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Global Christian Leaders JOIN TAIZÉ CELEBRATIONS

T

he year 2015 holds great significance for the Taizé Community. It is the 75th

founding, the 100th of its founder and the 10th

anniversary of the community’s anniversary of the birth anniversary of his

death. The Taizé Community was founded

in Burgundy, France, in 1940, by Roger Schütz, known popularly as Brother Roger, a member and leader of the Swiss Reformed Church. An ecumenical monastic community, Taizé attracts thousands of young pilgrims each week. Other Taizé communities are in Bangladesh, Brazil, Kenya, Korea and Senegal. Several Baptists, including Baptist

World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam, attended the anniversary celebra- tions in France from August 15-19. Callam greeted the assembly and addressed a forum at which he shared how, as a Baptist, he ben- efited from an ecumenical formation that is consistent with his Baptist convictions. Callam sent a letter to Brother Alois

Loiser, of Germany, who succeeded Brother Roger as prior of the Taizé Community upon the founder’s death in August 2005. “Baptists across the world have deep appreciation for the ministry of the Taizé

BAPTISTS in Taizé By Thorsten May and Siegmar Assmann F

ull of anticipation and with various levels of expectation and prior knowledge, a group of pastors of

the Northern German Regional group of the Union of Evangelical Free Churches (Baptists) in Germany embarked on a study trip to Taizé, France, from September 16- 21, 2013. This small village in the south of the

French province of Burgundy is home to a dream, the dream of Roger Schutz who, in 1940, arrived in France from Switzerland on his bicycle, at the age of 25. He dreamed of founding a community

where persons wouldn’t deny their evan- gelical roots but still commit to lifelong cohabitation in simplicity, celibacy and loyalty. Today, many years later, this COM-

MUNAUTÉ consists of about 100 brothers from 30 nations, from many different faiths and traditions.

Among them were two Baptists.

Their interest is to live as a symbol of a community made possible through Jesus Christ, emphasizing the bonds that unite instead of underlining the differences. COMMUNAUTÉ avoids attempts of being stuck in intellectual boxes. Taizé is Evangelical but it is not

exclusive. Taizé is also Catholic, but not limited to it. Taizé offers compatibility for Christians from free churches, but not only for them. Orthodox Christians will encounter familiar elements. Taizé is an acknowledged pilgrimage destination for the Orthodox Church but at the same time, it is so much more. It is indeed the symbol for the possibility of community living in Jesus Christ. What is it that brings people to Taizé

year after year, especially tens of thousands of young people? What is it that has them, and us, embracing and welcoming basic food and simple accommodation, at a time where the media’s omnipresence has reached a level that was unimaginable only 20 years ago? Because it fulfills our

longing for life, love, acceptance and validation. That is what brings so many people to Taizé every year. The brothers of Taizé are looking to

uncover the “hidden beauty in every soul” and make it their purpose to ensure that every visitor makes a connection with God. Their statement that “every human being lives with a hidden longing for God” and that “the brothers do not want to regiment or be an obstacle on the way to fulfilling that longing,” truly impressed us.

A liturgical prayer time where Bible

texts are read and hymns are sung is celebrated three times a day. Many “Taizé songs” are familiar to us. A highlight of every prayer

time is the 10 minutes of

silence. Christians know that God enjoys communicating with us through silence. Strength comes from this stillness. Our hectic lifestyles often make us lose that stillness. We often refer to “quiet time” when actually speaking of activities like reading the Bible, praying or singing.

OCTOBER/DECEMBER 2015

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Community,” Callam told Loiser. “You provide us with a compelling reminder of the priority of Christian unity for which our Lord Jesus prayed. As a community that

reconciliation, you model for us how to pursue that quest which is integral

evangelical Christian witness.” The Baptist contingent included Jim

Johnson, pastor of the Church at Clarendon in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States, who accompanied Callam on the trip. Other Baptists participating in the celebrations came from Brazil, Germany and Ukraine. They all joyfully greeted Jubaraj Das, the sole Baptist postulant at Taizé. Das is from Bangladesh.

tian community were also in attendance, including Olav Tveit, general

is committed to the ministry of to

Several leaders of the worldwide Chris- secretary

of the World Council of Churches; Kurt Cardinal Koch, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; and Larry Miller, general secretary of the Global Christian Forum. Representatives were also present

from the World Evangelical Alliance, the Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church and Pentecostal Churches.

Below: BWA General Secretary Neville Callam with the prior of Taizé, Father Alois, (fourth right) and other Baptists gathered at the anniversary celebration, (from left) Elke May, Thorsten May, Jim Johnson and Jubaraj Das