A warm welcome

Wed Aug 25th 5.30pm

Travelling with little sleep to places you have never been tends to both be tiring and stressful. Being tired alone has a tendency to make you emotional. Arriving at Taize after such an ordeal might explain my emotional sensitivity. As I dropped my 70pd pack, I almost fell apart and worked at holding back the tears as I was greeted in English and asked, ‘would you like some tea?’ and she added, ‘and maybe a cookie?’

Miele was from the Netherlands, come to pray and given the task of greeting volunteers at the welcome centre. The welcome centre greets every newcomer in the same way, tea and cookies. Under a large outdoor shelter small groups of teens, and elderly are greeted in their own language and oriented to the stay at Taize. They are given maps, prayer times and a place to stay.

I think the welcome hit me so hard because I realized, I think for the first time, that this trip was not just an adventure in France, but an adventure for me. I think I had thought going into this that, ‘it would be great to go to Taize-to check it out and what it is all about.’ But being handed tea in a bowl in the French countryside after a stressful initiation and a long, long journey I realized….this tea was for me and this pilgrimage was for me.