Taize

Pronounced "ta-zai". There's a new Taize service being held by a local Catholic church's young adult group. All in all the origins of why this group is holding a Taize service are a little curious, but I had been hearing about Taize for a few years. I think the first time was after my completion of the Christian in the Modern World Course at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. I was visiting a friend in Devon and I think that we were talking about alternative or "postmodern" worship services. She told me about a community in France that wrote hymns. I was a little intrigued because I thought "hymns" had to old, something akin to the age of item being labeled "antique" or "vintage". It's easy to qualify a Charles Wesley song as a hymn, but I wasn't so sure about "contemporary" hymns.

I'm not sure the next time "Taize" popped up. I think it might have been when I met with the Associate Pastor of Spiritual Nuture at a local church, but maybe not. I know that I learned more about the life of Brother Roger, the founder of the Taize community, at the Contemplative Retreat that the church held just last August. I think at that point, I looked them up on the internet to find out a little more. I found out that the "community" was not THAT old; it was started during WWII. It is an ecuemenical community, which draws me in: my extended family is quite ecuemenical, although they might not view it that way. The community focuses on contemplation and reconciliation; everyone knows that I need to slow down a bit and I am always intrigued, amazed, and humbled by reconciliation.

Then, the aforementioned young adults' group had a lecture on the Taize community, which my Tuesday night group decided to attend. Not only did we learn a little more of the history of the community and that thousands of young adults pilgrimage there every summer, but was also sang some of the hymns (very easy to sing, very rich in truth and depth), as well as participated in a little Q & A. It was then they announced that they were going to have a Taize service on the first Friday of the month. There are many Taize services and Taize communities around the world. I missed the last two services, because I was out of town, busy or ill. Last Friday, however, I planned as best as I could. I tried to catch the 6:02 train out so that I could arrive by 7:00 p.m.... the train was late. I ended up being about 10 minutes late and quietly, as possible, entered the basement room of silent people.

There was an icon on the wall depicting Mary and the infant Jesus. Four or five lamps on the table at the front. Wooden benches, carpet squares on the stone or concrete floor. All of the benches were filled in the back, just like in church. The air was moist, as it was outside, with a very bizarre fog and warm weather. I tried to sit on the carpet in the aisle, as there was another girl there, partly blocking my attempts to take a seat on the benches further up. A woman patted me on the shoulder, though, and indicated that there were seats. I clutched my keys so that they would not jingle in the silent breathing, as I clumsily moved to the seat, picking up the song sheets with my left hand, and wondering what use my purse was inside.

As I had entered the building, there was a basket purposed to hold flashlights, but they were all out. There were boards to my left, reminding me to be silent on AstroBright pages. "Silence!!" on fuschia paper. So, I held on to my keys, which have a small LED light on them, just in case.

In the darkness inside the room, a woman blew a pitch pipe and then started to sing. After she finished the first round of the song, we then sang with her, multiple times. At first, I was just concentrating on the melody, trying to read the notes in the dark. I gathered enough. Then, I focused on the words, listened, and let them soak in.

15 minutes of silence. When do I have 15 minutes of silence-to think of God? Of my "to-do" list? Of what I desire? This was the time. I felt like I was in an elevator. No one speaks to each other in an elevator and this is appropriate politeness. No one speaks during the silence and this is appropriate. What a break to be in community, focused on God and not have to speak! To know that you are in communion with your brothers and sisters and not have to be doing anything. We all may be having a different experience of God; the girl on the floor now to my right is sitting with her palms up, I can only guess expecting to receive something from the Lord. It was beautiful to sit there.

I have been in other environments like this: the retreat, Teen Mania internship, etc. Rarely have I experienced this in "church". All of the chatter-can we hear God?

We ended with songs and scripture and silently floated out. I re-entered the larger, lit room, looked around and saw unknown faces. But, as I was exiting, the silhouette of a guy from my group stood out. We started chatting, but then another girl from the Catholic group introduced herself and invited me to pub. So, I went, parked and found the group again, to meet some new people....