Church of Ascension J2A Class Makes Pilgrimage to Taize, A French Monastery

The Journey to Adulthood (J2A) class of the Church of the Ascension, Knoxville, spent a full week with the Brothers of the Taize community in Taize, France before traveling on to Paris for a bit of R & R. The group spent June 3-10 with the Brothers in prayer, Bible study, worship and fellowship. They were accompanied by approximately 1500 youth from around the world.

Taize was a bold and daring choice for the youth, it presented them with the opportunity to not only explore their spirituality in the monastic environment but to meet other Christian youth from around the world.

The monastery at Taize was founded by Brother Roger in 1940. When the Jews were forced to flee from their homes, Brother Roger was there to offer a welcome to those escaping from Nazi persecution. By 1949 seven more brothers were committing themselves to the life of celibacy and to material and spiritual sharing in this community of Christ.

Today, the Taize community hosts around 100 brothers from different Christian traditions and from over 25 different countries. The brothers have made the commitment to live together "in joy, simplicity, and mercy as a ‘parable of community', a sign of the Gospel's call to reconciliation at the heart of the world." Life at Taize follows the monastic tradition and revolves around prayer, work and hospitality.

The pilgrims and their chaperones had an experience that will last them a lifetime of faith. This pilgrimage was a vital step in the faith walk of the participants. It was a unique way to explore how Christ changes lives. These pilgrims joyfully continue their journeys.

Taize

by Megan Larson
I nervously glanced at the clock on the classroom wall as I struggled to answer the last question on my final exam for the year. As I placed a period on my final sentence, the bell rang. A huge roar of cheers echoed through the halls as my classmates and I celebrated the end of our sophomore year.

As I walked to my locker, people rushed past me shouting, "Have a great summer, Megan! Where are you going on vacation?" I smiled excitedly, "I'm going to France." I felt a bit guilty, thinking of my pilgrimage to France as a "vacation." I knew this was supposed to be a time of great spiritual growth, but, frankly, I was more excited about arriving in a foreign country, seeing the countryside, and shopping in Paris.

The night before the trip, I packed all the belongings needed for the "perfect Paris vacation." I carefully placed tons of tank tops, some pjs, three disposable cameras, a bathing suit – all the necessities. At the last minute, I threw in a pair of jeans just in case there was a cool day.

When I arrived at the airport, I knew I was ready! My companions from Sunday School were all in line at the Northwest Airline counter. I had a full suitcase and plenty of gum and magazines for the plane ride. What could be better! I said goodbye to my family, and we were off – or so we thought. There was a "slight" delay of over two hours. We had to scramble to make our connection in Detroit but luckily, we made it. Unfortunately, half our luggage did not.

After a long journey with little sleep, we arrived at Taize, a monastery that ministers to youth. In addition to providing us with a place to stay and food to eat, the monks of Taize invited us to take part in their daily worship, and included us in Bible studies. It didn't take long for me to realize that Taize definitely would not be the "vacation" I expected. While wholesome, the food definitely was not the Five Star French cuisine I was expecting. Our first meal consisted of a heaping "plop" of peas and carrots, French bread, cheese and cookies. I also discovered that June weather in the Lyon-region of France is not the same as we experience in East Tennessee. I wore the sole pair of jeans my mother forced me to throw in my suitcase at the last minute for eight days in a row! I did manage to wear a pair of shorts on one of the warmer days but I carried three clean pairs home.

While Taize was not the "vacation" I had in mind, it gradually became one of the most enjoyable and spiritually fulfilling experiences of my life. I was able to see and feel God and my religion in a totally different way. Before Taize, I thought about religion almost scientifically. I justified my religious beliefs with religious texts and worshiped God in a purposeful but not terribly deep manner. The worship experience at Taize, however, enabled me to feel God's presence. The chants were especially spiritual because we would utter them over and over. Sometimes, we did not know what we were saying, but the words transformed into a relaxed meditative prayer.

One of my most memorable experiences was laying my head on a cross at evening prayer. We followed an Eastern Orthodox tradition, whereby a cross is placed on the floor as people take turns placing their head on the cross and praying. It was amazing! My classmates and I agreed that the cross felt like a magnet pulling our heads towards it.

I also enjoyed meeting youth from other countries. We became close with a group of guys from Ireland. After class, we played "football" (soccer) and even a little "American football" with them. Or we just spent time talking. In addition to our Irish friends, there were teens from Germany in our Bible study groups. It was interesting to hear the points of view of people from different cultural backgrounds. I also was amazed at how well they could speak English. In fact, their vocabulary was as good as ours, a humbling experience in itself.

My trip to France was not the vacation I envisioned. Nevertheless, I am still on a very special "vacation" from the life I lived before Taize. I definitely have changed spiritually and I am much happier. While I long to be back at Taize and with the friends I met, I don't miss the food or my dirty jeans.

A Chaperone’s View

by Kathleen Ambrose
Following his first Taize experience, a blind man wanted to share something of what it had meant to him. He stood and said "There is so much that I wanted to say, but I can't . . .Maybe later." Having something of the same difficulty of putting words around what we experienced in our week at Taize, we still would like to share what we can.

Our group of eight youth and three adults from the Church of the Ascension entered the Taize Community on Pentecost Sunday. We became part of a gathering of some 2000 for the week. As Americans we were in the minority to a majority of German youth here on Whitsuntide holidays from school. We understood that we were joining in the ongoing life of this monastic community, but we had many surprises awaiting us.

Imagine yourself joining three times a day in prayers with some 2000 people. Imagine this prayer period composed of three elements: prayerful silence, chanting of songs in various languages, and reading from God's Word. Imagine seeing people of all ages praying in a variety of postures. Imagine discovering that after the monks left and after the "directed" singing had ceased, many people stayed and prayed with spontaneous singing. Imagine young people as well as adults returning late at night to continue the praying and the singing well into the morning hours.

And outside this gathering for prayer, imagine a community of peace and love where nationality, denomination or age did not matter. Where what brought us together was the love of Christ and the desire to meet with one another in Christ's spirit of reconciliation. We found people ready to talk and ready to listen. Within the small groups that met each morning to discuss issues associated with the Bible lesson, we found a community to share our hopes and our fears, where one could speak about how being a Christian is for them in their everyday life. We made friends within our local "neighborhood." And there were more friends to meet at meals, at the OYAK café, or while washing dishes or serving meals. Joy, love, acceptance and laughter, lots of laughter, surrounded us as we lived together that week.

We heard the youth from different countries saying that this sort of worship experience brings them close to God, that this is what they feel the Church is really about. They said that in Taize they felt "invited" to join and for some that is not true in their churches at home. They said that they now understood a new way of praying that did not always have words. They said this experience is what strengthens their relationship with God, making it possible to continue their faith journey sometimes amidst lack of acceptance by their peers. They said they did not want to leave, and they certainly wanted to return.

Our hearts and lives were touched by what we experienced at Taize. And yet for some experiences there are still no words.