News from Taizé
Prague : Tens of thousands of young people gathered "to be salt for the earth"
After 24 years, the Taizé Community has returned to Prague for the 37th European Meeting. The logistical challenges were enormous, but the most powerful experience probably lay in the ordinary meetings between very different people, reflecting a universal fellowship. Among the many testimonies sent to us by young participants in the meeting, here is one from Antoinette (Switzerland): "My hosts told me that they were part of the ’Cladestine Church’ during the totalitarian regime. [...] To listen to their story really made a mark on me and made me realize that we have a great responsibility as Christians. Not only to each other within our own communities, but also to society. To be salt for the earth, means supporting each other and bearing witness to our faith. By staying true to our values, I am sure we can bring about big changes and a little bit of peace in our society."
Brother Alois’ "Proposals for 2015"
On the first day of the Prague meeting the young people each received the meeting booklet. It contained the programme, but began with an introduction by Brother Alois in which he speaks about the recent stages in the "Pilgrimage of Trust" on the American continent. It also contained the text of the four "Proposals for 2015" for becoming salt for the earth. During the meditations which he gave each evening, Brother Alois expounded on these themes and also talked about the friendship that has bound Taizé together with Czech Christians for decades.
Messages Received for the Meeting
Many Church leaders have written messages of encouragement to the meeting participants, including Pope Francis, The Patriarch of Constantinople, Metropolitan Hilarion on behalf of the Moscow Patriarchate, The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Secretaries General of the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation. There were also messages from political leaders: Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations ; Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament and Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic.
Upcoming stages in the "Pilgrimage of Trust"
In Prague, Brother Alois also announced international youth meetings that will take place over the coming months, both in Taizé and on other continents.
- Australia and New Zealand: After the meetings in Africa, Asia and the Americas, Brother Alois will lead the final stage of this pilgrimage across all the continents by visiting Australia and New Zealand, together with two other brothers of the community. The pilgrimage in Australia will begin and end with visits to indigenous communities and there will be a welcome service with local communities when the brothers arrive in New Zealand.
- Russia, Belarus and Ukraine: Brother Alois extended this invitation during the meeting in Prague: "Young people from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, belonging to different churches, are present here among us. Together with them, we know that Christ is our hope and our peace. So, with a few of my brothers and young adults from various European countries, we will go on pilgrimage to celebrate with them at home the Resurrection of Christ during the Orthodox Easter next April 12. The two stages of the pilgrimage, either in Russia from 8 - 12 April, or in Ukraine from 15 - 19 April, are open to around a hundred young adults aged between 18 and 35.
- Spain: On the evening of December 31st, Brother Alois announced to the young people gathered in Prague that the next European Meeting would take place in a city that has not yet hosted such a gathering: Valencia, in Spain. When he received the news, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares also expressed “deep gratitude” to the ecumenical community of Taizé and encouraged young people to participate in great numbers. “It will be a Church gathering, a meeting of prayer for the unity of all Christians".
- Benin: Finally, an African meeting in the Pilgrimage of Trust was also announced. Following on from the meetings in Kenya and Rwanda, the young people of West Africa and from other parts of the world will gather together in September 2016 in Cotonou, Benin.
Small Provisional Communities: Some News
Groups of young people are continuing to stay for several weeks or months in "Small Provisional Communities". Ashley, Nynke and Wilma are spending four weeks in the town of Amstetten, in Austria. They write: Every morning we pray at the house, and it’s nice to start every day with singing and silence. Although it is sometimes difficult to get up early, we are all motivated to pray, and we appreciate the morning prayer. After, we have breakfast together and then we go out for different activities. Two of us go twice a week to help at a "social market" where people without much money can buy food at low prices; the third has been spending time at a second-hand clothes shop.
For the Diary
- France: A prayer to mark the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will take place in Taizé on Sunday 18 January at 5pm. Beforehand, two brothers will give a presentation about the life of the Fraternity in Alagoinhas, Brazil. Christians from Brazil were responsible for choosing the texts and themes for this year’s Week of Prayer.
- USA: One of the brothers will be in Green Bay, Wisconsin, from 2 to 6 Febuary, then in Seattle and Spokane, Washington State, from 7 to 12 February.
- Canada: One of the brothers will visit several cities in the country in February and the beginning of March: Montreal, Ottawa, London and Windsor. He will take part in some prayers services with the songs of Taizé and lead several meetings.
Prayer and Silence
Since early January, Brother Alois’ prayer from the midday prayer in the Church of Reconciliation is published daily on Twitter in English and French.
As Brother Alois said in Prague "To all the young people taking part in this European meeting, various concrete proposals are made for the coming year. One of these proposals is to spend half an hour in silence each Sunday night praying together with others for peace in the world. It means half an hour devoted on one hand to entrusting to God those countries and people suffering from violence, but also to welcoming the peace of Christ in ourselves, to prepare us to be creators of peace and justice there where we live."
On Sunday, January 11, the tragic events in Paris were at the heart of this quiet time for the brothers and the young people gathered in Taizé. On the second day of the events Brother Alois prayed as follows during the midday prayer:
In a world where violence disconcerts us, we would like to follow you, Christ Jesus. You defeated hatred and evil. We welcome your peace in order to pass it on to others around us. And with all women and men of good will we want to protect the dignity of every human being.
In a world where violence disconcerts us, we would like to follow you, Christ Jesus. You defeated hatred and evil. We welcome your peace in order to pass it on to others around us. And with all women and men of good will we want to protect the dignity of every human being.
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