"The Marvelous Peace of God."
On the first Sunday of most months, Christ Church hosts Taizé Vespers, a liturgy of Evening Prayer that combines scripture readings, prayer, silent meditation, and rich music. This beautiful service of contemplative prayer and music follows the tradition of the Taizé community of France, promoting peace and justice through prayer and meditation.
November's Taizé Vespers reflect on Thanksgiving, which fits the season. Emphasizing attention to silence, prayer, and singing, Taizé offers an opportunity to praise and give thanks for God's love and presence in one's life, pray for oneself and others, and share in a supportive community.
Tonight, Mother Marcia Davenport delivered a homily that spoke to the fraught times we live in. Drawing from her favorite William Alexander Percy hymn, her homily explores how true divine peace requires an active commitment to justice and repentance—defined not as shame, but as a transformed worldview that upholds human dignity against oppressive worldly power. Emulating Jesus, we are called to engage directly with the world through tangible acts of love and service, such as feeding the hungry and welcoming the stranger, rather than retreating from conflict. To sustain this difficult outward work against injustice, we must cultivate an inner spiritual anchor through prayer, scripture, and - again, crucially - community. To reinforce this, Mother Marcia shared a joyful story about her recent afternoon teaching an Afghan family amidst personal anxiety, showing us how God's marvelous peace is actively found in loving one's neighbor and encountering God in everyday moments of connection.
You can view Mother Marcia's homily above. Thank you, Mother Marcia, and thank you to everyone who gathered with us for this important and unique worship.
Gather with us every Sunday for worship, and on Thursdays at noon for Healing Eucharist. You can learn all about our worship, fellowship, and formation gatherings at www.christchurchcolumbia.org
