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The beautiful countryside surrounding Taizé does make the community feel protected, if not isolated from the world's problems. Given the recent riots in France, I asked whether Taizé would consider moving to a housing project in a city suburb.

Brother Jean-Marie explained that since the 1950s at least a third of the Brothers have lived in the poorest regions of the world, and Brothers are currently serving in Bangladesh, Senegal, and Brazil. "Brother Roger liked to say you couldn't continue welcoming young people if there weren't a part of the community living among the poorest."

As to Europe, the Brothers have focused on the weekly programs at Taizé itself and organizing annual youth meetings, such as the upcoming "pilgrimage of confidence on earth," set to take place in Milan at the end of December, 2005.

Set on such a path of both reconciliation and truth, Taizé continues to offer a "parable of community" to France and the rest of the world.

Otto Selles is professor of French at Calvin College. He is currently in Grenoble, directing the Calvin Study in France program (Fall 2005).

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Other articles about Taizé include:

Weblog: Taizé Founder Brother Roger Remembered | Founder of broadly Christian community stabbed during service (Aug. 15, 2005)

CT Classic
A New Song | Taize's unique congregational singing is artistic, yet waits on the Spirit. (Aug. 17, 2005)

Learning the Ancient Rhythms of Prayer | Why charismatics and evangelicals, among others, are flocking to communities famous for set prayers and worshiping by the clock (Dec. 29, 2000)

A Pilgrimage of Trust with Taizé | After nothing less than a logistic miracle involving thousands of volunteers, the 17th European Meeting of Young People-sponsored yearly by the international and ecumenical Christian monastic community in Taizçª France-finally began. (Re:generation Quarterly, April 1, 1995)

Books & Culture Corner and Books & Culture's Book of the Week, from Christianity Today sister publication Books & Culture: A Christian Review (want a free trial issue?), appears regularly on Tuesdays at Christianity Today. Earlier editions include:

'Have Mercy on Me, O God' | A report from AAR/SBL. (Nov. 22, 2005)

The Shrine Next Door | A superb study of Chinese popular religion helps to set the context for the appeal of Christianity in China today. (Nov. 8, 2005)

Dissecting Divorce | A new book by Elizabeth Marquardt offers a child's-eye-view of divorce. (Oct. 25, 2005)

Heavenly Real Estate | A geography of art in New York at the midpoint of the 20th century. (Oct. 18, 2005)

Narnia Etc. | A chronicle of reading. (Oct. 11, 2005)

How Wide the Divide? | A proposal for compromise between "value evangelicals" and "legal secularists" on church-state issues. (Sept. 13, 2005)

Poet with Three Heads Talks with King Solomon | Conversation touches on Hebrew parallelism, marriage, and the making of many books. (Aug. 30, 2005)

With God on Our Side | David McCullough's account of the pivotal year 1776 has resonance for Americans in 2005. (July 19, 2005)

The Rich Are Different—and Not So Different—from Us | Think you're burned out on memoirs? Read this book. (June 28, 2005)

A Grief Observed | Exploring the valley of the shadow in two literary lives. (June 13, 2005)

The Mind and Soul of Combat | Perhaps war really is hell. (June 07, 2005)

The Universal Language | If Latin died in our mouths, we'd just stop talking. (May 24, 2005)

For book lovers, our 2005 CT book awards are available online, along with our book awards for 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, and 1997, as well as our Books of the Twentieth Century. For other coverage or reviews, see our Books archive and the weekly Books & Culture Corner.

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November (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49