How Taize changed the church | August 19, 2005

8/18/2005

By Steve Tomkins
BBC News

Paris, France - The stabbing of a 90-year-old monk would be extraordinary at any time. But Brother Roger, the founder of Taize who was killed on Tuesday, leaves a legacy which is felt in churches all over the world.

The influence of the Taize community on the church the UK and throughout the world has been pretty remarkable.

A monastic community in a small village in Burgundy, it has never advertised, or recruited, or marketed its style of worship. But all over Britain, and throughout the world, there are churches running weekly Taize services, or who incorporate its style and approach into services.

It has never advertised, recruited, or marketed its style of worship

This is simply because since Brother Roger Schutz founded the community during the Second World War, Christians have dropped in, been wowed, and spread the good news abroad. Up to 5,000 people a week visit the brothers, who number only 100.

The emphasis of its style is on silence, light, and above all the meditative weaving together of prayer and music.

Taize is also deeply committed to religious unity, and although its founders were all Protestants, it drew on various Christian traditions. Pope John XXIII called it "That little springtime", and Catholic churches have widely adopted the Taize approach.

Brother Roger first started the community in 1940 as a sanctuary for wartime refugees, including Jews and later German POWs. He only prayed alone in his room or the nearby woods, not wanting to pressurise non-Christian guests.

Roger and some Christian friends took monastic vows in 1949, and within years Taize had become a magnet for young travellers. The brothers all work for a living, and do not accept donations.

The most characteristic - and copied - aspect of Taize worship is their kind of song-prayer sandwich. The leader says a short prayer, then the congregation sings a short chorus, such as:

O Lord, hear my prayer,

O Lord, hear my prayer,

When I call, answer me.

And then they sustain the last note, or continue humming, as the leader says the next prayer. This combination, say the brothers, "can form a kind of 'pillar of fire' at the heart of the prayer".

Bible readings from the Psalms are often treated the same way, a chorus being sung after each verse.

Another characteristic of Taize is stretches of silence. A prayer service may have a ten-minute silence in the middle. The brothers explain the reason for this: "If with a childlike trust we let Christ pray silently within us, then one day we shall discover that the depths of our being are inhabited by a Presence."

There is also a "hymn to the light of Christ", during which children light oil lamps. Everything is designed to foster meditation.

Another characteristic is that everyone, including the leaders, is supposed to face the front, to emphasise the fact that they are praying to God, to one another.

The community is dedicated to Christian unity, and one of its successes is that all kinds of churches now share this same style of worship from various denominations - whatever their other differences. And the community itself now includes many Catholics as well as various species of Protestants.

Pope John Paul II paid a visit and praised "the transparency of brotherly love". The brothers have also welcomed Archbishops of Canterbury, Orthodox Patriarchs, Lutheran bishops and Methodist and Baptist pastors.

For 65 years, Taize was built and led by Brother Roger. He was deeply loved, and many visitors have spoken about the profound impression he made on them.

But the fact that Taize has proved so importable by local churches suggests that it is a lot more than a personality cult. Rather it is a whole approach to Christian life and worship, and as such it is likely to keep going strong for a long time after Brother Roger's death.

Posted by admin at August 19, 2005 03:00 PM