An Article on Taize for the Community of St Michaels Brynston

APRIL 2015

The Taize community - Overview

The Taizé Community is an ecumenical monastic order in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, . It is composed of more than one hundred brothers, from Protestant and Catholic traditions, who originate from about thirty countries across the world. It was founded in 1940 by Roger Schütz, a Reformed Protestant. Guidelines for the community’s life are contained in The Rule of Taizé written by Brother Roger and first published in French in 1954. Taize emblems The community has become one of the world's most important sites of Christian pilgrimage. Over 100,000 young people from around the world make pilgrimages to Taizé each year for prayer, Bible study, sharing, and communal work. Through the community's ecumenical outlook, they are encouraged to live in the spirit of kindness, simplicity and reconciliation.

A bit of History – In the beginnings…

Everything began in 1940 when, at the age of twenty-five, Brother Roger left , the country where he was born, to go and live in France, the country his mother came from. For years he had been ill with tuberculosis, and during that long convalescence he had matured within him the call to create a community.

When the Second World War began, he had the conviction that without wasting time he should come to the assistance of people going through this ordeal, just as his grandmother had done during the First World War. The small village of Taizé, where he settled, was quite close to the demarcation line dividing France in two: it was well situated for sheltering refugees fleeing the war. Friends from Lyon started giving the address of Taizé to people in need of a place of safety.

In Taizé, thanks to a modest loan, Brother Roger bought a house with outlying buildings that had been uninhabited for years. He asked one of his sisters, Genevieve, to come and help him offer hospitality. Among the refugees they sheltered were Jews. Material resources were limited. There was no running water, so for drinking water they had to go to the village well.

Food was simple, mainly soups made from corn flour bought cheaply at the nearby mill. Out of discretion towards those he was sheltering, Brother

Roger prayed alone; he often went to sing far from the house, in the woods. So that none of the refugees, Jews or agnostics, would feel ill-at-ease, Genevieve explained to each person that it was better for those who wished to pray to do so alone in their rooms.

Brother Roger’s parents, knowing that their son and daughter were in danger, asked a retired French officer who was a friend of the family to watch over them. In the autumn of 1942, he warned them that their activities had been found out and that everyone should leave at once. So until the end of the war, it was in that Brother Roger lived and it was there that he began a common life with his first brothers. They were able to return to Taizé in 1944.

Brother Roger died on 16 August 2005, at the age of 90, killed by a deranged person during the evening prayer. Since then, , whom Brother Roger chose as his successor many years ago, has been the of the Community.

Taize Worship and Prayer

Repetitive prayer

The characteristic of Taizé worship that is most prevalent in our worship has been the use of a kind of repetitive prayer set to simple musical lines. Repetition is not a new phenomenon nor unique to Taizé. The use of repetitive prayers is a long attested reality in the history of Christian spirituality and liturgy (for example, in the Jesus

Prayer and the Rosary). What is unique to the prayer of Taizé is the adaptation of the repetitive form to simple musical lines and core biblical texts that can be sung by a whole assembly of various nationalities, languages, and denominations.

Silence

Another characteristic of Taizé worship …is its generous use of silence. Those simply incorporating Taizé music may not experience this fully, but when planning an entire worship service in the style of Taize, silence will be a very important dimension of worship.

Preparing a time of prayer

How can we keep on praying together? People often ask this question after a stay in Taizé, or else after taking part in one of the meetings outside of Taizé.

You can find useful guidelines and suggestions on how to construct a Taize Worship Service on the

Taize Website: (http://www.taize.fr)

This website also has useful liturgies for various seasons of our liturgical Church calendar (e.g.

Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter etc) and can be found at: (http://www.taize.fr and click on the node: Prayer for Each Day.)

A Final Word from the compiler of this article

Prior to my arrival at St Michaels Bryanston in December 2012, I planned and conducted tailored Taize worship services at the Anglican Seminary (The College of The Transfiguration Grahamstown) which I attended from 2010-2012.

Due to the interest which this new style of worship generated at the College and the dedication and care I took in preparing and conducting these services, I was invited in my final (Senior) year to plan, prepare and conduct such a service at the

Cathedral Church of St Michael and St George where I served my final year of ministry as an Ordinand while at the College.

Being a passionate student of liturgy, it has been a great joy and privilege for me to lead Taize services at St. Michael’s Bryanston. I encourage all our members to experience at least one Taize service. While the worship style is meditative and contemplative, I believe it can minister to anyone in a deep and meaningful way.

Watch the notice boards, our parish website and weekly pew leaflets for upcoming Taize services.

May God bless you as you seek to make Resurrection a daily reality in your life.

Blessings

The Revd. Brent Frieslaar