Beginning Saturday, February 20, at 5 pm, we will offer a new kind of service of worship, called The Oasis. This service is presented in the rejuvenating style of "Taizé" a type of service worship that involves candles, readings, simple music, and reflective meditation.

Join us at the end of a stressful week to quiet yourself before the Lord and revive your soul. Allow the mystery of God to become tangible through the beauty of simplicity.

Founded in 1940 in France by monastic brothers of the Reformed tradition, Taizé services were begun by Protestant and Catholic believers for the purpose of praying for reconciliation and expressing personal Godliness through quiet reflection and service to the poor. Today it is a meaningful ecumenical form of worship that thousands enjoy worldwide.

Background of Taizé

"Right at the depth of the human condition, lies the longing for a presence, the silent desire for a communion. Let us never forget that this simple desire for God is already the beginning of faith."

Taizé, in the south of Burgundy, France, is the home of an international, ecumenical community, founded there in 1940 by Brother Roger. The brothers are committed for their whole life to material and spiritual sharing, to celibacy, and to a great simplicity of life.

In August of 1940, with Europe in the grip of World War II, Brother Roger, then 25, set up home in the almost abandoned village. His dream was to bring together a monastic community which would live out "a parable of community", a sign of reconciliation in the midst of the distress of the time. Centering his life on prayer, he used his house to conceal refugees, especially Jews fleeing from the Nazi occupation.

Today, the community is made up of over a hundred brothers, Catholics and those from other Protestant backgrounds, and more than twenty-five nations. Thousands of visitors from around the world come to participate in their worship gatherings. Scripture is read and songs are sung in several languages. There are also several long periods of silence, a unique moment for meeting with God.

Christ says: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12). We need silence in order to welcome these words and put them into practice.

When we are agitated and restless, we have so many arguments and reasons not to forgive and not to love too easily. But when we "have calmed and quieted our soul", these reasons turn out to be quite insignificant. Maybe we sometimes avoid silence, preferring whatever noise, words or distraction, because inner peace is a risky thing: it makes us empty and poor, disintegrates bitterness and leads us to the gift of ourselves.

Silent and poor, our hearts are overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit, filled with an unconditional love. Silence is a humble yet secure path to loving.