STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Yes, Virginia. You can find calm among the busyness of the Christmas holidays.
St. Thomas Episcopal Church will offer its Taize services beginning Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 5:30 p.m. Taize services will follow at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays on Dec. 13 and 20, Jan. 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31, and Feb. 7.
The service of Christian worship incorporates repetition and silence, as well as music.
Through singing simple chants, the mind is quieted and the heart is opened as the song becomes prayer. Times of silence become opportunities for worshippers to hold themselves in the present moment and let Christ pray through them through his Holy Spirit.
Taize Prayer takes its name from an ecumenical monastic order in Taize, Burgundy, France. It was founded in the early 1940s by Brother Roger Schutz, who worked tirelessly to find ways to heal divisions between Christians and among people in general.
The Taize community is composed of brothers from both the Catholic and Protestant traditions who originate from countries across the world.
The community has become an important pilgrimage site, with more than 100,000 young people making the pilgrimage each year for prayer, Bible study and communal work. While there, they’re encouraged to live in the spirit of kindness, simplicity and reconciliation.