Visit to Taizé gives young woman hope for church

 

Susie Weller, a retired life and spiritual coach, takes readers on an "armchair" trek through her spiritual autobiography and travel memoir, sharing how travel transformed her perspectives, turning many ideas "upside down."

She offers these insights in 52 Global Reflections: A Pilgrim's Travel Memoir, which will be published June 18 with Kindle Direct Publishing.

Susie's international pilgrimages began at age 12 when she traveled with her 10-year-old brother to Mexico City. She is now in her 70s, savoring memories of her adventures.

Because of health issues, she says her trekking poles are now "stability sticks," as mobility challenges clip her travels. Nevertheless, she continues kayaking on Liberty Lake across the street from her home.

As she shares about 52 locations around the world, she tells of perspectives she gained over years of walking, hitchhiking, snorkeling, kayaking, hot air ballooning, camel riding, and traveling by car, bus, train, plane, ferry and cruise ships.

Susie shares her journey through the lens of the directions on a compass and life's developmental stages. In each section, she offers three questions for readers to use for journaling personal reflections or for a book group to consider.

With insights from the Compass Rose and the Celtic Wheel of Life as tools, she talks about walking labyrinths in Ireland, France, Malta and the United States and finding that the endpoint can also become a new beginning.

Susie uses the directions of a compass to explore how foundational skills learned in early childhood "often recycle throughout life until we integrate their lessons."

The first section on East, spring and early childhood shares her growing years in California and travels to Alaska, Michigan and Arizona, Jerusalem, Honolulu and London.

Her second section, on South, summer and youth/young adulthood, connects with experiences in the British Isles, Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and the U.S. and Canadian Pacific Northwest.

For West, fall and middle adulthood, she shares about national parks, the Caribbean, Switzerland, Spain, Mexico, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Bosnia, France, the Sahara Desert and British Columbia.

In the fourth section, she explores North, winter and elderhood, telling of times in South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Southern France, Malta, Egypt, Jordan, Türkiye and Greece.

In each section, Susie discusses such attributes of life as roots, freedom, nurturing, peace, perseverance, solitude, commitment, understanding, forgiveness, faith, friendship, love, home, surprise, bravery, healing, meaning, bridge-building, adventure, trust, awe, tenacity and mothering.

The table of contents presents an overview and explains that she uses the Compass Rose and the Celtic Wheel to describe tools for inward and outward journeys.

In 1976, Susie graduated with degrees in religion and communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara, followed by serving as an apostolic volunteer with Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters at a Catholic girls' school in Minnesota.

From 1978 to 1980, she served with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps as a campus minister at Seattle University. In 1984, she married Mark Weller, also a Jesuit volunteer, and in 1989, they and their two children moved to Spokane, where she taught at the Community Colleges of Spokane Institute of Extended Learning program for parents of children in Head Start/ECEAP.

As one example of the content, Susie described her experiences at Taizé in Burgundy, France, where she learned the power of silence.

In the 1940s, Brother Roger Schultz began Taizé as a Christian ecumenical monastic community. First, it was a hideaway for Jews in World War II. It now includes more than 80 Catholic and Protestant monks from 30 countries.

Sixty-five reside on-site, and others serve in global missions. Three groups of Roman Catholic Sisters assist in hosting 3,000 to 6,000 pilgrims who visit each week. Many visitors are 18 to 35.

"As a 24-year-old solo traveler in 1978, I felt fortunate to join them for a week of daily chanting, reflection and discussion," Susie said. "With my hostel sheet sleeping sack, I slept on a mat under a massive tent with other young people. To my knowledge, I was the only American staying there that week. Although I was embarrassed that I only spoke English compared to others my age, I felt grateful that many were multilingual and could easily communicate with me."

While traveling in Europe, she saw most traditional Christian churches as dead museums, so she was elated to join other young people who wanted to discuss their faith.

"We gathered for prayer three times a day in a plain church decorated solely with candles in front of a few icons. The walls opened up, allowing those sitting outside to participate as well. Amazingly, the chattering immediately stopped when the prayer leaders called for silence in multiple languages. Each service included a few Bible passages read in English, French and German, followed by a period of extended silence."

The monks' simple, repetitive chants helped bridge the language barrier.

"In contrast to my typically noisy interior life, the meditative music created an atmosphere that fostered deep reflection, amplified by the communal silence.

"Singing in other languages reminded me I was meditating as part of a global village. While repeating the simple chanting phrases 10 to 15 times, my breathing slowed, and my body relaxed into a contemplative state. I felt inspired and nurtured by these communal times for contemplative prayer with other young people."

Susie felt Taizé offered a future for Christianity in Europe, with thousands of young people taking the "spark of Taizé with them."

Returning to Washington, she noticed several churches offered monthly Taizé-style services. Sister Joy Milos, coordinator of a two-year spiritual direction training program at Gonzaga University, from which Susie graduated in 2009, described Taizé as "an oasis of peace that takes participants inward, moves them outward and calls us to reconciliation and inclusiveness. It gives us a vision beyond sectarianism, to come together as Catholics and Protestants." About 40 to 60 people regularly attend Taizé services in Spokane at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John in Spokane.

There are also monthly services at Immaculate Heart Retreat Center and weekly services on Zoom through Mater Dei Ministry Institute.

Susie said Brother Roger's vision continues. The Taizé community now organizes international meetings of young adults in cities of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas.

"The Taizé Community recently enlarged its mission to promote ecumenical dialogue to include Eastern Orthodox Christians and Muslims," she said. "It partners with organizations, such as Near Neighbors, to unite people in religiously and ethnically diverse communities. Their theme, 'Journeying Together,' builds trust-based relationships to improve local communities.

"Praying together in silence can strengthen our unique bond and communion with God and others," said Susie, inviting readers to reflect on times they felt connected to others while singing or meditating.

In her conclusion related to elderhood, Susie said she hopes her travels will inspire others to explore the world and "serve it as a global citizen."

"We are living in challenging times. The parallels of what I witnessed in Jerusalem, Corrymeela, Amsterdam, Dachau, Dresden, Berlin, Theresienstadt, Mostar and Vienna are distressing reminders of how quickly we can forget the devastating consequences of political policies that treat others as 'them.' May we follow the courageous leadership of individuals who have spoken up," she said.

"Let us build bridges to increase our compassion and respect for others, recognizing that they are a part of us that we don't yet know," Susie concluded.

For information, call 499-1423 or visit 52globalreflections.com