Sunday, August 30, 10:00 AM
We will mix up our worship a bit and be immersed in
The Taizé Experience
Pastor Kristin will lead us in a special worship experience which she explored during June, firsthand in France. Our own pew hymnals contain over a dozen hymns from the Taizé community.
In a noisy and busy world, come and experience quiet reflection and peace. This type of worship provides a gentle space to rest in God’s presence!
A Message from Pastor Kristin about Taizé
In June I had the opportunity to spend a week in Taizé, France. It is an ecumenical monastic community. The Humble Walk which is the name of The Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Maryland, College Park travels to Europe every other summer for the students to experience church in different settings. They invite others to join the group while they are in Taizé. Almost at the last minute, I decided to go to experience this community my son raved about from being there two summers ago. I knew I loved singing the simple, beautiful music, I wanted to spend time with Joseph before his next adventure in Cambodia for the upcoming year and I’ve heard good things about the community.
When you think of a trip to France you probably think of amazing food and wine – well this is not where you find either of those. Breakfast each day is bread, chocolate and butter (which is actually delicious), the other meals of the day were also very simple, easy to feed lots of people quickly. Taizé is not a five-star resort, not even close, but one step up from camping (and some people do camp).
The food and lodging are not ideal, but the beautiful part of Taizé is the worship and community.
The community gathers together 3 times a day for worship. Most people are sitting on the hard floor – some using prayer benches. The Brothers from the community sit in the middle. Most of the time no one is up front leading, no bulletins, but simply a song book and sometimes an extra paper with the Psalm of the day on it. It is primarily songs – lots of them (and sung in many languages – representing groups of people currently there for the week). The week I was there we sang in English, Latin, French, German, Swedish, and Chinese. Simple beautiful repetitive melodies and harmonies that echo throughout the space.
Worship also includes a long period of silence (probably 7-10 minutes.) At first, I just prayed my stomach didn’t make a lot of noise digesting my meal, but then as the week went on, I found the time to go by quickly – I prayed for my family and friends. I prayed for the world. I prayed for Holy Trinity. I prayed for all who were in the community that week and so much more. I also meditated on a line from one of the songs or the reading. I felt God’s presence with me throughout the week in the people I met and in worship. Many of you know I’m not a quiet person, but I enjoyed the silence and the space to reflect and meditate.
When I left for this trip to France, I thought it would be a once in a lifetime experience – but as the week went on it was such a meaningful and different experience of God’s love that I hope to go again sometime and to bring others with me. I met wonderful people of faith from France, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and The United States.
Want to learn more about Taizé? Check out their website taize.fr and join us on Sunday, August 30 for a Taizé style worship service.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Kristin Hoyer