What is this spiritual ceremony?

February 2, 2006 10:52 AM

Help remember what this is. Earlier this week, someone in my religion class briefly mentioned a special type of spiritual service, maybe centered around prayer and possibly chanting. The name was something like Tai Chi. Has anyone else heard of this, experienced it, know what it is, and how to spell it? Is it something new ??
posted by marsha56 to religion & philosophy (14 comments total)

That basically sounds like any and every religious service in existence. Do you have any more information?
posted by occhiblu at 11:00 AM on February 2, 2006

You tell us. Is it Tai Chi?
posted by Hankins at 11:02 AM on February 2, 2006

I know occhiblu. Sorry. The only other info I can remember is maybe a little too specific. I think someone mentioned that a local church, Minnehaha Methodist (I think) in Minneapolis held these on Friday nights. I’m not even sure that the services are Christian. Possibly other-cultural, Native American, Asian, Pagan, etc. The thing that stands out for me, is the unusual name which I can’t remember, only that the name sounded a little like Tai Chi.
posted by marsha56 at 11:04 AM on February 2, 2006

No, I'm pretty sure it is completely unrelated to Tai Chi. Just that the name sounded a little like it.
posted by marsha56 at 11:06 AM on February 2, 2006

Was it kirtan? It usually involves a group of people sitting around and chanting, singing, etc. Usually hindu-centric, but not necessarily.

I figure it's got two syllables, like tai-chi, so what the heck.
posted by willmize at 11:07 AM on February 2, 2006

The website for Minnehaha Methodist lists this:

Taize Worship - 3rd Friday night at 7 pm
Singing, meditation, scripture and silence allow an encounter with the mystery of God through the beauty of implicity. Minnehaha's Taize Worship is modeled after the ecumenical community of Taize, located in a small village in the Burgundy region of eastern France.
posted by jrossi4r at 11:08 AM on February 2, 2006

Here's the link.
posted by jrossi4r at 11:09 AM on February 2, 2006

I’m not even sure that the services are Christian
posted by andrew cooke at 11:09 AM on February 2, 2006

ah, the beauty of implicity.
posted by unknowncommand at 11:12 AM on February 2, 2006

Thanks jrossi4r. That's it !! I couldn't look it up at work on the Minnehaha Methodist site, since all sites related to any kind of religion, especially ones for churches are blocked at my workplace. And I couldn't google taize, since I didn't know the name or how to spell it. And I guess it is Christian, anyway. Thanks all!!
posted by marsha56 at 11:13 AM on February 2, 2006

More on Taize's meditative singing. Many of their songs come close to chanting--just one or two lines repeated--and are quite beautiful. Though I haven't attended an entire Taize service, I've often heard Taize songs used within a Catholic mass.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 11:18 AM on February 2, 2006

all sites related to any kind of religion, especially ones for churches are blocked at my workplace.

Is this a normal thing for companies to do? Seems strange.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 1:01 PM on February 2, 2006

Well, religious sites are almost certainly not work-related, so of course companies that block work-related sites would block them.
posted by kindall at 1:05 PM on February 2, 2006

Er, that block non-work-related sites.
posted by kindall at 1:05 PM on February 2, 2006