|
Some years ago I went with a friend to the tiny village of Taizé hidden away in the hills of Burgundy, in the eastern part of France not far from the town of Cluny, once famous for its huge Abbey Church, said to be the biggest church in Europe in the Middle Ages. In 1940 Taizé became the home of an ecumenical community of brothers whose prayer, three times a day is the centre of its life today. It is greatly visited by people of all nations, backgrounds and ages, who come on pilgrimage, to participate in international meetings of prayer and reflection. It attracts huge numbers of young people who come from all over the world and camp in the countryside and take part in the activities and spiritual life of the community for a week or so. It began life as a community of Protestant brothers, but today it includes Catholics as well and a few years ago in 1986 Pope John Paul II himself came as a pilgrim saying: "One passes through Taizé as one passes close to a spring of water". Today there are over 80 brothers in the community, most of them young men of various nationalities. Many of them do not remain at Taizé itself, but some live in small groups, known as fraternities, among the poor in different countries. Since 1966 the community has included a community of international sisters, who have taken responsibility for a large part of the work of welcoming people to Taizé; they live in a nearby village. Taizé's object is to strive for Christian Unity. It seeks for reconciliation among all Christians, but even this is not enough because they seek the reconciliation of all humanity and its concerns. One of the things that has evolved from Taizé is the special style of its music in worship. They sought a simple style of music which could be quickly learnt and sung by all, in Latin as the most suitable way of overcoming the problem of international gatherings. Latin is not today a universal language, since it is no longer a spoken language, but it does have the advantage of a 'foreign' element in that everyone is on an equal footing. Most people have some knowledge of Latin, so that simple Bible texts or religious verses can quickly be recognised in Latin and the other advantage is that musically it is easily used. In October during One World Week (21st to 28th) we are hosting the main event at St George's on Thursday 25th and members of the Pastoral Committee thought it would be good to have a Taizé Service on Tuesday 23rd at 7.30.pm when we shall be using Taizé chants and prayers. Do make a note of this event and come along. With my prayers and blessing, Your Priest and friend Malcolm Ferrier. |
|
page last updated 31 AUGUST 2001 |
