Worship with the Monks

Once we dominated the Swiss Alps, we were off to stay at a Monastic Community called, Taize, in France.  This is no ordinary Monastery, it was open to the public to visit and to worship with the monks.  As part of our Christian Worship class, we visited and stayed in the community for a couple of days.  It was a very enriching experience.  The community was very simplistic and that is exactly what makes it so appealing.  You can go there and forget all about material possessions and focus on worshipping God.  We would pray three times a day and would work during the afternoon by contributing to everyday responsibilities around the church or other buildings.  People come from all over Europe and the world to visit this place.  We met Asians, Germans, Americans, and many French visitors.  For them, this is the one place and time for them to worship the way they want and to be open.  They all come from different areas that don't necessarily have churches on every corner, like we do.  Makes you take a second look at your attitude towards time of worship.  The fact that people from all over the world can come together and put differences aside to simply worship together is so inspirational.  Extremely eye-opening.