Feature story
Now, having spent decades in the Taize Community, Br Richard is grateful for a monastic life that honors many traditions yet is able to adapt to the world’s rapidly-changing times.
“There are many things which are really the same at Taize—the life commitment, the centrality of prayer, the common work, the welcome,” he said. “These haven’t changed. The fundamentals are there.”
The people have, of course, changed, he added. “The generation in the 1970s was quite different, with different worries,” he said. “We had, already, awareness of ecological questions, but we were not so anguished about the possibility of climate disasters as many young people today, who are wondering if there is a future for their planet.”
With the war in Ukraine, and many other conflicts across the world, today’s generation of Taize is striving to realize Christian unity for the sake of peace. “For Taize, Christian unity is not being stronger against the others—it’s really to be reconciled as a worldwide fellowship of Christians,” he said. “Peace starts in our hearts.”
Br Richard treasures a spiritual ecumenism—an ecumenism of prayer. “When we pray together, we find a deeper level of communion,” he said. “We can have different opinions on so many things but we turn together toward Christ, we find out that we belong to each other.” This is how he describes the experience in the Taize Community.
Br Richard joined more than 50 Taize volunteers from 15 countries and four continents for a visit to the World Council of Churches in March. “That was a very warm and heartfelt welcome in Geneva,” he said. “I think one of the strongest moments was the midday prayer, then we were just happy to sit together after that prayer, to appreciate one another.”
Br Richard said he treasures such moments of sharing without the pressure of getting some kind of result. “When we start to talk openly, we have extremely different points of view, but we can feel that everybody is sincere,” he said. “It’s so important that people are grateful for the gifts of God.”
It’s also important to recognize that we have to learn from others—and to always be ready to do just that, Br Richard added. “And sometimes we learn from failure,” he noted. “Instead of being afraid of failure, we could recognize that this is part of when we follow Jesus.”
Taizé community youth delegation visits WCC for time of prayer and sharing
Visiting the WCC, Taize youth underscore “we belong to the same family”
Learn more about the Taize community