It’s good to be back in the Taize Community where I first accepted my calling to the ordained ministry nearly twenty years ago. It was during my first visit to Taize with a small group from my home parish of St Peter’s Burnham that I decided to put my name forward for ordination. It was something I had been thinking about since the age of 17 but had been advise to do something else first thus art collage and photography, but the calling never went away.
It was one evening while praying in front of the Icon of Jesus and the Believer that I felt the time was right and after evening prayer I went and spoke to my Vicar who was leading the trip and the journey began. Since that time I have returned to Taize on several occasions, once to live in the community to test my vocation to the monastic life but realized that my path lay else where namely Kate who I had just met before going to live there for 4 months.
Every week young people from all over the world come to spend a week in Taize. To take part in the daily prayer of chants, simple bible readings and silence three times a day. They also have a daily bible study and then help with the work of the community, be it cleaning cooking or gardening. During the holiday period there can be over 5000 people here mainly aged 17 – 30. Being with so many Christian is a very powerful experience as for once you feel like a majority rather than a minority and can be open about your faith with others, something young people and adults for that matter find difficult at school or in the work place. In Taize talking about ones pilgrimage of faith is commonplace. Then there is the addition of the international dimension sharing with Christians from all over the world of many denominations. Here the divisions of nationality, wealth and denomination all fade away as the common focus is Christ and his unconditional love.
The community was founded by Br Roger a Swiss Lutheran at the end of the Second World War. He wanted to do something to bring reconciliation between peoples who had fort a long and bloody war. As you drive to Taize you are always reminded of this as you pass the war cemeteries where so many young men of both sides lay, there lives cut short through mans inhumanity to man.
My stay this time is very different than before as it’s only two days rather than a week but even in this short time I have been able to engage fully in the experience. I was part of a small discussion group which consisted of a South African Minister, and Irishman, a Basque, and several Germans. We shared a bible study on the Sermon on the Mount as well as sharing our own spiritual journeys and our work was being part of the washing up team. Things have change a lot since my first visit nearly twenty years ago. There are now proper toilets, showers and many more permanent buildings rather than the large circus type tents that use to be used though the adult meeting place was tent of this kind. In times pass the best way to describe Taize was like a refugee camp they even used the same large blue tents that are provided by the UN in international emergencies.
Something’s never change and that is the Taize food which is very simple enough to survive a week on but not more. My first night I was delighted to see chicken nuggets on the menu board. However when it came to the meal it was one chicken nugget each with some peas and carrots so little chance of putting any weight on here. As I had my own tent I slept in this as it offers some privacy. There are barracks but quite often the snoring let alone the smell can lead to an international incident so a tent is best. I have found my rather thin self inflating sleeping mat very comfortable. I think it must have some kind of honey comb structure in it because I find I can’t feel the hard ground or any bumps and have slept very well with it. The other possibility is that my backside is now permanently num from spending so much time driving the 7!!!
Another early start tomorrow as I want to be away by 9am it’s a long drive to Le Puy so I will sign off now as I want to be fresh for the morning.
It was one evening while praying in front of the Icon of Jesus and the Believer that I felt the time was right and after evening prayer I went and spoke to my Vicar who was leading the trip and the journey began. Since that time I have returned to Taize on several occasions, once to live in the community to test my vocation to the monastic life but realized that my path lay else where namely Kate who I had just met before going to live there for 4 months.
Every week young people from all over the world come to spend a week in Taize. To take part in the daily prayer of chants, simple bible readings and silence three times a day. They also have a daily bible study and then help with the work of the community, be it cleaning cooking or gardening. During the holiday period there can be over 5000 people here mainly aged 17 – 30. Being with so many Christian is a very powerful experience as for once you feel like a majority rather than a minority and can be open about your faith with others, something young people and adults for that matter find difficult at school or in the work place. In Taize talking about ones pilgrimage of faith is commonplace. Then there is the addition of the international dimension sharing with Christians from all over the world of many denominations. Here the divisions of nationality, wealth and denomination all fade away as the common focus is Christ and his unconditional love.
The community was founded by Br Roger a Swiss Lutheran at the end of the Second World War. He wanted to do something to bring reconciliation between peoples who had fort a long and bloody war. As you drive to Taize you are always reminded of this as you pass the war cemeteries where so many young men of both sides lay, there lives cut short through mans inhumanity to man.
My stay this time is very different than before as it’s only two days rather than a week but even in this short time I have been able to engage fully in the experience. I was part of a small discussion group which consisted of a South African Minister, and Irishman, a Basque, and several Germans. We shared a bible study on the Sermon on the Mount as well as sharing our own spiritual journeys and our work was being part of the washing up team. Things have change a lot since my first visit nearly twenty years ago. There are now proper toilets, showers and many more permanent buildings rather than the large circus type tents that use to be used though the adult meeting place was tent of this kind. In times pass the best way to describe Taize was like a refugee camp they even used the same large blue tents that are provided by the UN in international emergencies.
Something’s never change and that is the Taize food which is very simple enough to survive a week on but not more. My first night I was delighted to see chicken nuggets on the menu board. However when it came to the meal it was one chicken nugget each with some peas and carrots so little chance of putting any weight on here. As I had my own tent I slept in this as it offers some privacy. There are barracks but quite often the snoring let alone the smell can lead to an international incident so a tent is best. I have found my rather thin self inflating sleeping mat very comfortable. I think it must have some kind of honey comb structure in it because I find I can’t feel the hard ground or any bumps and have slept very well with it. The other possibility is that my backside is now permanently num from spending so much time driving the 7!!!
Another early start tomorrow as I want to be away by 9am it’s a long drive to Le Puy so I will sign off now as I want to be fresh for the morning.
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