For the last two Sundays, the crib outside the Church of Reconciliation has shown passing visitors that the season of Advent has begun! It is also marked in Taizé by the responses and hymns during the prayers, and the Bible readings from Isaiah at the morning prayer.
A group of students from the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey came for three days, with their director, Romanian Orthodox priest Ion Sauca. Last Sunday, the light from Bethlehem arrived in Taizé before being carried throughout the region by a group of Scouts, as Christmas gets nearer. The same day, the Eucharist was celebrated by Father Maroun from Lebanon, with a deacon who prayed and sang in Aramaic, the language of Jesus.
The time of Advent is also marked by the preparation for the next European meeting. The main part of the preparation is taking place in Berlin, but several projects connected with the meeting are being prepared in Taizé, among them the decoration for the prayer halls and the booklet that will be used throughout the meeting. Then, during Christmas night, it will be time to set off for Berlin.
Several young people spending a longer time in Taizé have been sent these last weeks to various countries: France, Germany, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Poland, and Lithuania. Among them, Daniel from Slovakia and Lorenz from Germany wrote on their return from Rotterdam->http://www.taize.fr/en_article12009.html] “Just one year ago, the preparation team of the European meeting was in full activity looking for families to welcome the thousands of young people getting ready to set out for Rotterdam…”
30,000 young adults will gather in Berlin from 28th December to 1st January for the 34th stage of the “pilgrimage of trust” led by the Taizé Community. Welcomed by the churches and the people of Berlin, the young people coming from all over Europe and the other continents as well will be seeking the impetus for a new solidarity.
In November one of the brothers spent some time in Japan. His stay was deeply marked by visits to disaster areas caused by the earthquake that struck Japan on 11 March 2011 and the three tsunamis which followed immediately after it. In fact, these were visits of communion and solidarity, since in many of the places visited there are friends and acquaintances of the community who are either victims or who are involved as volunteers.
One of the brothers recently returned from Moscow after taking part in the life of the six Orthodox parishes that welcomed the 250 young people who participated in the Holy Week and Easter pilgrimage led by Taizé earlier this year. Many people spoke of the joy that remains after receiving these pilgrims and also of how important it was to see the interest of young Europeans for the Orthodox tradition and Russian culture. There was also a meeting for young Russians who will be coming to take part in the Berlin meeting. Around 70 are expected from Moscow, with other groups coming from St Petersburg, Tula and Kaliningrad. Others have started preparing to come to Taizé next summer.
A brother of Taizé recently spent a fortnight in the Holy Land and Lebanon, from
21 November to 6 December: “Arrival in the middle of the night and a few hours’
sleep in a welcoming Franciscan community at Jaffa, a few yards from where the
apostle Peter had his vision (see Acts 10:9-16) whilst he was lodging with Simon
the tanner. It was there that the Church began to grasp its call to
universality. It’s not difficult to imagine Peter on one of these terraces
looking at the sea which calls to a wide and universal vision.
A journey,
the same day, towards Nazareth. A most warm welcome by a family from Nazareth.
Over the years, the whole family has passed through Taizé: the father (now
deceased), the mother, the three brothers, and the sister and her children. That
same evening thirty of us came together for a prayer with the songs of Taizé at
the Little Brothers of Jesus. …”
One of the brothers preparing the meeting in Chicago says, “We hope to bring
together young adults from many different backgrounds and Christian
denominations – and perhaps some who don’t usually go to church but are
searching for something more in their life – for an experience of communion with
God in prayer and community with one another. There is a great diversity in
North America, but often the different groups just live side by side; they don’t
really know one another. We hope that this gathering will be a time to discover
that we all can learn a lot from one another, that we can help each other to
deepen our faith in Christ and make the world a more human place.”
Video: Meeting in Chicago
Pilgrimage of trust in
Chicago 25 to 28 May 2012 (Memorial Day weekend)
Two brothers, accompanied by two young Kenyans, spent the 8th to 20th of last
November in Rwanda for a new
stage towards the pilgrimage of trust on earth to be held in Kigali from
November 14th to 18th 2012.
This visit consisted firstly of some time spent
in visiting parish officials and youth chaplains to introduce them to the
preparations for next year’s meeting and to fix some dates with some of the
young people likely to take part. At the same time, it was necessary to ask for
their help in preparing this large international and ecumenical meeting, and to
reassure those who, in facing such a new challenge, might worry or construct all
sorts of strategies designed to assure the success of the venture.…
God our peace, we entrust to you all those who can see no future, whose hope has failed. Your Holy Spirit makes our prayer burn ever more ardently, and we wish to keep watch for those who are no longer able to do so. Yes, also by our prayer, we prepare a way for your coming.