back to St. Peter's Music Page Worship Plain And Simple By CLAUDIA
VAN NES If at this time of year you're used to hearing and maybe even singing all the verses of "O, Come All Ye Faithful'' in Latin and in harmony, you'll be in for a shock Tuesday evening at First Church Of Christ, Congregational in Middletown. Here, not in the sanctuary but in a side room, sitting on a wooden chair pulled into a circle, you'll be singing a different holy tune. Tuesday the church hosts the last of three Taizé services this year, featuring songs such as this one: "The Lord is my light, my light and salvation; in Him I trust, in Him I trust.'' That's it. A few words from Psalm 26; no music, no minister up in the front; just a circle of people in a candle-lit room with these simple smidgens of verse. And a whole lot of silence in between. The church is offering Taizé services as a respite from the Christmas bustle out on the street and a way to remember that this is the Advent, as well as the buying, season. "We try and hold off on Christmas until it almost arrives in this church. This darker time of waiting, this quiet time is reflected in these services,'' says Rev. John Hall, the pastor of First Church, who attends but does not organize or run the Taizé services. In fact, it's this aspect Hall particularly likes. "I don't have to do anything,'' he says, smiling, after one of the recent 35-minute services. Several parishioners found Taizé by reading about a service offered two years ago in the Congregational Church in North Branford, which they attended and very much liked. Taizé, which was started in France 60 years ago, is ecumenical and has at its core much silent meditation, some scripture reading and "chanting'' - simple, peaceful musical repetitions of verses. The service appealed to Nancy Thody, a deacon at First Church, who was instrumental in adapting the Taizé service for her church. It is offered at Advent and Lent, though Thody says more people attend at this time of year. "There's much less going on during Lent than now, but people seem to need it more now,'' she says. The service does immediately quiet the spirit, and you will be transported, regardless of how heavy the shackles around your life, far from downtown Middletown. Taizé borrows from some ancient forms of Christianity, but it began in 1940 when Brother Roger, only 25 at the time and seeking spiritual reconciliation during the strife of World War II, settled in the village of Taizé in eastern France. Here, he prayed three times a day and took in refugees, especially Jews fleeing the Germans. Father Roger believes in an ecumenical spirit, and a monastic community has been built over the years on this foundation. There are now about 90 brothers - Protestants as well as Catholics - living in Taizé and other places throughout the world, but they have purposely not created a movement around themselves. Rather, they hope people will create an ecumenical outlook in their own churches and community. However, the brothers have attracted young adults, in particular, who gather in Taizé from all over the world, staying usually a week at a time. The brothers also travel to this country annually, and a year ago two of them came to St. Peter's Church in New Britain for an evening service, to the delight of music director and organist John Nisbet. "Some of the Taizé service comes from Eastern Orthodox rites - the use of candles, icons, atmospheric elements - they help restore the mystery of prayer, which is lost in a large part in the Western world,'' says Nisbet, who has incorporated Taizé music performed by the youth of the church in the Sunday liturgy. "People in a congregation are often given music pushing the limits of their ability. The Taizé music is simple but not stupid. You can take it into yourself and pray with it instead of just trying to run through the words,'' says Nisbet. "We have very talented youths in our music programs, and when we add them on the clarinet, trumpet, flute, it makes the Taizé musical texture become very rich and complex. ... I can't tell you how much the young people love this music. When we first started, they were mesmerized and they were calling me during the week and asking if they could practice. We're talking about teenagers,'' says Nisbet. At St. Peter's, the First Friday services also feature Taizé "scripture singing,'' much silent prayer and incense, though the focus is on Catholic liturgy. In Middletown, that focus shifts to the Protestant liturgy. Incense and musical instruments are not used; there is no cross to pray to. This Protestant interpretation was a bit disappointing to Rod Auclair of East Haddam. As a Catholic who'd been to Taizé services at St. Peter's, he expected more mystique, he says. But for Congregationalists, the service in Middletown did have more mystery than the usual fare. The room with its heavy beams, whitewashed walls and Gothic doors was darkened, save for the light of candles glowing faintly from simple wrought iron holders. There was much more responsive reading, and periods of silence that stretched for five or more minutes at a time. Thody marked the start of the chants with a hand bell, and the scripture used was not all Biblical; some was from the Taizé writings. For Carolyn Wyman, who was raised as a Catholic and converted to Congregationalism, the Taizé service offered "something in between the two. In the Protestant religion,'' she says, "God is a pal, a guy you can shake hands with, and this is one service where you can realize, he really isn't one of us.'' Taizé services are offered at a scattering of churches of different faiths across the state, including at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Woodbury. Taizé services were introduced there by parishioner Marilyn Mitchell, who is studying to become an Episcopal priest. Mitchell says Taizé services especially attract young adults, which she witnessed first hand at both Duke and Yale universities where she has studied religion and where there are regularly scheduled Taizé services. As there also are at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, where Taizé services, introduced 41/2 years ago by the Rev. Peter Grandy, senior associate minister, are held on the first Thursday of most months. At Asylum Hill, there is little responsive reading. About 75 percent of the service is chanting, 20 percent is silence, and five percent is opening and closing prayer and scripture reading. The chants have come to take up the majority of the service because "people love to do them. They're peaceful and beautiful and anyone can do them,'' says Grandy. "They're a respite,'' agrees Thody. The last of the Advent season Taizé services at Middletown's First Church of Christ, Congregational, 190 Court St., will be Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. |