TAIZÉ | PART 2

Upon arrival, since we must have looked considerably older, they put us in a “nicer” dorm room, which made me chuckle in front of the host. There was no registration fee (I had registered online before we came) but we were given an opportunity to give a love offering. We were also told that because of our age, we did not have to perform any manual service, as the young people were required to put in about 3 hours a day of physical labor. I acted disappointed but was relieved in the inside. I thought we could spend the time walking the ground and talking with others. Since it was off peak season, there were only about 500 people. 

The Taizé community is well known for their simple and beautifully meditative melodic songs, most of them with only two stanzas. Later, I learned that their music structure, largely, is that of an ostinato (a simple melody that repeats over and over). They function more like a musical “centering prayer” which I found my soul resonating with effortlessly. They write their own music and sing in multiple languages seamlessly during their worship, which takes place three times a day. I was giddy when we were about to enter the sanctuary for the first time, since I was somewhat acquainted with the testimonies of others. Upon entering, what welcomed us could be best described as a respectful hush of silence. We were enveloped under the weight (glory) of silence like a warm weighted blanket over us. Silence was deep and stark, which made me gasp. Even as I am writing this, I remember it like it was yesterday. 

What we saw next was the absence of chairs or benches. The sanctuary was a wide-open space, demarcated by the middle section where the resident brothers sit to worship. Koreans would love the seating arrangement, since they have no issue with sitting on the floor without any furniture. I thought to myself I had become too Americanized. I struggled to be comfortable, but this too over time felt normal and right. After getting acclimated with silence and the seating arrangement, I noticed that there was no podium, with no one standing facing us presiding or leading anything. Everyone was facing the same direction, including the brothers. When it was time to sing, we could see the number flashing on a digital display on either side of the sanctuary, guiding us to the right page in the songbook. During worship, brothers would often take turns and sing using the mic lying in front of them in their own mother tongue. As they are known for their angelic voices, when I did not know what was going on at first, I would turn around to see who was singing, probably embarrassing Grace and signaling to those around me that this was my first visit to Taizé. Our gaze would naturally turn to the brothers when they read the Scriptures in the middle of the room. The centerpiece of the worship was the eight-minute-long silence right in the middle of the worship followed by liturgical prayers, including prayer for the world. 

I was initially drawn to the Taizé community for two main reasons. First, I wanted to know and experience what makes young people flock to Taizé. Second, it seemed that the brothers exhibited a higher or deeper calling than to further their own sect or denomination within Protestant or Catholic traditions. I desperately wanted to know why they decided to be part of the community and what they were drawn to. Additionally, I wanted to see firsthand how they do community as brothers foremostly and with other visitors as well. Because of the first reason shared above, I approached the young people whenever it was appropriate for me to ask and listen. My questions were simple and straight forward: What drew you here? What did you hear before you came? How has your experience been here so far? What have you learned? The opportunity to ask and listen mainly transpired during meal hours and during small group interactions as we were assigned to a small group during our stay. 

“Certain summer evenings in Taizé, under a sky heavy with stars, we can hear the young people through our open windows. We remain astonished that they are so numerous. They search, they pray. And we say to ourselves: their aspirations for peace and trust are like these stars, little lights in the night.”

Brother Roger, Letter 2005, “A future of peace”

There were three main reasons I deduced after talking to a slew of young people. The biggest attraction for the young people was silence. I was fascinated but was not surprised to hear such a response. This group of young people are the most “connected”, and thus more likely distracted, than of all previous generations. They have access to all kinds of information literally on their fingertips. I wanted to dig deeper. The second reason was the Taizé music. The third reason is twofold: they were drawn to the physical community that they perceived and experienced as safe, and they were drawn to the brothers’ way of living in community. The notion of being safe was about creating space for genuine spiritual pursuit without judgment or criticism. Even during a short stay, we were able to witness in both quiet and loud manners that Christ drowned out all doctrinal jargons and religious parochialism. One of Taizé’s lived-out, not aspirational, core values is brotherly love. Brother Roger’s dictum of “God is only love” is being lived out among the brothers.