On Friday, February 2nd—the Feast of the Presentation, aka Candlemas—please join us for a peaceful experience of Taizé prayer at 5:30 p.m.
We’ll start with a simple supper in the parish hall. Then the Rev. Masud Ibn Syedullah, who has led many pilgrimages to the Taizé monastic community in France, will teach us the Taizé way of prayer—simple, chanted prayer-songs that anyone can sing. We’ll conclude our evening with a meditative prayer service in our candlelit church.
What is Taizé ? The ecumenical Taizé monastic community in France has engaged millions of pilgrims—mostly youth and young adults—with a message of peace and a meditative style of sung prayer. Come experience it for yourself! All ages welcome and everyone will be invited to participate (or not) in the singing to the extent they are comfortable.
What is Candlemas? Friday, February 2nd is the Feast of the Presentation, also known as Candlemas. This feast day comes forty days after Christmas and commemorates the presentation of baby Jesus and the purification of his mother Mary in the Jerusalem temple forty days after his birth. At his presentation, the baby Jesus was greeted by Simeon (whose prayer upon encountering Jesus became the basis for the canticle nunc dimmittis (see page 120 in your Book of Common Prayer) and by the prophet Anna. Over time, this celebration came to include the lighting and blessing of candles, remembering Simeon’s prayer that Jesus is “a light to enlighten the nations.”
