rule of life , which states God’s love for every human being without exception.

Tomorrow evening, at 7.30 pm, we will be sharing a short time of Taize worship in the church.  There will be the opportunity to bring our own burdens and concerns for the world and our lives to the cross. We will have the opportunity to sing, pray, reflect, visit the cross and encounter God afresh. It’s one of the final two events in our Mind Matters project for this year.

We are grateful for that grant funding that has allowed us to invite different speakers and host different events on the topic of mental health.

On Saturday week 17th May, there will be a quiet morning in the Church’s Ministry of Healing, 162 Upper Knockbreda Road. It will be facilitated by Revd. Dr. Pat Mollan. It’s almost directly opposite the church but, as spaces are limited, please contact Linda Leonard on 07952982295 to reserve a place. Please make touch with Linda before Saturday 10th May to finalise arrangements for this special morning. Tea/coffee will be provided, but people attending should bring their own lunch.

Look forward to speaking again soon.

Much love to everyone,

Jono.

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