“Our vocation as community has committed us to live solely from our work, accepting neither donations nor bequests nor gifts – nothing, absolutely nothing. The boldness involved in not ensuring any capital for ourselves, without fear of possible poverty, is a source of incalculable strength.”
The ceramics adventure began in the winter of 1949, with theestablishment of a workshop at Taizé focused on hand casting and theproduction of glazes (particularly those made from plant ash). Simplemechanization was soon introduced: hand gluing. As the number ofbrothers has increased, they have continued to live from their work.The objects produced are everyday items— plates,bowls, and cups.The workshop has been expanded several times over the years.Wood-fired kilns were replaced by gas kilns, then by programmable gaskilns. Various sorting machines, of varying degrees of efficiency,were introduced into the pottery. In addition to making pottery, theworkshops are also a place where new brothers experience communitylife.
The idea of organizing a copper enamel workshop in Taizé has atleast two origins. One of our older brothers who was gifted in thearts created pendants using the technique of copper enameling. Butthese were one-of-a-kind pieces, always original in their form. Itwas the father of one of the brothers in the community, who madedecorative enamel pieces, who encouraged us to start a small-scaleworkshop to produce this type of piece.Accordingly, two brothers went to see him for afew days to receive training. This training consisted of learning howto order enamels and copper pieces, mastering the techniques ofapplying enamel, as well as firing and finishing the fired pieces.
From the very beginning, art and creativity have played a fundamental role in the community. Whether because of their training prior to entering the community or their personal background, some brothers have developed a personal artistic practice.This practice takes many different forms, but generally involves small- or medium-sized two-dimensional visual works on paper, cardboard, or canvas. The brothers make use of various painting and drawing techniques, but they also create collages with different materials and graphic works.
Inspired by ancient canons such as Michael Praetorius' Jubilate Deo,in the 1970s the brothers of the Taizé Community sought to develop astyle of sung prayer compatible with the international gatherings ofyoung people at Taizé. Initially, until the 1990s, the songs werecomposed by Jacques Berthier and Joseph Gelineau, two renowned churchmusicians, in collaboration with the Taizé brothers. Today, it isthe brothers themselves who continue to enrich the repertoire ofTaizé songs.The work of publication involves editing the vocal scores, sometimesin several languages, as well as editing the corresponding scores forsolo parts and instrumental accompaniment.
Since the community’s beginnings, some of the brothers have soughtto express in writing the call to which they have responded. BrotherRoger published his first booklet in 1941, expressing his vision forthe community as he saw it at the time. Since then, the brothers havecontinued to publish the fruits of their reflections. The communityhad its own printing press from 1958 to 2010; Les Presses de Taizécontinues to publish books written by the brothers, but now theprinting is done outside.Some of these books resemble the biblicalintroductions given day after day at Taizé: their purpose is to helpreaders—especially young people—gain a deeper understanding ofthe message of the Bible and relate it to their own lives. Othersoffer theological or spiritual reflections related to the vocation ofTaizé or the life of prayer. Over the years, brothers have alsowritten poetry, children's books, and translations of spiritual worksfrom the ancient monastic tradition. Les Presses de Taizé alsopublishes several songbooks, with solo verses in different languagesand accompaniments for various instruments.
During the Covid-19 pandemic and the suspension of visits to Taizé,we had to imagine new products for the workshops. At that time,several brothers liked to play board games together, and some evenhad an extensive experience with this.So the game Kellia was gradually developed in 2021, then Koinobia in2023-2024. Each time, we sought to create a high-quality game withwell-thought-out mechanics, where the themes were closely related toour community life and the history which inspired them was respected.
From the sky you send rain on the hills,and the earth is filledwith your blessings. You make grass grow for the cattleand herbsfor us to use… (Ps 104, 13-14).Like many other people when the Covid lockdown wasimposed in March 2020,our Community was searching how to bemore respectful to our planet. Travelresponsibly? Eat sustainably? Be more careful about what we buy?Reduce our waste? We were also reflecting on our carbon imprint, andon the fossil fuel energy we use to earn our living.
