LG tags: Liturgy, Prayer, Contemplative, Space
In an effort to help you know what to expect from each festival event and to decide which events you’ll most enjoy, we’ve created a Level Ground tagging system.
In the tiny town of Taizé, France, there is a small monastic community. Founded during the chaos of World War II, it continues a spiritual journey of peace and reconciliation through hospitality, theological reflection, and contemplative prayer. This year at Level Ground, we have the opportunity to begin our festival days with morning prayer in the style of Taizé.
The Taizé common prayer liturgy is simple but rich. It is built on three basic elements: songs (simple phrases put to music and sung in contemplative harmony), Scripture (a Psalm and a brief reading from a Gospel), and silence (seven to ten minutes of quieting the noise, both externally and internally). Altogether, the service lasts for about thirty minutes.
At the beginning of the full and often emotionally intense days of the festival, this is an opportunity to focus in three directions: inward (What is going on in your own heart?), outward (Who are the people around you? With whom you are connected in solidarity even across differences in belief and experience?), and upward (How is the love of God reaching out to embrace you?).
Whether you love contemplative prayer, are unfamiliar with but intrigued by it, or don’t do much praying at all, our hope is that engaging with the liturgy of Taizé will invite you to find rest, spiritual refreshment, and centering.