A Taste of Taizé at St. Paul’s Caledonia

As many readers of the Niagara Anglican will know, Taizé worship is a quiet, candlelit meditation and reflection, based on singing simple, repetitive chants, listening to scripture, with periods of prayer and total silence.

This style of worship began in 1940 at the beginning of World War II, when Roger Schultz-Marsauche (also known as Brother Roger) invited people to seek safety in the village of Taizé in Burgundy, France. He established a community where refugees would be safe.  He designed an ecumenical service for the community. The village of Taizé is a popular pilgrimage site for young people in particular.  Through the years, the movement has spread throughout the world.  Brother Roger died a tragic death in 2005.  His legacy lives on.

My personal interest in Taizé began during the COVID pandemic, when, out of necessity, I spent a lot of time on my own.  I joined a centring prayer group and practised on my own.

When the Caledonia Presbyterian Church, under the direction of Pastor Janice Doyle, began to offer a Taizé service to the community, I joined a group of my friends and attended on a regular basis. These services are offered once a month. After one service, our little group wondered if we could offer a similar service, also once a month.  Last January, after some research and a lot of discussion, we launched a monthly Taizé service at Saint Paul’s under my leadership.

In the darkened church, we light as many candles as we can find flat surfaces to hold.  Near some of the candles, we place framed traditional icons; the colours literally glow in the candlelight.

Our strategy is simple. We open in silence, with breath prayers to calm our hearts and minds.  A rotation of prayer, scripture (a psalm or a New Testament reading), with music leading into a period of silence, is repeated twice more.  We close with brief intercessions and a sending hymn.  As we started, we end in silence and leave without speaking so that those who wish can continue to pray.  The service is projected on a screen using PowerPoint, for the convenience of the participants.

With our chancel and sanctuary at the east end of the church, we were able to proceed in relative darkness until the summer solstice, when we initially planned to take a break for the summer. One of our members suggested that she would like to experience a meditation on a stained-glass window.  In July, the sun streamed brilliantly through the Ascension window in the west wall of the church.  This 100-year-old window was the perfect centrepiece, allowing us to embrace its story, the colours and shapes, and also its heritage. As light permits, we plan to study all eight windows in the church in the same way.

This type of service is not unique to us, with Taizé services offered at Christ Church Cathedral and at the Church of the Resurrection in Hamilton.

If you are searching for an opportunity to reflect quietly in God’s presence, I encourage you to take advantage of a Taizé service near you.