If I Were Under 35…

…I’d be going to this: a Taizé experience in South Dakota. I’ve been to Taizé (in France) twice, and both trips were spiritual watersheds for me. Occasionally, the brothers of Taizé take the show on the road, and this Memorial Day weekend, they’ll be holding a gathering on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where I lived for three summers in the 1990’s.

I would go on this in a heartbeat, but they are quite clear that it is exclusively for 18-35 year olds, and I very much respect Taizé’s commitment to this age group.

If any of you goes, I’d love to have you guest blog about your experience here at Theoblogy.

Here’s some info:

PILGRIMAGE OF TRUST IN THE USA

Pine Ridge 2013

On May 24th through 27th, 2013, a new stage in the “pilgrimage of trust on earth” will be held in the “Far West” of the United States. It will take place in Red Shirt, South Dakota, a tiny village at the edge of the Badlands on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The outdoor gathering will include meditative prayer together three times a day, Bible study, workshops, small group sharing, and meals together, provided by the local Lakota people. The event is meant for young people aged 18-35, a voice rarely heard in the church or in society.

The current friendship between Taizé and South Dakota began in 2009, when a group of university students from the state, including two young Lakota men, came to Taizé. This was one of the very first times when the community welcomed Native Americans to take part in the international meetings on the hill. The group extended an invitation to the community to return the visit, and a brother visited South Dakota in 2010 and again in 2011, stopping at the Pine Ridge Reservation and getting to know the Two Bulls family at Red Shirt. A larger group, including a number of Lakota and Ojibwa young people, visited Taizé for a week in 2011, and in the summer of 2012, two Lakota youth spent the summer months as volunteers on the hill.

More details and registration here: Taizé – Pine Ridge 2013.