"Ah Taize, that little
springtime."
So said Pope John Paul when he visited the Taize community in
1986.
Named for a small town in France, Brother Roger founded there
in 1940, .
When World War II started, a man called Brother Robert felt led
to assist people in difficult straits. He purchased a place
of refuge in the village of Taize, France to be an international,
ecumenical community devoted to, among other things, great simplicity
of life. Brother Robert believed in prayer and said, "Prayer
is a serene force at work within human beings, stirring them
up, transforming them, never allowing them to close their eyes
in the face of evil, or wars, or all that threatens the weak
of this world."
Taize Service
The Taize form of prayer
that evolved consists of music made up of simple melodies repeated
several times to allow it to become a prayer of the heart.
The service contains readings from the Scripture and periods
of silence and music with choir accompaniment. The silence
allows a special opportunity to unburden us and allow God to
speak in the silence of our hearts. It is a deeply reverent and
moving service.
We invite the entire community of St. John's, both adults and
the youth of the parish to our Taize style service click SERVICES to look for date of next Taize
service. The evening will consist of prayer, music and scriptural
readings. This is not a traditional worship service but rather
a time for reflection, quiet and meditation. We expect it will
last about an hour. We hope you will join us.
