Tag: Taize

Posted in Holiday Joy

Taizé Four 4/9/25 “Let All Who Are Thirsty”

Posted on by Neal Saye

Tonight was our church’s (Asbury Memorial, Savannah) fourth and final Taize service before the beginning of this Sunday’s Passover and Holy Week.

“Taizé is a meditative prayer service that incorporates simple repetitive song and chant, scripture readings, and periods of group silence in a setting of peace and soft light that fosters communion with God.” St. Mary’s of the Hill

After Pope John Paul Il visited the ecumenical, monastic Taizé community in France in 1986, he said:“One passes through Taize as one passes close to a spring of water. The traveler stops, quenches his thirst, and continues on his way. The brothers of the community do not want to keep you. They want, in prayer and silence, to enable you to drink the living water promised by Christ, to know his joy, to discern his presence, to respond to his call, then to set out again to witness to his love and to serve your brothers and sisters in your parishes, your schools, your universities, and in all your places of work.”

So come into this place of peace & let its silence heal your spirit; Come into this place of memory & let its history warm your soul; Come into this place of prophecy & power & let its vision change your heart. (From the service bulletin.)

Tonight‘s chant:

Let all who are thirsty come. Let all who wish receive the water of life freely. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Although you can’t quite tell it, this is a fountain filled with little stones. 

REMEMBERING OUR BAPTISM. You are invited to “Remember your baptism” by coming to the altar and receiving a stone from the flowing water of life. We encourage you to keep the stone with you throughout the seasons of Lent, Easter, and Eastertide. (From the service bulletin.)

May a Bit of Evening Peace be yours tonight.

Posted in Holiday Joy

Taizé Three 4/2/25 “There Is a Balm”

Posted on by Neal Saye

Tonight was our church’s (Asbury Memorial, Savannah) third Taize service of the 2025 Lenton season.

Taize is a meditative worship service known for simple, repetitive chants, scripture readings, and times of silence, originating from the Taizé community in France.

Peacefully beautiful as usual, with the theme this evening of “There is a balm in Gilead.”

Whatever our faith (or lack thereof), we all probably need a balm from time to time, a gentle soothing.

The tranquil chorus we sang several times throughout the thirty minute service:

“There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.”

May we all experience a Bit of Balm this lovely Springtime Season.

Posted in Beauty, Holiday Joy

Taizé Two 3/19/25 “Into Life”

Posted on by Neal Saye

This evening brought the second Lenten Taize service at our church, Asbury Memorial here in Savannah.

I love the almost somber beauty of Taizé.

Here’s the simple quiet chant we sang meditatively several times during the brief service:

“Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life.”

(And if you, like me, from time to time have difficulty embracing the concept of a faithful God, perhaps just switch the wording of Lord to “greater than me” or “universe” or whatever works for you.)

We also recited together the powerful Prayer of St. Francis:

Posted in Holiday Joy, Peace

Taize Four: “Living Water”

Posted on by Neal Saye

Tonight was the fourth and final Taize service at our church, Asbury Memorial, in Savannah. Next on the Christian liturgical calendar is this weekend’s Palm Sunday.

(Here’s a link to my first post about Taize, with a bit of explanation about what it’s all about: https://nealenjoy.com/2024/02/28/taize/)

Tonight’s final service was again splendidly simple and peace filled.

The emphasis was upon Living Water.

From the order of service:

“After Pope John Paul Il visited the ecumenical, monastic Taizé community in France in 1986, he said:

One passes through Taizé as one passes close to a spring of water. The traveler stops, quenches his thirst, and continues on his way. The brothers of the community do not want to keep you.

They want, in prayer and silence, to enable you to drink the living water promised by Christ, to know his joy, to discern his presence, to respond to his call, then to set out again to witness to his love and to serve your brothers and sisters in your parishes, your schools, your universities, and in all your places of work.

So come into this place of peace & let its silence heal your spirit;

Come into this place of memory & let its history warm your soul;

Come into this place of prophecy & power & let its vision change your heart.”

CHANT: Let all who are thirsty come. Let all who wish receive the water of life freely. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

May the peace that passeth understanding, the peace of God, which the world can neither give nor take away, be among us, and abide in our hearts. Amen.

Posted in Holiday Joy

Taize Three: “Balm”

Posted on by Neal Saye

Tonight’s service, again, was beautifully simple and peaceful.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out this post post real quick:

https://nealenjoy.com/2024/02/28/taize/

Taize

The chant tonight was centered around this theme:

“There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole.”

Yes! There IS hope, there is the possibility of healing, there is a balm.

So again on this night, may Peace be your Portion.

Posted in Holiday Joy, Peace

Taize Two: “Bless”

Posted on by Neal Saye

Last Wednesday, I introduced the first of our church’s four Taize services before Easter. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out last week’s post real quick:

Taize

Tonight was beautifully simple and peaceful.

The theme revolved around the idea of our souls blessing God, instead of the usual other way around.

***************

“Bless the Lord, my soul,

And bless God’s holy name.

Bless the Lord, my soul,

Who leads me into life.”

PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is error, truth;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Again, May Peace be your Portion

Posted in Beauty, Holiday Joy

Taize

Posted on by Neal Saye

I love this current liturgical season of Lent on the Christian calendar. For me, it’s a time to calm down, quiet down, and reflect before the exuberant excitement of Easter.

For the four Wednesdays before Palm Sunday, the church that Robert and I attend, Asbury Memorial here in Savannah, holds brief and beautifully simple Taize services.

Asbury Memorial

“The Taizé prayer service is from an interfaith community founded in Taizé, France in 1940. A Taizé service provides a meditative style of song and prayer known for its simplicity and focus on Christ. Today the Taizé community comprises those of Catholic and Protestant backgrounds from regions around the globe. At a Taizé service we pray as we sing, as we reflect on the Scripture reading, as we sit in silence, and as we offer our prayers to Christ.” jaxcathedral.org

Whatever your belief, or lack of, may Peace be your Portion at this time of year.

Here is a neat article with more info about Taize, if you are in the slightest bit interested …

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/a-look-at-the-taize-community/?amp