Lyon and Taizé

Before I come to my vacation in France, here is a snapshot from a thriller concert I had with the VAG Wind Ensemble.

We played Jesus Christ Superstar. And a piece called "Cream of Clapton" arranged for brass.

For our next concert (Sometime in June, save the date), we are playing Schlager. That's to say, folk chart toppers. It will be grand.

France:

In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, while the birds were sleeping and the city rested in the moonlight, our apartment blitzed and bustled with activity, as Eran prepared for his flight to Israel, and Anja, Marina and I readied ourselves for an early departure to Lyon. After a power-hour sleep, it was off to pick up Chrissi and head into the land of French.

We arrived at thirteen o' clock and were warmly received by Marina's loving grandmother, waiting for us at the door. We were seated at the table and served a four-course meal while we shared life stories. After getting to know each other a bit, the four of us youngins hustled into the city to meet CAITLIN!

My wonderful friend and heart-healer from Madison. Caitlin has one of the most cheerful laughs I know, and one of the beautiful-est voices too. It does my mind good to hear them :).

This is a photo of: Chrissi, Anja, Caitlin, and Marina on the Garden Steps by the Notre Dame.
Caitlin and I in Lyon! Lyon has two rivers. I was very pleased with this. I miss water.

After a too short but nonetheless extremely satisfying three and a half hours with Caitlin, it was back to grandma's for dinner. Marina's Aunt joined us too! And we ate well. There's so much home when eating with a family. The family and house radiates with history, sunshine and life. Language barriers were hard to notice due to; Marina being a heroic translator, everyone possessing some minimal capacities in everyone else's language, and because laughter is very, very easily understood. That is a good thing.

Chrissi, Me, Anja, Michèle, and Marina in the family garden.

The cake (remains of) that Anja, Marina, and Chrissi baked and brought to Lyon. I beat eggs for 5 minutes, but that was my only contribution.

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Taizé!!

A full Wednesday, a great night's sleep, and Thursday we were out the door to get to Taize by ten.

What is Taizé? Taizé, in my words, is a Christian, spiritual retreat. That idea is the vague impression I had before I went. Hopefully a concrete description of daily life with help paint the picture more accurately.

8:15 is morning prayer/service. Further description to follow.

9:00 is breakfast. Lots of bread, butter, and jam. Strange powdered tea. Tasty.

10:00 is small group discussions. A small passage from the Bible is read. Break into groups of 5-12 people. Discuss.

12:20 is afternoon prayer/service.

1:00 is lunch. Lentils, or noodles. Bread. Tea. Orange. Cookie.

2:00 is choir practice.

3:00 is cleaning. Groups are assigned tasks, tasks are completed. Bathroom cleaning, hall sweeping, etc.

5:00 is tea time.

6:00 is workshops. Various themes. We went to one on Etty Hillesum, a Jewish born Hollander who was killed at Auschwitz. Terrific lecture. Here's a take-away paraphrase of Etty's that she wrote in her diary (now published); 'our one moral responsibility is to find our inner peace, and to share that peace with those around us.'

7:00 is dinner. Dinner is similar to lunch.

8:30 evening prayer/service.

We went to church three times a day. The church was great. A non-ornate hall with a candle-lit front, this church had no prominent altar and no pews. The floors were carpeted and everyone sat on them, including all the Brothers from the monastery. There was no leading figure in the service, no priest. The services consisted entirely of song and silence. There was no preaching. In fact, there was no speaking all, other than a very short reading of a Bible passage. No commentary. Simply song, and silence. It was meditative and clearing. We were in church each day for a total of 4-6 hours, but nothing felt like drudgery or impatience. We just sang, and held silence.

The church was never locked. Anyone could go in whenever they wanted. If there were people in the church, there was song in the church. The services had no end point; they ended when everyone left. For one evening service, we stayed until 11:15, almost three hours. As we left, there were about thirty people still in the church, and the singing kept up strong. One night we went on a walk. We passed by the church a little after 2 am, and there were people inside singing. How lovely! A community full of song and silence.

There is a lot that I took away from my three and a half days in Taizé. The one thing I'll mention is something I realized while I was there and continue to realize now that I'm back in Freiburg. My head was so incredibly clear in Taizé. Clear and content, not empty. I didn't have a single worry or thought about what I had to do in the upcoming days or weeks. There was no weight to my mind, no volatility. Simply a clearness. I would love to go back someday, and hope I can find this ultimate clearness more often in the multi-directional spin of my life here in Freiburg.

Photos from Taizé:

Anja and Chrissi in Hall 10. Dinner time!
Me and Marina, also in Hall 10, also dinner time. Tea in Bowls. Mmm Powdered Tea in Bowls. :)
Entrance to Taizé.
Beautiful France. Countryside surrounding Taizé.
Sheep make funny noises.
The Girls.
:) Happy Happy! and Peaceful.
Walking around Taizé after watching the sun go down.

Now I'm back in Freiburg, but still enjoying vacation. Trying not to rush :). I'm planning a trip back to Boston, May 23-June 10th. I'll post more when I've solidified the trip.

Enjoy the weekend! and Happy Easter!

:)

Ben.