Jemima writes…
Thanks to The Bill Snelson Young Ecumenists Fund, I was able to spend an incredible week in the Taizé community in France.
My week got off to an ‘interesting’ start as the bus to Taizé was delayed by hours, leaving me stranded in a train station in the middle of nowhere. Surprisingly this turned out to be a really awesome start to my week. I was not alone, as there was also a group headed to Taizé who welcomed me into their group with open arms, even letting me join in with praying the rosary (not something I’d done before). It felt like I’d arrived at Taizé, even before I’d walked through the doors!
A highlight of my week was definitely the Bible study groups – I was put into a group of young people from around the world, and we became really close over the course of the week. We spent the whole time chatting about our faith and debating various topics, such as the gendered language used to describe God. It was so fascinating to hear other people’s views on this, and to get a glimpse into other people’s relationship with God and their churches.
The daily prayer and worship was also wonderful. Every morning, noon, and evening, everyone visiting Taizé and the brothers who live there would enter the church. We would sit in silence and reflection, then the service would start. The multilingual service allowed me to appreciate just how global nature of Taizé. Each service included a significant chunk of silent prayer time in the middle, which was not something I had experienced before. I actually really enjoyed the time to be quiet, and intentionally spend some time in prayer, talking to God. This has been something that I’ve now taken with me into my daily life.
After the week in Taizé, I spent a couple of days in the beautiful city of Lyon. A highlight of this was visiting La Basilique de Notre Dame de Fourviere – a richly decorated church in the heart of Lyon. It was so amazing to marvel at this church, and even to be able to experience a Eucharist service there. The few days in Lyon gave me the chance to reflect upon the week and to continue to exist in a calm and peaceful state before launching myself back into the craziness of daily life.
I feel like I have benefited greatly from this ecumenical experience. I approached the week in Taizé with the mindset of wanting to meet and talk to lots of different types of people. This meant I spent the week intentionally going up to people and saying “Hi”, which is not something I would ever usually consider doing. I feel that I have now become a lot more open to meeting new people and having new experiences. This has meant that I feel more confident in myself and that I have become more open to encountering God in unexpected places; not just on a Sunday morning in Church.
Overall, I had an absolutely fantastic time. In fact, I loved visiting Taizé so much that I plan to go back there this summer! I’m hoping to coincide my visit with the friends I made last year, it will be fabulous to see them again!
Find out about The Bill Snelson Young Ecumenists Fund and read about the experience of other grant awardees.
Applications to the Snelson Fund are open each Spring and Autumn. Download a short guide on how to apply.
All photos credit: Jemima Bailey