The
following article appeared in the Sun Newspapers on December 30, 2004, and will
give you an insight into the Taizé worship experience. Since that time, Zion Lutheran Church
has closed, and Lori and Scott are continuing the Taizé tradition by holding services
(usually) on the last Sunday of the month at Cherokee Christian Church, 75th
and Belinder (NW corner) at 5:00pm.
We hope to see you soon.
Page 6D
The Sun Newspapers
December 30, 2004
Taizé worship provides a
chance to reflect
By Emily Willson
Taizé, France, is the home of an international, ecumenical community founded by Brother Roger in 1940. Taizé is also a form of worship based on that community’s teachings. In September 2004, Taizé worship came to Zion Lutheran Church, 7501 Belinder, Prairie Village.
“We live in a society where
everybody is just rushing, rushing, rushing. In Taizé it is different,” said Scott McDonald who organizes
the music for Zion’s Taizé worship along with his wife, Lori.
“Simplicity is the hallmark
of this form of prayer. It is
simple, reflective, quiet,” said the Rev. Michael Kerr, pastor at Zion.
The average Taizé worship
service lasts about 45 minutes.
The atmosphere is simple and relaxing.
“The space is marked with
icons and candles to create a meditative mood,” Kerr said. As for attire, he said, “Come as you
are.”
Much of the service is
spent singing short prayer songs, usually eight measures in length. “You sing it over and over until you
are not really concentrating on the melody or the lyric…,” Lori said. “And after a while you are really
praying it as you sing it.”
Amid the songs and short
Bible passage readings, there is a silence that lasts about 10 minutes. “When people experience that for the first
time, the silence can be deafening because they are not used to that,” Scott
said. But during this time, “…Your
can really hear God speak to you.”
Lori said, “I think the very heart of Taizé is that people will go to a
Taizé worship and just stop.”
Thousands of people across
the world migrate each year to Taizé, a village in southeastern France, to
share a week of worship and contemplative prayer. The monastic community welcomes people of any denomination
to stay within the community. The
McDonalds traveled to Taizé in 1999 and again in 2000.
“You are not coming there
for a luxury spa vacation,” Scott said.
“You come there to experience God.” Lori described the atmosphere of the community as
“Spartan.” While people 30 years
of age and older reside in bare, monastic rooms, young people stay in tents or
barracks. All meals are served in
small plastic bowls with spoons.
Prayer sessions take place
three times a day. During Bible
study, Lori said,”…typically on of the brothers will talk about the scripture
in English, then he will say it in French, then he will say it in German…”
She said during their first
trip to Taizé there were 30 different countries represented among the 1,000
people attending. She said that
number was small in comparison to the throngs of people the community usually
draws.
“It is broadly ecumenical
in its spirit,” Kerr said. “People
come from all manner of traditions and language groups, and everyone is
welcomed into the same prayer life…in that sense it is a unifying movement.”
A unifying movement is what
Brother Roger was striving for. He
began the monastic community in Taizé to shelter Jews from the Nazis. His vision was for all people of
Christian faith to be reconciled through prayer.
The community strives to
make Taizé worship accessible and possible for everyone. The cost for visiting and staying in
Taizé is prorated as to the perceived wealth of the country you are from. While Americans pay one of the highest
rates, the McDonalds agree it is still not much. Scott said it cost $176 for both himself and Lori to stay
for the entire week. That cost
covered the lodging and meals.
The actual worship of Taizé
is also accessible. “The elements
are so simple that everyone can participate,” Scott said.
Whether among 10,000 other
people from around the globe, sitting in the sanctuary at Zion or relaxing in
one’s own home, a person can experience Taizé worship anywhere, he said.
“It is individualized
worship. It is done with thousands
of people (in Taizé), but it is really the individual’s own worship to God,”
Lori said. Scott added, “Taizé is
very much meant go be a direct access to God and to Jesus.”
Cherokee
Christian Church is holding Taizé worship (near) the last Sunday of every month
at 5p.m. Please check the “Public
Performance” on this site for the exact day.
For
more information about Taizé or to register to stay in the community in France,
visit www.taize.fr.