A weekend for young adults (18-35) led by Brother Emile of Taizé will be held in Edmonton from February 23 to 25th, 2007. "Leaving Discouragement Behind – Finding new Hope" is the theme of the weekend. This ecumenical time of prayer, reflection, and sharing is part of Taizé's "Pilgrimage of Trust across the Earth."

The ecumenical community of Taizé was founded by Brother Roger in France in 1940. It is composed of a hundred or so brothers from more than 25 different countries. Since the late 1950s, thousands of young adults from all over the world have found their way to Taizé to take part in weekly meetings of prayer and reflection. In order to encourage them to find ways of being bearers of trust and reconciliation in today's world, the Taizé community began a "Pilgrimage of Trust across the Earth," with Taizé brothers making visits and leading gatherings, large and small, in Africa, North and South America, Asia, and in Europe.

Prayer at Taizé consists mostly of meditative song, short Bible reading and a time of silence. Short songs repeated again and again, express a basic reality of faith, quickly grasped by the mind. As the words are sung over many times, this reality gradually penetrates the whole being. Meditative singing thus becomes a way of listening to God. It allows everyone to take part in a time of prayer together and to remain together in attentive waiting on God.

For more information about Taizé: www.taize.fr. For more information and registration forms for the Edmonton weekend, phone 780-428-6323; or see www.edmonton.anglican.org/taize/taize-visit.htm. Cost $15. Meals are provided and billeting is available.

Each year during Lent, churches across Saskatoon encourage study and reflection on a variety of Christian topics. This year, we have the following programmes to announce. Some have already begun, but you can join in at any time.

Ecumenical Lenten Worship. The churches of the Nutana Park Ecumenical Committee are again hosting their annual Lenten worship series. The services are held Wednesday mornings at 7:30 a.m. at Calvin Goforth Presbyterian Church, 3rd Street at Sommerfeld. The services are planned and led by the various churches of the neighbourhood.

Reconsidering Jesus. This series of 5 talks will be held at Knox United Church, 838 Spadina Crescent East, Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. The program seeks to further ongoing discussion throughout the church of the relevance and meaning of Jesus in his person and works. The talks will be led by various leaders in Saskatoon's faith community. For further details, call Knox Church at 306-244-0159.

Feb. 28 - "Tell me the stories of Jesus" (The quest for the "Real" Jesus)
Dr. Bill Richards, College of Emmanuel & St. Chad

Mar. 7 - "Jesus and the Church in the 21st century"
Very Rev. Terry Wiebe, Rector of St. John's Cathedral

Mar. 14 - "Atonement and issues of Restorative Justice"
Fr. Bill Bernard, St. Mary's RC Parish

Mar. 21 - "Jesus and Feminism"
Dr. Mary Ann Beavis, Professor, St. Thomas More College

Mar. 28 - "Jesus and Miracles"
Rev. Amanda Currie, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

Searching the Scriptures. This is a series of 5 talks held at St. Timothy's Anglican Church, 2101 Lansdowne Avenue, Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. starting February 28. The free program will study the weekly lectionary readings with Dr. Mary Ann Beavis, a biblical scholar and professor of religious studies at St. Thomas More College. Dr. Beavis will introduce participants to historical as well as traditional Jewish and Christian methods of interpretation. To register, call 306-343-1332 or email .

An ecumenical panel will give a presentation on Sunday, February 25th on the topics of "The role of Mary in the Church" and the "Understanding of the Eucharist." The controversial issues have been the subject of extensive ecumenical dialogue over the past 40 years. The Keynote speakers are the Rev. Canon Colin Clay (Anglican), Marie-Louise Ternier-Gommers (Roman Catholic), and Bishop Allan Grundahl (Lutheran).

The panel will present at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 25, 2007 at St. Philip Neri Roman Catholic Parish, at the corner of Taylor Avenue and Munroe Street. This event is sponsored by St. Philip Neri Parish, St. Timothy Anglican Church, and Redeemer Lutheran Church.