Taizé - A Personal Recollection
The ecumenical, international community of Taize; France, was founded
back in 1940 by Brother Roger, who as a 25 year old young man cycled
over the Swiss border and found himself in the small village of Taize.
From the beginning the main focuses have been prayer and providing a
safe haven of peace and tranquillity.
Making time to go to Taize is an opportunity to spent time exploring how to deepen your individual relationship with God through prayer, silence and reflection and hopefully in the silence and the routine to re-discover “What life is for”.
The Clifton group comprised of 22 people of mixed ages from Bristol, Cheltenham and Swindon who rendezvoused at the coach station in London to embark on their 18 hour journey to the south of France and hopefully experience what Taize is all about.
Tired and hot we arrived in Taize and were given a map of the site, instructions and told we wouldn’t be given our accommodation until the meeting at 3.00 pm. (Sunday was changeover day so you had approximately 3,000 checking out and 3,500 arriving). We arrived around 9.30 am dropped our bags off and attended the weekly celebration of Mass in the Chapel. The view was breath taking, thousands of people sitting on the floor, waiting in anticipation for mass to begin, and the only sound was a gentle whispering. Look around at the front you see the altar and the array of candles and the flickering flames, moving upward you see the vibrant coloured stain glass windows (the two pictures are examples of this).
With the Liturgy complete, people begin to disperse and make their way to lunch. With our first meal realisation dawns, it definitely isn’t for the culinary expertise that you visit Taize; though it may be a good place to go if you want to loss weight.
Each day follows a similar routine, which is centred around the three prayer times that are divided up by group discussion and meal times. Everything ties into the weekly theme of discovering more about your-self as you journey with Christ, as he accepts the cross and his crucifixion, which is celebrated each Friday. On the Saturday we carry on the journey to His Resurrection and the Service of Light. The Liturgy is far more than action; it is a form of thought – than centres on prayer and faith.
What impressed me most about Taize, whether in be the liturgies, the meetings, the mealtimes or even the conversations I had; was the total absence of relationships of domination. It didn’t matter what sex, age, class, colour or even place you came from you were accepted and valued as having a contribution to make.
Mark Moran
Useful URL : http://www.taize.fr
Making time to go to Taize is an opportunity to spent time exploring how to deepen your individual relationship with God through prayer, silence and reflection and hopefully in the silence and the routine to re-discover “What life is for”.
The Clifton group comprised of 22 people of mixed ages from Bristol, Cheltenham and Swindon who rendezvoused at the coach station in London to embark on their 18 hour journey to the south of France and hopefully experience what Taize is all about.
Tired and hot we arrived in Taize and were given a map of the site, instructions and told we wouldn’t be given our accommodation until the meeting at 3.00 pm. (Sunday was changeover day so you had approximately 3,000 checking out and 3,500 arriving). We arrived around 9.30 am dropped our bags off and attended the weekly celebration of Mass in the Chapel. The view was breath taking, thousands of people sitting on the floor, waiting in anticipation for mass to begin, and the only sound was a gentle whispering. Look around at the front you see the altar and the array of candles and the flickering flames, moving upward you see the vibrant coloured stain glass windows (the two pictures are examples of this).
With the Liturgy complete, people begin to disperse and make their way to lunch. With our first meal realisation dawns, it definitely isn’t for the culinary expertise that you visit Taize; though it may be a good place to go if you want to loss weight.
Each day follows a similar routine, which is centred around the three prayer times that are divided up by group discussion and meal times. Everything ties into the weekly theme of discovering more about your-self as you journey with Christ, as he accepts the cross and his crucifixion, which is celebrated each Friday. On the Saturday we carry on the journey to His Resurrection and the Service of Light. The Liturgy is far more than action; it is a form of thought – than centres on prayer and faith.
What impressed me most about Taize, whether in be the liturgies, the meetings, the mealtimes or even the conversations I had; was the total absence of relationships of domination. It didn’t matter what sex, age, class, colour or even place you came from you were accepted and valued as having a contribution to make.
Mark Moran
Useful URL : http://www.taize.fr
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