TORONTO - Finding peace amid the stress of a big city is not always
easy. Cars honk and screech in rush-hour traffic, subways rumble
beneath concrete sidewalks, cellphones ring with increasing regularity
and the to-do list never ends.
“It’s a crazy and chaotic world,” said Lindsay Moore.
Moore, a youth minister at Toronto’s Holy Rosary parish, is the lead
organizer of an event, however, which she believes will help people
escape the chaos of urban life, if only for a few hours.
On March 20, a brother from the Taizé community will be visiting
Toronto to host an evening of prayer conducted in the style of Taizé.
As a non-traditional form of spirituality, Taizé ecumenical worship is
particularly popular with youth. Moore expects young people in her
congregation to be quite receptive, but insists the event is open for
all who wish to attend.
Moore, who has been attending Taizé sessions across Canada for nearly a
decade, was initially drawn in by the beauty and simplicity of the
music.
“Music is its foundation,” she said. “At the heart you have silence and
Gospel readings, but you are surrounded by such beautiful music, it
really helps you engage in meditative prayer.”
Brother Emile, who hails from Timmins, Ont., will be travelling through
Montreal (March 7), Ottawa (March 13-15) and London, Ont., (March 19)
before stopping in Toronto to lead the worship.
Brother Emile, who became the first Canadian Taizé Brother in 1976,
said the meditative songs were created to help the community pray with
people from around the world.
“Since there is no common language, not many words are used,” he said,
adding that tolerance is an important feature of the Taizé teachings.
The community was founded in 1940 by the late Brother Roger in the town
of Taizé in central France. During the Second World War it harboured
refugees, Jews and orphans who had been displaced by the fighting.
Today, the monastic community is the site of an annual pilgrimage that
brings thousands of young adults together from all across the world.
The Ryerson Catholic Chaplaincy Centre used to run a weekly Taizé
worship on Thursday evenings, but was forced to discontinue the
services due to poor attendance.
Kim Gottfried, a staff worker at the centre, said the centre is still
trying to incorporate Taizé prayer through a bi-weekly lunchtime
reflection service. She said it has a very positive impact on students
and gives them a chance to briefly retreat from their hectic lives.
“Ryerson is right downtown. There’s a lot happening and students are
always on the go,” she said. “I think the moments of silence, song and
prayer work very well.”
Brother Emile agrees that Taizé is popular with students and hopes it can help them learn to trust themselves and others.
“Prayer leads us to renew our trust in God,” he said. “Brother Roger
used to say that when we live with hearts that trust, life becomes
beautiful for those around us.”
The Taizé prayer service will be held at Holy Rosary Church at 354 St. Clair Ave. W.
It begins at 8 p.m., with rehearsals starting at 7 p.m. E-mail Moore at
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Faith 
TORONTO - Finding peace amid the stress of a big city is not always
easy. Cars honk and screech in rush-hour traffic, subways rumble
beneath concrete sidewalks, cellphones ring with increasing regularity
and the to-do list never ends.
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