Taizé has spawned a unique style of worship that has become popular in churches, retreat centres and seminaries throughout the world.
The singing of distinctive and much-repeated prayer chants during candlelit prayer services is one of its trademarks. Taizé music highlights simple phrases, usually lines from the Psalms or other pieces of scripture, repeated or sung in canon. The repetition is designed to help meditation and prayer.
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/priests/taize_1.shtml)
This evening, I will be at the Taizé service at the beautiful Fourth Presbyterian Church on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. A nice break between a hectic week, and what promises to be a hectic weekend.
For more information about this service, visit:
http://www.fourthchurch.org/taize.html.
My 52 Weeks of Worship Project 
how did it go?
Posted by DeLise Bernard | February 1, 2011, 12:42 amFunny, there was a woman there who talked *all the way through* the “mellow, contemplative” worship service. Except for the 10 minutes of silent meditation that took place after we lit candles and placed them at the altar. So I enjoyed the 10 minutes :-). And the church is simply beautiful. But I am still on a search for the Taizé service that has just the right ambiance – the one that I went to in Los Angeles was much more quiet and contemplative. I am sure that there is one in the Chicagoland area that will work for me. I would say if you are up for something a little different, but still really beautiful, you should check it out!
Posted by emb | February 1, 2011, 5:32 amBrother Emmanuel from Taizé will be visiting our city and St. Sebastian Church has the honor to be the host church, we want to spread the news and invite all Taizé prayer and signers to join us for this special service. Your support in helping us spread the news is greatly appreciated! I’m attaching the flyer highlighting his visit. Thank you for your consideration to post this event in your website.
Should you have any questions please feel free to call 310-478-0136. Below is a bit more information about Br. Emmanuel’s visit!
Brother Emmanuel from Taizé in Los Angeles
From May 25 to 28, 2012, the weekend of Pentecost, there will be a Pilgrimage of Trust in Chicago organized by the Community of Taizé (France).
Three brothers from Taizé (Br. John, Br. Emile and Br. Emmanuel) are already in Chicago and have begun to organize this event that will impact the youth and Church in the United States.
You may find information on this event, videos, and interviews with the Brothers to better understand this upcoming event in Chicago, at the following website:
http://www.taize.fr/en_article12737.html.
The Taizé Community is currently renowned worldwide for its simple, repetitive, graceful prayers in multiple languages. You can find additional information on Taize at the following website:
http://www.taize.fr/en
“On August 20, 1940, as World War II was raging, Brother Roger arrived alone in the village of Taizé, with the idea of founding a community. He died on August 16, 2005, killed by the pathological act of a young woman during evening prayer.” Brother Alois, Brother Roger’s successor, writes: “For Brother Roger, the search for reconciliation among Christians was not a topic for reflection: it was something evident to be done. For him, what was important above all was to live out the Gospel and communicate it to others. And the Gospel can be lived out only together. To be separated has no sense.”
The youth of the world find in Taizé and in the prayer offered by its Brothers a moment of peace and truth and a connection to God. It is difficult to describe the beauty and depth of the prayer of Taizé. One simply has to experience it to discover that there are prayers capable of transforming our inner selves and of creating, through this encounter with God, a fountain and source of extraordinary strength to live in peace and confidence.
To prepare for this experience in Chicago, and to prepare the youth of Los Angeles and Southern California to discover the spirituality of Taizé and motivate them to participate, one of the Brothers of Taizé (Brother Emmanuel) will be with us (at St. Sebastian) from Wednesday, March 28th to Monday, April 2nd.
Brother Emmanuel has just written a remarkable book (“Love, Imperfectly Known”. -Beyond Spontaneous representations of God-. 2011) about the random projections we make of God and that may impede us from discovering His true image, which is nothing but Love. The book is currently available in English and will soon be available in Spanish.
For our city, it is an honor to have a Brother of Taizé with us for a full week to share his faith through the prayer that we will organize together and through the teaching sessions that he will offer us to help us grow in faith by means of prayer.
Meeting dates, times, and locations for prayers and conferences organized with Brother Emmanuel will be published in the parish bulletin, on the parish website http://www.stsebastianla.org, and in the newsletter of the Archdiocese. We are counting on you to help invite our youth who sometimes have difficulty praying or who are yet to know the richness that prayer may offer.
Happy preparation toward Easter.
Fr. Germán March 2012
Posted by Mayra Torres | March 15, 2012, 1:18 pm