- Cape Town poster (click for full-size version)
Downloads:
Flyer (pdf format) with the programme and practical information Songsheet for the period of preparation
Several thousand young people will gather from South Africa, other parts of Africa and from further away in a Pilgrimage of Trust:
- Celebrating Christ, Source of peace and true reconciliation.
- Praying, singing, being in silence and sharing faith with thousands of other young people.
- Discovering people from different cultures and their lives.
- Experiencing the Church as a ferment of unity and communion in the human family.
- Accommodation with local families.
An invitation from the Churches
The Taizé Community is responding to a joint invitation from Church leaders, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of the Anglican Church, Bishop Stephen Brislin, Catholic Archbishop of Cape Town, Methodist Bishop Siwa, President of the Council of Churches of South Africa, Revd Dr. Gustav Claasen from the Dutch Reformed Church ... Several brothers of the community have been living in Cape Town since February 2018 to journey with the local communities and to prepare for this meeting.
Programme
The daily programme will include common prayers and times of sharing. The mornings will be spent in local parishes and communities, and from midday onwards participants will gather in a central venue.
The participants in the Cape Town meeting will be welcomed in the parishes and local communities. The youth will be accommodated by families with simple means. This personal contact will be an important part of this pilgrimage.
Everyday a shuttle bus service (and/or train) will bring the youth from the local parish to the common venue at midday for the programme and take them back after the prayer in the evening.
Coming to this meeting in Cape Town involves a full participation in the programme and to prepare oneself in advance.
Practical information
- Dates: Arrival, welcome and first common prayer on Wednesday 25 September in the morning, departure on Sunday 29 September in the afternoon.
- Age: for those 18 to 35.
- Accommodation and breakfast will be in host families.
- Simple meals will be served at midday and in the evening at the common venue.
- Transport will be organized from each host parish to the common venue.
How to prepare?
- Pray with the local Christian community or in a prayer group. This will help to make the journey a spiritual one in connection with the life of one’s parish, local Christian community or chaplaincy.
- Reflect along with others on the following themes: Making ourselves more available to others, to God and in the Church and also on the 2018 letter Inexhaustible Joy.
- Learn some of the Taizé repetitive songs.
- Look around you for people who awake hope and visit them.