Brother Roger and the Community of Taize

Taize is a ecumenical Christian community in Burgundy, France. The community has hosted hundreds of thousands of visitors/pilgrims over the past half century, many of whom are young people from around Europe and the world. I was there a few years ago with 4000 Dutch high schoolers--Geveldig!!!

The community was founded by Brother Roger (below), a Swiss-born Protestant pastor, in the 1944s. In 1940, Brother Roger rode a bicycle from Switzerland to Taize, where he took part in smuggling Jews out of neighboring Germany. When he later founded the community, the idea was that it would be a place of simplicity and reconciliation. The tens of thousands of young people who visit Taize each year live together, eat together, and sing and worship together. There's really not much more to it than that. Meals are simple (e.g., breakfast=hot chocolate, bread and fruit) and the music is simple.This simplicity is what strikes me as so hopeful. Brother Roger didn't set out to change the world, start a "movement," or reform the church. He just started small to live in proper relationship with others, with a few monastic brothers, and out of his vision came a monastic community of over 100 brothers, a hospitality ministry to thousands upon thousands of pilgrims, yearly youth meetings across the globe (this year is Brussels and Nairobi), and a meditative style of worship that has spread far and wide.

Watch a video about Taize

Hear Some Taize music