As part of the preparation for the upcoming European meeting, several brothers visited Poland in the month of June. Brother Matthew and a group of brothers took part in a young adult meeting at Lednica, near Gniezno. Then two brothers spent ten days in Lódź to deal with the last questions connected to the arrival of the preparation team at the beginning of September. They met with church leaders and other people involved in the preparations.

Young people from the city also have been involved in the preparation: they prepared a prayer with the songs of Taizé that was held in the Lutheran church of Saint Matthew and in which the brothers took part. During a meeting with the brothers some young people expressed their expectations concerning the meeting. Here are the accounts of Patryk and Jakub, two young men from Lódź who are helping with the preparation of the European meeting.

Patryk:  After the brothers’ visit to Łódź in June, we look with hope towards the European meeting, which in December will bring together thousands of people from across Europe and around the world. We hope that it will be an opportunity to discover and strengthen the bonds that shape the multicultural identity of our city, where diversity can become a place of encounter. We believe that shared prayer, the experience of service and hospitality, and living together with participants from many countries will deepen the cooperation among the different Christian communities in Łódź and foster even greater mutual trust. We wish to be a sign of the unity given by the Holy Spirit, a unity that does not erase our differences but transforms them into a gift for the whole community. May this meeting become a shared witness of hope, peace, and reconciliation, so deeply needed in Europe and throughout the world

 

Jakub: The meeting with brothers from Taizé reassured me that our preparations for the European meeting in Łódź is a genuine partnership and a mutual exchange. With our group Cantico, we bring the experience we’ve gained through many music workshops, as well as the ability to reach a wide community of participants—people who sing every day in churches throughout the Archdiocese of Łódź. The European meeting is one of the largest Christian initiatives ever undertaken by our local Church. I hope it will become an opportunity for growth and for deepening our relationships. I also believe that the energy and commitment invested in this journey will not fade away once the pilgrims leave, but will instead help us continue building a strong, supportive community of choirs and scholas in Łódź.