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Stephanie Porter-Nichols/The altar at Christ Episcopal Church in Marion is lined with burning candles representing the people’s prayers.

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Music, prayers unite faiths

By STEPHANIE PORTER-NICHOLS/Staff

Candles flickered across the altar, at times their flames seemingly imbued by the prayers they symbolized.
About 20 voices united in ecumenical prayer that on this cold Lenten night was voiced in music.
People from at least three faiths were scattered among the dark wooden pews of Christ Episcopal Church in Marion for a Wednesday evening service with roots harkening to a small village in France.
The celebrants were gathered for a Taizé service, which uses repetitive music to enhance prayer.
The Rev. Dr. Chris Mason, Christ Church’s priest, described the music as simple and meditative. The church first introduced the Taizé form of worship in the weeks preceding Christmas and expects to continue the practice beyond Lent, which concludes at Easter, due to its popularity.
The accessibility of Taizé music fuels people’s positive response to the service.
Waverly Moss, who sings in the church choir, said when she wakes up at night she can hear the music in her head. “The soothing, repetitive nature carries me back to sleep,” she explained.
To Mason’s delight, the unique service is finding an appeal across faiths.
Veronica Hutton, a Lutheran, has attended all of the Taizé services. She describes the services as calming and peaceful. “When I’m in the car, I find myself singing them,” she said.
Taizé originated in 1940 when a young man known as Brother Roger left Switzerland for his mother’s native France. Long ill from tuberculosis, Brother Roger sought to establish a community where simplicity and kindness would be essential components.
He settled in the small village of Taizé. The community began to take root during World War II when Brother Roger provided shelter to refugees.
Today, according to the official Web site – http://www.taize.fr/en, more than 100 brothers from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds representing over 25 countries, make up the community, which annually welcomes thousands of visitors, especially young people. The Web site notes that during some weeks in the summer more than 5,000 young people from 75 different nations will visit Taizé. Three times each day everyone gathers for prayer, worshipping with song and silence. The Taizé community strives to keep worship simple. The Web site explains, “Brother Roger was always concerned that nothing in the prayer should appear inaccessible. For him, to read a text that was too long or too complicated could keep people from perceiving that relationship of love that the presence of the Holy Spirit offers in prayer.”
During last Wednesday’s service, the Rev. Mason encouraged the congregation to use the opportunity to put themselves in front of God and receive answers to their needs. “Invite God in,” he urged.
Cathy Reynolds, who had just made the sometimes-hectic interstate drive to Marion from her job at Wytheville Community College, said the services create an ecumenical community “to share the love of the Lord.” She called the Taizé experience “a wonderful respite in the middle of the week.”
B.B. Derian, who grew up attending Christ Church, reflected that the simple service provides “quietness at the end of the day.”
Jeanne Mason recalled discovering the comforting power of Taizé music when she was making a 45-minute, high-stress commute in the Charlottesville area. “Joyful” and “soothing” were her words to describe the experience.
She hopes that musicians will bring their instruments to the service and accompany the church’s organ. The Rev. Mason noted that the music, which often focuses on a Psalm verse, lends itself to different and multiple instruments.
During a soup-and-sandwich supper after the service, Charlie and Jean Bartlett of Glade Spring said of the church and the Taizé services, “You feel welcome….”
Anyone interested in attending the Taizé services is invited to do so. For Lent, the services will take place on Wednesdays, Feb. 27 and March 5 and 12, at 6 p.m.. In subsequent months, the services will be held on the first and third Wednesday evenings.
“Prayer does not make us less involved in the world. On the contrary, nothing is more responsible than to pray. The more we make our own a prayer which is simple and humble, the more we are led to love and to express it with our life,” said Brother Roger, as quoted in the Letter 2005, a Future of Peace.

Stephanie Porter-Nichols may be reached at or 783-5121.