taizé
last sunday evening deeann, ren and i went to a taizé service at old brick in iowa city. wow. it was amazing in so many ways.
for those who aren’t familiar to taizé worship check out this site (in fact, check out a post ren had on taize too). it is a simple worship setting using taizé chants and simple hymns sung over and over in various languages with many moments of silence and contemplation. with a simple piano playing chord progressions and a group of voices echoing off the walls of old brick it was quite humbling. nothing is rushed. they go from honest prayers, to songs, to more prayers, with no rushing or clammoring.
set aside the beautiful way of taizé worship, it couldn’t have come at a better time. deeann’s grandmother, alma, passed away last friday. death is a very mysterious thing. as relieving as it can be to know that grandma is now at peace, it is never easy to say goodbye to such a beautiful and important person. during this service there was roughly 10 minutes of complete silence. it was an amazing thing to reflect on the events that occurred in the days prior to this. both deeann and i left this service refreshed and at peace.
Sorry to hear about DeeAnn’s grandmother, although you quite correctly stated that she is in peace now. I went to the Taize service for some time when I was a freshman at the university. I still don’t know why I ever stopped going. The silent peace of the place was incredibly refreshing. It’s a relief to spend some time in quiet, because we don’t realize how much we bury ourselves in noise until we actually remove ourselves from it. God speaks most clearly in these moments.
i couldn’t agree more. it’s amazing how uncomfortable i would get during that silent time. and finally, about 4 minutes in, i was able to relax and focus. i had such a sense of relief when the service was over. very refreshing.