Taizé-style Service

Preceded by a music practice at 6.00pm. You are welcome to attend if you want to practice some of the chants in advance of the service. Our Taizé-style services are based on the Christian worship practised by the ecumenical Taizé community in France. This is characterised by the repetitive singing of simple harmonised tunes (or chants), often in various languages, interspersed with readings, prayers and periods of silence. At Vic we have a music practice half an hour before the service starts, so if you arrive early do feel free to join in if you would like to - and don't be concerned that you are late. There is usually a short pause after the practice followed by a short welcome and introduction to start off the service. We provide order of service handouts (large print copies are usually available for those who need them) which also include all the words to the chants and sometimes a Psalm which we may say together. The words of the chants, have been written in a variety of languages and we often sing chants in other languages, such as French, German or Latin. The booklet provides translations into a variety of languages including English. A little musical note symbol indicates that the translation can also be sung to the tune. Please feel free to sing the chants in the original language, in English or in another language - just as you wish. The chants are repeated numerous times to help quieten the mind and enable reflection. Our conductor, Lyn, will give a bit of a lead and towards the end of the last repetition the musicians will slow down to indicate that this is the end. Please feel free to join in with the singing or drop out at any point. Part way through the service there is usually a 10 minute period of silence. During this time you may wish to pray, to meditate or to reflect on the Bible reading. There is no right or wrong - this is simply a quiet time for you to spend in God's presence as you find helpful. The first time this can seem a little daunting, but after a few services, you will hopefully find yourself becoming more comfortable with the silences. At the front we have a candle stand where you can light a candle at any point during the chants. We tend to request that candles are not lit during the silence, as this can be distracting for others. When we are invited to say the Lord's Prayer together in our mother tongue people may be speaking a in number of different languages - to share both our diversity and our unity. There are usually a couple of stewards on duty - do ask if you are unsure about anything.