I found myself back in my familiar class this morning after what had felt like a month off; unfortunately it was only two weeks. After my time with friends in Paris I hopped on a train (this time at the right station!) and headed south to the hilly region of Burgundy. There I joined some 800 or so young people and a brotherhood of monks for a week of prayer, worship, simplicity, and community life. Sounds unusual...maybe even a bit dull, right? I had the same first impressions when I first heard about this place. Tucked away in silence on a secluded hill in France, the community of Taizé is unassuming, and yet over the past 60 years it has become a magnet for young European Christians, many of whom make unbelievably long pilgrimages just to make it there every year. Since I feel so strongly about the uniqueness of this place and the experience I had there this past week, I have decided to write you two blogs on Taizé.After train and bus travel through some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen, I was dropped off on a dusty path outside of the Taizé grounds. The community itself is situated on a steep hill, overlooking pastures and tree-lined valleys below, so the initial view is incredible and stretches on for miles. Adjacent to the grounds of Taizé is the tiny medieval village of Taizé; from where the commune got its name. The village which has maybe five or six homes and an ancient church that dates back to the 10th century. The area has been marked by the arrival of the Taizé community’s founder: Brother Roger Shutz. In 1940, during the German occupation of France, Brother Roger purchased the land for the community and began to minister to the poor. Although he had very little, he would house Jewish refugees and feed them from a little plot of land he farmed. Soon, he was targeted for his work by the Gestapo and was forced to flee to Switzerland until things blew over. When the war had ended Roger moved back to the community in France and soon thereafter other Christian brothers began to join him and a fraternity of brothers was formed. Today, there are more than 120 Brothers of Taizé, many of them coming from different countries and Christian traditions.
Like the diversity represented by the brothers, the visiting pilgrims are among the most diverse groups of people in the world. When I was there, I met young people literally from all over the world. Off the top of my head, I can recall meeting Germans, Brits, French, Austrians, Spanish, Russians, Americans, Italians, and one other Canadian. The first person I met walking into Taizé was an American: Scott, a 27 year old medical school student from Texas who had been coming to Taizé every year since his teenage years. Scott told me that he had a deep love for the community of Taizé, but he couldn’t quite pin down what it was exactly that kept drawing him back. After a week there I would say that this is a common feeling among the pilgrims... there’s something very unique about this place called Taizé. Next blog I’ll update you on how the week unfolded for me and about Taizé’s message of reconciliation.
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