While many of the things done every Sunday will remain in place, including the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, this Sunday the First Christian Church will explore the Taizé style of worship during its 11 a.m. service.
“The Taize style of worship is beautiful and rich. It’s our hope that it deepens our experience of the Lenten season this year,” said Rev. Brandon Gilvin, senior minister of FCC.
"In 1940, Roger Schütz, also known as Brother Roger, founded an ecumenical monastic community in Taizé, France, as a peaceful response to World War II. Taizé, a small village in Burgundy, was in the middle of the country and perfectly suited for a safe community to shelter war refugees. Once he began to provide shelter for Jews fleeing persecution, it was necessary for Brother Roger and his sister, Genevieve, to go to Geneva, Switzerland until the war was over. While in Geneva, Brother Roger formed a community of brothers, and they returned to Taizé together in 1944. By 1949, seven men had committed themselves to a life of simplicity and devotion to God and to others. The brothers’ lifestyle has attracted people of all ages and faiths to this place of pilgrimage for more than seventy-five years.
"The essential components of worship in Taizé are silence, meditative singing, scripture, and prayer. Prayers and songs are sung as meditations, in simple forms that can be repeated as many times as the community feels is appropriate. The music, candles, incense, icons and other worship elements incorporated into Taizé worship create a feast for the senses and eliminate any sense of conventional time or space," officials said.
Located at 650 McCallie Ave., across from UTC, all are welcome at First Christian Church, "a church of service, working for wholeness in a broken world." Vi
For more information, call 423-267-4506.