Ecumenical Meditative Worship

We invite you to come and experience a beautiful form of prayer, inspired by the ecumenical community in Taize, France. In our modern era of noise and technology, Taize Prayer provides a service of quiet meditation and inner peace. It is a call to be still, in the words of Samuel, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” (I Samuel 3:9) It is Christ centered. It recognizes that every human person is made in the image and likeness of God. In a time when we are quick to classify people by race, religion, nationality, political party, and countless other categories, Taize reminds us of the living presence of God that we all share in common. Brother Alois (current leader of Taize community) writes: “What unites us is not a reconciliation project that we ourselves planned. It is Someone who unites us: Jesus Christ. He calls us to be together a sign of his presence, of his peace.” In an age when we are daily made aware of and communicate with people from every part of the world, Taize calls us to come together with all of our differences and quietly seek the real Presence of God within each of us.

The Taize community began in a tiny village in the hills of Burgundy in the eastern part of France. Since 1940 it has been the home of an ecumenical community of brothers whose prayer, three times a day, forms the center of their life. Its founder, Br. Roger Shutz, was the son of a Swiss Protestant pastor. Amidst the horror of World War II, he gathered together twelve men from different Christian denominations in an abandoned Catholic church. Although the first Catholic to join the community didn’t arrive until 1969, Br. Roger established a personal relationship with popes Pius XII, John XXIII, and John Paul II. Pope St. John XXIII called Taize “that little springtime in the church.” Today the community is made up of over 100 brothers from around 30 nations and different Christian denominations. Small groups of prayer connected with Taize can be found on every continent.

Taize prayer is a call to SILENCE, listening for God’s voice. It requires an attitude of humility for “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:9). We enter a darkened church, lit only by candles centered around the cross (crucifix). Music is soft, taking a single phrase such as “Where there is love, there is God” or “The kingdom of God is justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” and repeating these words until they become part of us. Short periods of silence are spaced between a focusing prayer, scripture reading, and reflection. We take a moment to ask God for special help for our leaders, our poor, those suffering, our families and community, then conclude with the prayer Jesus gave us: Our Father.

This is followed by a longer period of silence, time to focus on the cross where God reveals the ultimate mystery of turning evil into good. Perhaps we focus on those crosses that we may carry in order to become peacemakers, instruments of reconciliation, and bearers of God’s love to those in need. The hour we spend together in quiet reflection allows us to go back into the world refreshed, able to view the world from a different perspective, through the eyes of Christ who prayed at the Last Supper: “I pray for those who will believe in me so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that the world may believe that you sent me.” (John 17:20-21)

Further information about the Taize community can be found at www.taize.fr.

Taize prayer is shared with three other churches on a rotating basis. Services are at 7:00 pm on the second Monday of each month. We welcome you to join us at each church.

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