Taize For Youuu...

Easter Sunday:

Attended a barbecue at Cession church, which was a good chance to catch up with some faces who I hadn’t seen for a while.

Also had an interesting discussion with Brett regarding whether, if a man loves God, isn’t he really just following his own wishes?

For tonight’s Easter Sunday service, Cession were running a special Taize meeting.

This was a very relaxing mixture of music, singing and speech. That may sound like a normal run-of-the-mill church service, but I suppose the key difference for me was that it required absolutely no attention. In a Taize service, you’re supposed to just drift-off and meditate or something. As I have always found it tremendously hard to stay awake through any church service (that’s the truth – not a joke) I found this right up my street, so I spent much of it thinking about my dad. It was also the 4th anniversary of his death today, so it was a good chance to just close my eyes, pray a bit and think.

Afterwards, I could remember hardly anything about the gentle music and singing that I’d heard, and it had apparently lasted somewhat longer than I had realised.

It’s true that if you say something encouraging to someone, they will probably remember it. Indeed, one person had some words of encouragement for me today, and I won’t forget them in a hurry.

"You are more of an encouragement to those around you than you realise."

Perhaps he didn't realise it either.