Pilgrims mainly from the North of England will join the The Archbishop of York, Archbishop Stephen Cottrell, from this weekend for a pilgrimage ahead of a much bigger initiative of Faith in the North in 2025.
The Taizé community has been inspired by two aims: to live in communion with God through prayer and to be a leaven of peace and trust in the midst of the human family.
A stay at Taizé is an opportunity to seek communion with God in prayer, singing, silence and reflection. It is possible to rediscover an inner peace, a meaning to life and a new impetus there.
Each day, brothers of the community or a sister of St. Andrew will introduce a Bible reflection, followed by a time of silence and sharing in small groups, and in the afternoon workshops will help to deepen the relationship between faith and life in the areas of work, social questions, art and culture, and the search for world peace among other things.
The Revd Pete Gunstone, Minor Canon for Worship and Nurture said:
“I am looking forward to joining Bishop Smitha and people of all ages from across the Diocese on pilgrimage to Taizé this week. The Taizé community, famous for the music of their prayer, was founded by Roger Schutz shortly after the Second World War as a place of prayer for reconciliation.
“Today, the community welcomes over a hundred thousand people each from Europe and other continents, many of whom are young people. In common with all of these, we are going for a week-long meeting, during which we will experience prayer and life together with time for biblical reflection and exchange with others. Please be praying for us – we will also be praying for you.”
For further information about the community, or to join in the prayer online (nightly at 8.30pm), please see their website. You can also follow updates on X.