Taize Worship

In 1940, Brother Roger left his home in Switzerland and settled in the small village of Taizé, France. Not long after, his little home became a refuge for people fleeing the war, including Jews. Eventually, Brother Roger had to return to Switzerland for a short while because the Nazis had a dim view of those who harbored Jews. He was in Geneva for two years, during which time he began to form a small community of like minded men devoted to Christian faith, meditation, celibacy and living simply. In 1944, he and several brothers returned to Taizé and formed an ecumenical monastic order based on simple and faithful living, reconciliation and communal work. Now, there are about 100 brothers of the order living in Taizé, however, the Taizé form of worship has captured the imagination of people worldwide. In fact, many people now go to Taizé for spiritual retreats and many churches have now added a Taizé worship opportunity. There is a very good website at www.taize.fr/en with much more information.

Taizé worship is meditative and contemplative. The music is simple and very much participatory (not performance based). At the service I attended at Alamo Heights UMC in San Antonio, the music was a flute and clarinet, and Pastor Donna Strieb handled the vocals. Most songs are simply one or two lines, repeated for effect. The Taizé community deliberately chose Latin as its primary musical language because of its ancient roots and because it offered a common language among very diverse worshipers. However, there are many songs in English that work just fine. "Jesus, Remember Me", on page 488 of the Methodist Hymnal is an example and I suspect that some churches use more of the English songs than the traditional Latin Taizé songs. There are deliberate periods of silence in the service and time to reflect. I noted that candles and Eastern Orthodox icons were used as focal points in the service. I understand that some Taizé services include a short message and the one I attended included a healing/blessing time at the end.

The Taizé service I attended allowed for more introspection than a traditional worship service, and I found myself listening a bit more for God’s voice. I had recently been reading John 20:19, and I actually gained some insight regarding that Scripture during the service. I surely found myself at peace when I left and for some reason, was quite touched by the blessing at the end of the service.

That, my friends, is just about all I know about Taizé worship, but since our church is seriously considering adding a Taizé service, I would like to know more. In particular, for those of you familiar with this style of worship:

1. How was it received at your church?
2. What age groups were attracted?
3. Did you use the traditional Taizé music resources, or work from a more traditional hymnal?
4. What musical instruments were used in the service?
5. How often do you worship?
6. What words of wisdom would you have for a church starting such a service?

I hope that enough of the folks who read “Reflections” have some experience with Taizé worship and can give us some advice. Please email me: bill@layministryfumc.com. By the way, I trust that you have noted that on my Lay Ministry website, I have a calendar for lay speaking and lay ministry events in the Southwest Texas and the Texas Conferences of the United Methodist Church. If you would like for me to add your event to the calendar (wherever it might be), just email me with the particulars and I will be happy to do so. The folks that administer the site seem pleased with the traffic and it is my purpose to provide that sort of information to as many people as I can.

Joy!

Bill

Easter Reflections

As all of you know, Easter is much more than the joyous celebration of Sunday morning. Beginning with prayers of repentance on Ash Wednesday, through the introspection of Lent and the passion of Holy Week, we are drawn closer and closer to the Cross, the empty tomb and a resurrected Jesus. Here at FUMC, Seguin, we certainly had a celebration. An intimate remembrance of that last meal with the Disciples marked Maundy Thursday. Good Friday was observed with a properly austere and somber service. Sunday was a series of grand, passionate celebratory worship services. I believe that the pastors, staff, congregation and visitors fully experienced Holy Week. So, now, just like the faithful did after the first Easter, we can all rest and catch our breath a little.

What? You don’t remember Scripture saying anything about them kicking back and taking it easy? That is probably because it didn’t happen that way. Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John and two other disciples tried to go fishing, but Jesus pursued them(John 21:1-14). The Disciples hid behind locked doors, but Jesus pursued them(John 20:19). Some took off for Emmaus, but Jesus pursued them (Luke 24:11-35). The early church was gathering momentum, even as the Pharisees and the Romans hunted and persecuted them. The Disciples responded by meeting in prayer and planning the future of the church(Acts 1:14,25). Then, Pentecost came and they really got busy. This group of ordinary men and women, mostly rural fishermen, were transformed by the Holy Spirit into evangelists, church planters, theologians and witnesses of the Gospel. Were they effective?

"With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." (Acts 2:40-41)

"Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:46-47)

If Holy Week has created spiritual momentum and passion in our churches, it seems wrong to simply let it dissipate. We work so hard to attract visitors to our worship, ought we not to invest similar effort in following up and making sure that all their questions have been answered, telling them that their attendance was appreciated and that we would love to have them back? Perhaps we were able to discern some ministry needs or opportunities that need attention. Have we profusely thanked our clergy, ushers, cancel choirs, praise bands, special musicians, nursery workers, acolytes, liturgists and all of the rest of the staff and volunteers for making worship so marvelous? Can the joy we have experienced be infused into each following Sunday?

As you can see, catching this spiritual wave is not clergy driven; rather it is the work of the laity. We are the ones who visit with our friends, acquaintances, co-workers and others about our church. If they are not members, then they know about our church from what we witness. If our witness reflects well on our church, then our church will grow. As importantly, when we remember to thank those who work so diligently to make worship at our church special, we encourage them and they grow stronger. Working together, and driven by the Holy Spirit, we can vitalize ministry in our church and community. We can parlay the joy of our Easter celebration into so much more, as Jesus pursues us and puts us to his work.

Joy!

Bill