Worship > Sundays > Road Map to 7 PM Taizé Worship Service
Road Map to the 7 PM Taizé Worship Service
(4th and 5th Sundays of the Month)
We welcome you to our 7 PM Taizé worship service. It is our hope that this guide will give you a sense of the service and answer any questions you might have, particularly if this is your first time attending a Taizé service. If we’ve forgotten something, please ask.
As You Arrive
There are two entrances to our worship space – the front doors on Bloor Street and the ramp entrance on Avenue Road. Pushing the round paddle on the wall to the left of the door at the top of the ramp will open it for you.
Wheelchair accessible washrooms are located to the left as you come in the Bloor Street doors. In the area at the back of the worship space you will find a number of print resources about the parish.
In the entrance area near the back of the church, you will find an information table with pamphlets about the parish (history, windows etc) as well as our current newsletter and flyers about upcoming activities. Please feel free to take any of our information home for yourself or for a friend.
The washrooms are to the left as you enter the main doors. Both are wheelchair accessible. Please feel free to leave the service at any point, for this or any other reason.
A Word about Taizé
Taizé is an ecumenical monastery in the Burgundy region of France. The monastery was founded by Brother Roger, who had a strong call to a ministry of reconciliation for all Christian denominations and for world peace. The ministry was begun in 1940. Today a large number of brothers minister to the thousands upon thousands of pilgrims who journey to Taizé for a time of prayer and reflection. The meditative and musical style of this service is based on the liturgy of Taizé.
The Worship Service
Please sit wherever you feel most comfortable in the worship space. We remain seated throughout the entire service and the lighting in the church will be subdued, so that your attention will be drawn to the altar and all the candles on it and on the floor in front of it. We begin by singing two Taizé songs. The nature of the music of Taizé is short refrains that are sung a number of times over. This becomes a form of meditation as the words and music work through us.
The worship leader, also sitting in the body of the church, will read an opening meditation, and then a Bible reading will follow.
Another song follows, and then another Bible reading.
After singing one more song, we sit in silence for five minutes of meditation. It may be helpful to focus attention on the candles at the front of the church. Several quotations from the writings of Brother Roger of Taizé are included in the service sheet and may also be helpful for focusing thoughts.
At the end of the five minutes, the presider leads us in prayer, concluding with the Lord’s Prayer.
The service concludes with two more Taizé songs, intended to leave us with a feeling of peace and internal quiet at the end of the day.
Afterwards
You may not feel like leaving immediately after the service. Please remain seated as long as you like.
It does not feel appropriate to pass a collection plate during this service. If you are a visitor for the first time, we are happy for you to be our guest, but if you’d like to make an offering to support our work, please place it in the plate on the table at the back of the worship space.
As you leave, a member of the leadership team will introduce themselves to you at the back of the church.
To download a PDF version of this road map, please click here.