France, November 2023
“How much experience can fit into a short period of time?” My answer to this question will change significantly during my Taizé stay. The first few hours feel like an eternity and yet they go by far too quickly.
First I register in La Morada.
“How many people are here at the moment?” I ask Matthew, the volunteer from northern Germany who shows me the ropes.
»Around 40 to 60 solo travelers at the moment. A few more groups are arriving tomorrow and the day after.”
“Wow, that’s a lot,” I marvel.
Matthew just smiles mildly. »You should come sometime in the summer. There can be several thousand people milling around here at once.«
Armed with a map, I make my way to the accommodation barracks at the other end of campus. As I pass Point 5, where a small group of young people are milling about, the cheerful shout comes out: “Wow, what a big backpack! Do you want to stay for a year?" The internationally diverse group has just finished their daily cleaning and immediately offers me a few of their cookies. Elisabeth, also from Germany, offers to show me the accommodation. I gratefully accept, happy to finally be able to stow my luggage.
Primarily, Taizé is a small French commune with about 200 inhabitants in the Saône-et-Loire department in the Burgundy region. It became known through the Communauté de Taizé, an ecumenical brotherhood founded by Brother Roger Schutz in the 1940s. Brother Roger had the vision of creating a community that lives the Christian faith in a spirit of unity and brotherhood.
The tasks of the Community of Taizé are diverse and include prayer, meditation, and social engagement. The brothers of Taizé live together in simplicity and share their material goods. Their daily life consists of prayers, Bible discussions, handicrafts and welcoming guests from all over the world.
The Brothers of Taizé regularly organize international youth meetings where tens of thousands of young people from different denominations and cultural backgrounds come together to pray, sing and reflect on questions of faith.
The simple, meditative music that Taizé is known for plays a central role in prayer times, creating an atmosphere of calm and spirituality. The Community of Taizé has made a significant contribution to promoting interreligious dialogue and peace work over the years, and its message of love, reconciliation and community attracts people from all over the world.
In the evening I am given a ladle and help to distribute dinner - everything is voluntary, and there is always someone to do the washing up. I immediately feel welcomed, somehow part of the group. This is the special spirit of Taizé, a way of life that includes everyone and excludes no one. I'm glad I came here.
This joy increases even more when I go to evening prayer for the first time after dinner. The church, the music, the brothers in their white robes, the atmosphere... all of this overwhelmed me and others later confirmed to me that they too would like to have this experience again for the first time. When I call home later before I go to bed, all I can say is: “Dad. It's so beautiful here. It’s just so beautiful here.”
In the next few days I will get to know the life, routines and people of Taizé better. The latter change constantly, the “composition” of the guests changes almost every day as they arrive and depart, but most of them stay at least a week. Since there aren't many of us at this time of year, we soon get the feeling of a relaxed group in which everyone has seen everyone else at least once.
»In the summer, you might talk to someone over breakfast and not find them again for the rest of the week,” an “old Taizé hand” tells me at one point.«.
In this week's Bible meetings led by an Indonesian brother, we talk about various Bible passages and later meet in small groups to discuss them. I write in my diary: “The brother says a lot of clever things. So many, I couldn't remember them. As I listen and nod, I always forget to write them down." :)
The days go by slowly and quickly at the same time. They are full of “appointments” and yet don’t feel like work. They exhaust me and give me strength. They make me think and make me laugh.
A good atmosphere is always ensured. The “cleaning missions” at Point 5 in particular bring us a lot of anecdotes. So I was assigned to Menno and Rain from the Netherlands, both of whom had their birthdays the next day and were having a lot of fun with making everyone believe they were twins.
Or the “Do you feel safe?” running gag that Dunken, one of the volunteers, brings in whenever someone sits under a heavy tank hanging from the ceiling during their tea break after cleaning.
Or my hiking poles, which don't want to arrive, so that I soon suspect that they will follow me for the rest of my trip.
Or Daan, when I introduce him to “I’m Daan.” I understand the name “Imdone” and who now sometimes introduces himself with “Hey, I’m done and tomorrow I’m gone” and thus confuses people.
Or the Beatles dance sessions that I do with Maria and Pauline in front of the mirrors while cleaning the sinks.
Or dinner, which is always a bit random. Where you eat lentils with rice, baguettes, vegetable puree and tangerines and in the end you don't find the taste that bad. Everything goes into the same stomach anyway. ;)
Or the penguin song, a crazy catchy tune with great choreography, which we dance before work and once on a wall, which I pull myself up onto in a very pathetic and unelegant way after handing over the camera.
Or,
or,
or…
At the same time, deep conversations and the exchange of concerns, plans and thoughts are not neglected. As we sit down on a spontaneous walk in one of the village churches, someone starts a Taizé song, which is immediately joined by several voices. It's a quiet, peaceful memory that has really stuck with me.
Typical daily routine in Taizé:
8:15 – Morning prayer, then breakfast
10 o'clock – Introduction to the Bible, followed by exchange in smaller groups
12:20 – Midday prayer, then lunch
14 o'clock – Workshops, choir rehearsals…
15 o'clock – Practical help (in winter only cleaning), then tea
17:30 – Workshops, meetings
19 o'clock – dinner
20:20 – Evening prayer
On Saturday, between meals, Elisabeth tells me about her future travel plans. It's supposed to be hiking in the Pyrenees, but: "I don't have a tent with me or a sleeping pad. And I don't know if I should do this alone. And how do I get there and… oh, the planning is still in its early stages.”
Pyrenees… Hiking… This is my direction and my passion. We spontaneously join forces and decide to leave Taizé next Wednesday to travel together for a week.
At this point we have only known each other for three days.
That evening I write in my diary: "Sitting on the wall in the village. Watch the glowing TGVs trail their light through the valley every half hour. Laughter echoes to me from campus. Someone made a joke. Everything is peaceful. It feels like I've been here forever. Everyone is considerate, brings their own experiences with them and is full of wonder. I'm thankfull."
On Sunday and Monday we will already have to say goodbye to some of the departing people. At lunchtime, one of the groups present, whose pink merchandise reminds me of a bachelorette party, is hosting a banquet. We enthusiastically dig into the delicacies.
This week's Bible study is Brother Jean-Gabriel, a funny Slovakian who often makes us laugh. We spend the evenings in Room 10 playing cards and ukulele and discussing life goals, adults, growing up…
After every evening prayer, some of the brothers stay there, anyone can come, pray with them, talk, whatever. After the last evening prayer, I go to one of them and ask for a travel blessing. Brother Matthew asks about my plans, listens to my worries and anticipations, talks about how he once left his parents' house and then prays with me and for me. I am deeply touched.
From the series “Coincidences that don’t actually exist”
The day before my departure I met Jakob, a theology student from Cologne. We start talking and at one point I mention that I regret having forgotten at home my rosary from Asissi, which I had blessed during a private audience with the Pope a few years ago. “You don’t have one with you?” asks Jakob. I nod. “Just in case,” he reaches into his pocket, “I always have two with me.”
My eyes are popping out of my head. Since that day, the robust rosary from Bosnia-Herzegovina has accompanied me to every church I can find on the way. :)
Then it's time to say goodbye again. This time for Elisabeth and me. And even though it was only a week in Taizé, it was difficult. »I have grown very fond of this place and especially these people – them and their stories. Everyone has a different one and has to carry their own baggage. But we all come because we are looking for something. For peace, for answers, for variety, for an “after”. We're all sitting on a turntable and don't know where to get off." A quote from a film comes to mind: "We're all homeless, on the way back home."
Have you ever seen
a penguin in Taizé?
If you look at me
a penguin you will see
Penguins! Attention!
Penguins! Begin!
Right hand, left hand…
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