Taizé service for the beginning of LENT 6 pm Sunday 1st March 2020, @ St John the Baptist Church, Waterloo Rd, Crowthorne.
The ecumenical community of brothers based at Taizé in France, has become well known for its contemplative style of sung prayer. It is a fitting style of worship as we gather together as ecumenical brothers and sisters.
Singing – There is a lot of this! It is “a singing which goes on and on and continues afterwards in the silence of our hearts.” It reminds us that the worship of heaven has no beginning or end and in which we join. If the printed music doesn’t help you, just pick up the tunes and harmonies by ear and use the words to help you.
Languages – There are often a lot of these too! The worship of Taizé arises out of a truly international community and reminds us that we belong to a world-wide family. For this reason, Latin is also sometimes used as an ancient universal language which is the common heritage of the church in many parts of the world.
Silence – There’s a fair bit of this as well. The simplicity of the worship is intended to lead us to a place of stillness in the presence of God. For this reason, a period of silence is at the heart of all Taizé prayer. During the silence, you may wish to focus on the candles or images before you, on the words of scripture, or to close your eyes. Enjoy the space and the chance to be open to God.