Group leaders are The Revd Philippa Segrave-Pride (philippa@segrave-pride.freeserve.co.uk) and The Revd John Kiddle (john.kiddle@stalbans.anglican.org)
For information, or to request a booking form, please contact: The Revd Ysmena Pentelow on 01727 818151 or ysmenapentelow@tiscali.co.uk www.taize.fr (the Taize website); www.gotaize.org.uk (our website)
In the not too early hours of Sunday morning, fighting off the urge to fall back to sleep, we arrived at the Taize community. As we stumbled off the coach memories of previous years came flooding back and expectations for the week ahead were high. We pitched our tents together and it became apparent that, out of the 4000 pilgrims that come to Taize from all over the world, English groups were few, as snippets of German and Polish were heard from other pitches.
After a reasonable night’s sleep we were able to start the day and Taize routine proper. Each day in the Taize community is centred on three half hour services at 8:30am, 12:30pm and 8:30pm. The services offer a chance for meditation, stillness and prayer and off course the beautiful Taize chants. There are options for how to spend the rest of the day; Bible study or helping with chores around the campsite and kitchens. Meals in Taize are communal and everyone mucks in to help serve the 4000 pilgrims and to join in the task of washing up, which usually involves an international water fight! The brothers of the community provide a Bible study for everyone after breakfast each day, this is always an engaging and rewarding hour. The afternoons are set aside for chores, workshops run by the brothers and meetings in small groups with people from around the world to discuss the mornings bible readings; this gives the opportunity to learn more about different countries and people’s relationships with God. Evenings can be spent at the onsite cafe “Oyak”, continuing conversations with new friends, joining the community singing, or simply personal reflection in the church.
The week at Taize was eventful both spiritually and physically, with a member of our group injuring themselves whilst attempting some ninja moves! The experience that Taize provides is unique because of the international aspect of it and the simplicity of community life that still manages to be conveyed despite the numbers of people. Everyone in our group got something out of the week, whether it was the opportunity to renew our connection with God, or simply enjoying the time out from the chaos of regular life.