News from Taize April 2020

30th April 2020

Dear All,

I hope you are well!

So many people have written over the last two weeks, thanking for the online evening prayer, it has surprised us. When Ellen wrote yesterday from Shetland, "Joining with you all each day really has become such a life-giving thing in these very strange times...", I thought I should write just a few lines to share how we are living in Taizé.
Daisy field

The biggest of the camping fields, which every year at this time is full of big blue tents for the youth meetings, currently contains an impressive crop of daisies!

Nearly all the ~40 young volunteers have returned to their families across the world. In the community, we are living, eating and praying in 8 distinct groups, so that if someone is infected it will not send us all into quarantine.
Prayer

Every evening at 7:30pm (UK time) one of these groups share their prayer by live stream. This, with some additional information, can be found here.

Not all of the community are in Taizé, of course. There are the brothers who are living in very poor communities across the world - Brazil, Cuba, Bangladesh, Senegal. The brothers in Alagoinhas, North-East Brazil, write that the first cases of the virus have just appeared in their city. All activities with local people have been stopped. They are seeing how to live out the celebration of Holy Week, and how to support isolated people in the neighbourhood.

New

Back at Taizé, the area between the bells and the church had been improved in time for Easter with a new tent, more trees and wheel-chair-friendly paving. It will be ready when we are once again able to welcome visitors...

You can find more on the Community's Facebook page and on Youtube. In particular, a short biblical reflection with Brother Jean-Marc related to spending a time in isolation.

with best wishes, especially to those who are facing big anxieties or difficulties,
Paolo
Brother Paolo,