| *Contemplative Taizé Wednesdays |
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During Lent, Taize services will be held on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-6:45 p.m. Please take some time out of your busy schedule to join us! You are invited to weekly contemplative worship.
The chancel area is bathed in soft candlelight enabling worshipers to leave the hustle andbustle of the world and find peaceful space in which to open their hearts to the mystery of God's presence. For more information on our Wednesday Taizé time, please Contact Us We look forward to seeing you! Taizé (pronounced ta-zay) is the name of a town and a "community" in France. Begun in the early 1940's by a monk named Brother Roger who wanted to offer Hospitality to Jewish refugees and other victims of the war, it has since grown into an international brotherhood whose main concern is to offer hospitality to anyone, but especially young people seeking peace. Today, the Taizé Community is made up of over a hundred brothers, Roman Catholic and from various Protestant backgrounds, from more than twenty-five nations. By its very existence, the community is thus a concrete sign of reconciliation between divided Christians and separated peoples. Every week from early spring to late autumn, young adults from different continents arrive on the hill of taizé. They are searching for meaning in their lives, in communion with many others. By going to the wellsprings of trust in God, they set out on an inner pilgrimage that encourages them to build relationships of trust among human beings. Some weeks in the summer months, more than 5,000 young people from 75 different countries thus take part in a common adventure. And this adventure continues when they return home. It is expressed in their concern to deepen an innter life and by their readiness to take on responsibilities in order to make the world a better place to live in. Perhaps Taizé is best known for the music that has come out of its expression of worship. Those leading worship early on were confronted with how to communicate to people from various parts of the world at once and it was quickly seen that music is the one universal language we all can appreciate. And so singing quickly became one of the most essential elements of worship. And by singing short songs, repeated again and again, people were able to learn them quickly and find that such quiet meditative singing led them into prayer. Using just a few words the songs express a basic reality of faith, which can quickly be grasped by the mind. As the words are sung over many times, this reality gradually penetrates the whole being. Meditative singing thus becomes a way of listening to God. It allows everyone to take part in a time of prayer together and to remain together in attentive waiting on God, without having to fix the length of time too exactly. To open the gates of trust in God, nothing can replace the beauty of human voices united in song. This beauty can give us a glimpse of "heaven's joy on earth," as Eastern Christians put it. And an inner life begins to blossom within us. These songs also sustain personal prayer. Through them, little by little, our being finds and inner unity in God. They can continue in the silence of our hearts when we are at work, speaking with others or resting. In this way prayer and daily life are united. They allow us to keep on praying even when we are unaware of it, in the silence of our hearts. At Asbury First, on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m, we offer Taizé style worship. Five songs, periods of silence, one scripture reading for reflection, and the availability of Holy Communion. The chancel area is bathed in soft candlelight enabling worshipers to leave the hustle and bustle of the world and find peaceful space in which to open their hearts to the mystery of God's presence.
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