John Kaluzny lights a candle which symbolizes what is in the hearts of "the people" which they want to hand over and entrust to God at St. Joseph's church. Links   E-mail             Print            Advertisement

EDITOR'S NOTE: Robert Fontana is the father of Unleashed reporter Colleen Fontana, who co-wrote this column. Colleen Fontana and Mia Walsh attend the Taizé youth group at St. Joseph's Catholic Church.

The lights are off. Only the dim, flickering glow of candles illuminates three icons, each depicting a significant person in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

Twenty teenagers sit nearby, each holding an unlit candle in their hands. Quietly, they start to sing hymns. Then, one by one, they light their candles and kneel near the icons to pray.

In preparation for the sacrament of confirmation, these teens meet once a week at Yakima's St. Joseph's Catholic Church to pray and discuss issues facing the church. They come from different schools, both public and private. And leading their Wednesday night meetings is Robert Fontana, 50, who has been the youth group leader at the church for eight years.

Fontana uses prayer in the Taizé tradition as a way to help strengthen teens' faith.

After visiting the Taizé (pronounced Teh-ZAY) Community in France in 2000, Fontana says he thought it would be beneficial to use this method with teenagers in a youth group. In 2001, he began to invite young people to participate in the Taizé youth group, which continues today.

Hannah Kaluzny, a 16-year-old sophomore at Davis High School, has been attending the Taizé youth group at St. Joe's for almost two years.

"It gives me a lot of time to reflect and think about my own life," she says.

Taizé prayer services involve the use of candles, icons and short, repetitive songs.

For Frank Sziebert, a 16-year-old junior at Davis, the Taizé aspect sets this youth group apart from others.

"Most youth groups have discussion time, but Taizé is something new and different," he says.

Taizé is not new. The monastic community was founded in 1940 by the late Brother Roger. Since the late 1950s, the Taizé Community has become a symbol of reconciliation between Christians and other groups. It's made up of more than 100 brothers of Catholic and various Protestant backgrounds from more than 25 countries. And that's part of its appeal for young people, who have popularized pilgrimages to the community as well as Taizé prayer services around the world.

Fontana explains: "Candles create a beautiful but soft lighting that helps the person praying to get out of their head and get more into their heart and simply be present to God."

Kaluzny says she finds it easier to do that at the Taizé youth group than during Mass on Sundays.

"This is much more personal," she says. "Mass is traditional, and it is hard to get stuff out of it, where as here it is more personal and (relevant) to your life."

Thirteen-year-old Christina Foley, an eighth-grader at St. Joseph-Marquette School, agrees.

"There is a lot of talking in Mass, but Taizé is silent, and we spend more time with God as well," she says.

Once the Taizé prayer has finished, the teens get to eat a quick snack before regrouping for discussion. Every week there is a new topic to discuss; some pertain to current events and others to church history.

"We don't just sit there," says 16-year-old Chris Wilson, a freshman at Eisenhower High School. "We get to ask questions if we don't understand something."

And, says 18-year-old Minerva Perez, a senior at La Salle High School, "I can actually be with people my own age."

These weekly discussions and reflective prayer services create an atmosphere in which students can come together and share their faith.

"Taizé is very relaxing," Kaluzny says. "And since life is usually busy, it is hard to find time for my faith."

For these teens, Taizé gives them that time.

* Colleen Fontana and Mia Walsh attend Davis High school.