The Willow Glen Resident

Church creates sanctuary of music, silence and space

By Sharon Parks

Imagine a stone church with dozens of candles warming the dark sanctuary, a sacred space of silence broken only by soothing piano and flute music.

This is a part of the Taizé tradition that the Stone Church of Willow Glen will observe in a series of services. For the first Taizé service on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 6:30 p.m., Sr. Suzanne Toolan of the Mercy Center in Burlingame will be teaching chants and leading the congregation in music, meditation and silent prayer.

"The best thing about Taizé is that you have to be there to experience it," pastor Art Mills said. "It is a powerful thing." According to pastor Rebecca Kuiken, the service is a peaceful alternative for people living in the fast pace of the valley. "This service offers a wonderful place for renewal for people of Silicon Valley," Kuiken said.

A tiny, remote French village in the hills of Burgundy, Taizé is a place of international prayer where visitors of all ages and backgrounds come to participate. A missionary named Brother Roger first came to Taizé in 1940 to live. Along with a few other missionaries, he started a community that strove for communication among Christians of all denominations. It was wartime, and Brother Roger's house became a place of welcome for refugees, especially Jews, fleeing from the Nazi occupation.

Throughout the years, young people came in increasing numbers and started to hold a "Council of Youth." They held international meetings. They shared their lives and prayer with one another. Others came to enjoy the gospel in the solitude of the silent retreat Taizé had to offer.

According to pastor Kuiken, who came to Taizé as an exchange student, the emphasis of the services there is on the style of music, the silence of prayer and the space of meditation.

"I found it and wanted to bring it to the neighborhood," she said. "Many people have experienced it in other churches. People of many traditions feel very comfortable [with a Taizé service]."

The Stone Church is located at 1108 Clark Way. For more information about the Taizé services, call 269-1593.

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