This weekend Bishop Michael and Bishop Ruth will be travelling to Taizé in France with a group of young adults from Bath and Wells.
The Taizé community is an ecumenical monastic order with a devotion to peace and justice through prayer and meditation. It is one of the world's most important sites of Christian pilgrimage. Each year tens of thousands of young pilgrims make the trip to the small village of Taizé in central France to share in the community's way of life.
Rich Miles, Missional Priest for Youth and Young Adults, is among the group, making the pilgrimage, “It’s going to be wonderful to go on a pilgrimage together, to worship God and to look at God’s word together.”
Throughout the summer, thousands of young people, aged 17 to 30, travel to Taizé to explore their Christian faith. The groups camp in fields around the church and monastery and join in the community's worship each day. They also spend time studying the Bible and meeting in discussion groups.
Prayer and silence are at the heart of the Taizé experience. Young people from all over the world who make the pilgrimage are encouraged to live out the Gospel in a spirit of joy, simplicity and reconciliation.
Among the group making the trip from Bath and Wells is Josh Fowler from Clevedon, he said, “I’m very excited to go to Taizé because I think it is a very important place in the world. It will be great to meet Christians from all around the world.”
Also joining the group is newly ordained deacon, Edward Day echoed Josh’s excitement when he said, “It’s my first time, but I’ve heard so many people say how much they’ve got out of it and what a nourishing and enriching experience it has been. So, I am really excited to go.”