Taize chant is a wonderful opportunity to experience both sung and body prayer (since chanting involves your breath, your lungs, your diaphragm, your voice, your mouth, your eyes, your ears). Brief prayers or verses of Scripture are set to simple melodies, designed particularly for those of us who are not trained singers. If you ARE a trained singer, even more wonderful. The quiet, repetition of the chanted prayer allows the meaning to sink deeply into our minds and spirits. Replace those annoying commercials playing over and over in our heads with a sacred phrase!
Taize prayer is particularly moving when done with others--we hear both ourselves at prayer, and our praying community with us.
For more about Taize, visit the Taize Community's website and listen to some samples.
There will be Taize chant around the labyrinth on Sunday, March 20, at 5:00, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Bethlehem. It is co-sponsored by Trinity and a spiritual director from College Hill Moravian Church.
I have participated in both Taize and Labyrinth experiences and I anticipate that the marriage of the two will be something special indeed. As life imitates art, enriching one's time with artful experiences will encourage you to raise your level of spirituality to recapture these enlightening feelings.
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