Hello again friends. Starting Wednesday, May 31st, and continuing through August 23rd, we will meet on the common in front of the church between 6 and 6:30 pm each week for a Taize-style Ecumenical Compline service of sorts. All in the community at large are invited, so please, let folks know.

What is Compline? What is Taizé? Where do I even begin? Taizé? Let’s start with Taizé. Taizé is a lovely style of chanted prayers set to some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard. It is named for the town of Taizé, France, which has been a home for an Ecumenical monastic community since 1940.

In 1940, near the beginning of World War II, a 25 year old man named Roger Schütz from Zurich, Switzerland rode his bicycle to a small town a couple hundred miles south of Paris, to an unoccupied part of southern France. Roger was the youngest of 9 children. Along with his sister Genevieve, Roger raised enough money at home to buy a house in Taize in which, Christian and Jewish refugees alike were housed.

In November of 1942, the Gestapo raided the home while Roger was raising funds back home. He was not able to return to the home until France was liberated in 1944. Upon returning, Roger converted the home into a monastic Christ-centered community focused on the simplicity of following Christ. All Christians were welcome, and by 1949, seven had committed to be “brothers” in monasticism at Taizé. The order uses Eastern Icons and chants, scripture and psalms for inspiration and worship, and has long been known to sing in many different languages. French composer Jacque Berthier wrote much of the lovely music the community sings in prayer.

Brother Roger believed strongly in Ecumenism, the joining of many on the walk of faith with unity across denominational lines. The community has affected hundreds of thousands of people of faith, and thousands more visit every year, soaking up the simple yet powerful hymns and learning about the community of faith which has stood for peace and justice for over eight decades.

Compline

In Catholic and Orthodox circles and monastic communities, five times of prayer are observed every day. You may have heard of “Vespers”, which generally takes place around 5 or 530pm. “Compline” (or “evening”) takes place at the end of the day, which, for people who get up at 3:30 or 4am, takes place around 7pm. Compline generally includes scripture, some liturgy being read by a leader, and prayer. I was moved by the way a group of “street chaplains” I worked with for nine years adapted Compline for Ecumenical use in a sort of Bible study which took place at a men’s shelter in Waltham, MA.

I liked that so much that I adapted the service once again while serving a church in Dedham. They had been having outdoor Vespers services in the spring. We added Taizé music, interspersed with scripture or other readings, along with prayer and voila – the service we will be sharing with the community on your lovely common was born.

The primary purpose of the service is to give people a period of time in which to slow down, to prayerfully reflect on the day, to leave the worries of the day behind and focus on a restful evening and a good night’s sleep. Easier said than done for many of us, but that’s the goal. Outside with the background noise of the world, of the street is perfect. We embrace quiet amid noise, peace amid the stress of the world, inviting ourselves to dwell for a time on the Peace of Christ amid chaos, and be channels for that Peace to flow into our lives, our church, our community.
We sure hope you will join us Wednesday evenings when you are free between 6 and 6:30pm. Oh, and don’t forget to bring your favorite lawn chair! See you soon,

Korte