Rotterdam 2010
The Meeting Day by DaySaturday December 25, 2010Preparations for the meeting
Sunday December 26, 2010More than 1000 young people arrive to help with final preparations
Ulli (Germany) took part in the European meeting in Poznan a year ago.And so it starts! This morning we welcomed more than 1000 pilgrims who came earlier to give a helping hand during the meeting. We gave them the Letter from Chile which begins with « joy » – and that is also how the meeting began. Many people, who helped with the meetings in Taizé during the summer or who come to the European Meetings every year, met today again. The number of smiles, laughter and embraces were uncountable and we didn’t know whether to say first: “Merry Christmas” or “Welcome to Rotterdam”. The tiredness of the long travel was forgotten by the sight of so many familiar faces. And even to those coming to such a meeting for the first time, this joy was contagious and they joined in that beautiful moment. Nando (Korea) drew this cartoon, representing the participants looking for their way.Monday December 27, 2010Bernat (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain)We are seventeen volunteers living in a really small flat in a district near Ahoy where most of the inhabitants are immigrants without many resources. We are welcomed by a group of young people who decided to live in this zone in order to do social work and help kids and teenagers. Our host house is almost full but we are still expecting more young people during the meeting! At night, after a busy day, we meet in the small kitchen – which is almost five square meters – and we pray together in front of the icon of friendship. The decoration of the prayer halls: two symbols for the Netherlands
Francesco (Venice, Italy)This year, I decided to come two days earlier in order to help with the welcome and the preparation. Since I arrived, I was touched by two things: the welcome, and the sense of fellowship and community we are living all together these days. When I arrived at Ahoy, the place where we have the meeting and the prayers every day, I was immediately and warmly welcomed by the volunteers who came directly from Taizé, because I spent nine months there as a volunteer. I feel that we are all part of the same Christian family – through our common belonging to the Body of Christ. This first evening, I was welcomed in the local church and in a Dutch family where I will live during the meeting. There as well the welcome was friendly and very warm. Through this, I am discovering more and more that we are all drawing our communion from the same source, the love of God revealed to us by Jesus’ birth. Tuesday December 28, 2010Wang-Wei (Sichuan, China)The first time I saw the beautiful city of Rotterdam, I felt so cold, but my heart would be soon so warm. The family that welcomed me with open arms put all their trust in me, and offered me more than anyone could expect. Even if there are so many cultural differences, because I am a foreigner and a total stranger and besides, I don’t know anything about this familly, they still offer as much as I need. They crossed the boundaries and made us come together and share what we have. Though this meeting I really can see sometimes God work in each our heart. This is really beautiful. The churches of Rotterdam welcome the young pilgrims from throughout Europe
Dorien (Amsterdam, Netherlands)Being welcomed in your own languages makes you feel at home. That’s what we did today at the German welcome. It was great to see that at 6am forty volunteers were there to welcome all the German visitors. When they had their introduction in German, we sent them to the host churches and than they met their guest families. From the warmth of your own language, you’ll be ready for a dialogue in foreign languages. A group of youngsters passed the school we were in and said to each other “What’s going on here?” Rotterdam will know that the pilgrimage of trust has begun. So many people spread hope and God’s love. Nando (Seoul, Korea)Marion (Lyons, France)“The most important thing is for everyone to be greeted with a smile,” the brother told us during the explanations. So this morning there were around thirty of us armed with our smiles, welcoming the 1400 French who came to participate in this pilgrimage of trust. Wearing backpacks, they arrived throughout the day. After presenting the meeting, we sent them to different host churches so that each pilgrim could join a family offering them hospitality until January 1st. Conclusion of the day: everyone arrived and you can keep on smiling! Wednesday December 29, 2010Michio (Yokohama, Japan)Yesterday I was working in Hall 1 in Ahoy. It will be become a worship space for the meeting. So we needed to prepare many things before yesterday evening prayer. But there was a circus before that, camels and elephants were there. We were a bit wondering about our situation. But our team were really motivated. Finally evening prayer was so beautiful. I am very happy to work with such a nice team for the meeting! Midday and evening, all gather for common prayer
Elleke (The Hague, Netherlands)Tonight we received a text message from one of our host families: “I found out my neighbours also welcome Taizé guests. I didn’t know my neighbours, but now I do. It’s surprising, I welcome people from far away and meet my neighbours.” This message was today in a nutshell. The welcome in the families
Margarethe (Germany)I arrived here in advance for help, after so many weeks of preparation and excitement at the approach of the meeting. It’s great to see the results. Seeing people so happy and ready to lend a hand, I realized it was really worth it! Annalie & Gerdine (Rotterdam, Netherlands)We are both 20 years old; it is our first meeting. We started around 8:30 in the our host church. All the guests came together and sang songs in different languages. After the morning prayer the guests could go to do their work, or talk in groups about their personal faith. Every day they get some questions to talk about. In our group there are people from Poland, Switzerland and the Netherlands. We read Philippians 4:4-7 in our own languages and the first question was: ’What makes you happy or sad?’. There was a girl in our group who wanted to share her personal story about her grandfather who died. She had feelings of sadness because she lost him, but at the same time she knew that he was with God. After some other personal stories we all left the church and went to the Ahoy. It was very impressive to see all of the people from different countries coming together to pray. Thursday, December 30, 2010Patrycja (Poland)I smiled when I saw those thousands of people gathered for prayer in the evening at Ahoy. Then I thought how nice it was that everyone has found a place to sleep and something to sustain themselves. It is a beautiful experience of hospitality and trust that is shown to us youth. I realized that in trying to cooperate we can build unity. We are never alone, through Christ who unites us – and this allows me to open myself more and more to believe and to love. May this feeling grow in our hearts! Prayer and sharing group in the participating churches
Olesya (Ukraine)This year I have the chance to participate for the third time in a European meeting of Taizé, in Rotterdam, with many young people from around the world. During this meeting, I am returning to the roots, through prayer, song, silence and reflection, I see that God is here with us, that he listens to our prayers and helps us move forward. Each year, I am deeply touched by the hospitality and kindness of our families and our host churches that have opened their doors wide for us. This sign of trust fills me with gratitude and desire to share widely with others what I have received. Workshops
Estelle (Paris, France)This afternoon the subject matter of the workshop challenged me: “Do we always need to go faster?” Each participant was asked to look for bible passages referring to the movement in a positive sense and others arising from a negative experience, passages referring to speed and other to slowness. The presence of contradictory aspirations reassured me about the presence of our dilemmas even in the Scriptures. The meeting in Rotterdam is then a precious and difficult time to take in our lives to discern why we rush and who we should take time for. Rhonald (Manila, Philippines)I was very interested in the workshop on the topic “God is at work in us. How to hear and respond to his call?” I learned a lot about how to discover God’s call. Listening is the best way; silence can help us hear God’s message. I was surprised to see so many young people with the desire to discover their vocation. Fulfillment in life is essential – it seems to me that this workshop could help me, like all young people seeking their way. Friday December 31, 2010Anton (Germany)After already nearly six large common prayers in the two halls which are separate but connected by sound, I can say that this is the aspect of the meeting which touched me the most. Despite the size of the halls and the large number of people, these prayers really helped me find peace and joy in Christ. For me it is very important to pray with so many young people from different backgrounds in these simple circumstances – in fact just an exhibition hall – and in a large city like Rotterdam. The space of silence
Qvinny (Netherlands)At the beginning of the meeting, several doctors and nurses from around Rotterdam set up a medical post in Ahoy. Luckily, the severity of the complaints has so far remained limited to things like the flu. But what to do with a girl with flu, who is too ill to take the public transport and will certainly need a bed and attention? Which family can we ask to take care of a sick person unexpectedly? With a lot of phone calls, we find a woman who is willing to offer a warm bed, attention and care. And in this way, a simple flu turns into a practical exercise in trust. Guillaume, Grenoble/Annecy, FranceArriving for the second year as a volunteer at the European meeting, I was welcomed with open arms by the sexton of our host church , with three others, one French, one Swiss and one Belgian. The atmosphere like every year is a wonderful mixture of smiles, prayer, friendship, silence and joy. I was particularly marked by a question asked by a bishop in our sharing group on the theme of forgiveness, and the idea of finding someone to confide in: Is God our friend? Can we confide in him? The answer is yes, and we all agreed that forgiveness is necessary and that it often requires a very close friendship with someone who helps us to accept it, including one with God through prayer and meditation. This also allowed us to draw a parallel with the joy we have when we forgive, or when we receive forgiveness... the joy of being light-hearted. The meals in common
Mari-Liis (Estonia)A day ago in the prayer I saw a group of people singing in sign-language. That deeply moving and touching sight got me inspired. The desire for communion with others, joy of heart and God must be beyond our human senses. They are all over, all-surrounding, within each one of us. Beata (Poland)I still remember my first meeting, in Geneva. The first thing I noticed was the impressive number of young people who came to this meeting. I felt very small, not because of my age, but because I knew very few people and felt a bit lonely. Year after year, I came to the conclusion that by smiling at others I would not feel alone anymore! As usual, in our host churches we reflected on the Bible and prayed together. Both the families and the churches opened wide their doors and their hearts. Saturday January 1st, 2011The day of departure
Laurent (Suisse)Joy, compassion and forgiveness. In the small sharing group in which I participated, we concluded that these three impulses given by the Letter from Chile are born in relationships between people. These relationships were precisely at the heart of the meeting, with our guests in the host churches, in the group sharing, with the small work team. By being open to others, I witnessed the birth of the joy between us all. It was also striking to hear all those who were surprised and pleased that the many churches of different Christian denominations in Rotterdam participated together in the meeting. Again, it is by the act of taking a step towards others that a new joy is born. Prayer for peace and the festival of nations
Sunday, January 9, 2011The pilgrimage of trust continuesThough the meeting is already finished, that does not mean that everything stops. Some brothers and young volunteers who helped prepare the meeting will remain in Rotterdam for a few weeks. This is an opportunity to say thank you to everyone who made the meeting possible, beginning with the participating churches and host families. Prayers will be held so people can meet and share about their experience, about the events, expected or not, that marked the five days of the European meeting. Daily prayer will continue until mid-January. Back home, the young pilgrims from all over Europe will also be invited by the various group leaders to come together and share. And for some, a stay at Taizé will be a new stage in the pilgrimage of trust on earth. Nadiya (Ukraine)God loves us – just as we are. No matter what the color of your skin, your age or your religion. God’s love is like a gift that we possess. It teaches us not only to receive, but to share with others what we have. Here in Rotterdam, at the European meeting, I found peace for my soul and my heart. Praying together with so many young people from different countries, spending a few days with a host family, and sharing my experiences with others gave me more strength to pursue my goals in life with God who cares for me and loves me, and also to better cope with the problems I encounter in my life. Some specifics of the meeting in RotterdamAfter a few days the pilgrims are back home, and life goes on in Rotterdam, in the families and the host churches. As Brother Alois said the first night, until the very last minute the inhabitants of Rotterdam, Delft, Utrecht, The Hague and other cities opened their doors. In the last days, until the day before the meeting, hundreds of additional places were found. Another highlight of the meeting was the involvement of so many different Christian communities in the preparation. Reformed, Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, evangelical and Orthodox Christians hosted the young in one way or another. Often, this involved a true collaboration. For example, for the first time Catholics and Protestant television stations in the Netherlands presented daily programs on the second national channel. Another example of joint work was a program prepared for teenagers between 12 and 17, created by the youth ministers of the Churches, with a special welcome and workshops. Moreover, one can undoubtedly say that never have there been so many workshops offered to the participants. The civil authorities were very involved, such as the mayor of Rotterdam, Mr. Aboutaleb, who even led a workshop. Finally, the staff of the central meeting-place, the Ahoy exhibition center, was very open and attentive to make sure everything happened in the best way possible. |