Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School’s well-known Taizé choir is offering a unique prayer service at Mercy on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. This annual event reunites past and present members of the choir in a one-hour meditative prayer in the spirit of Taizé. The Mercy auditorium will be transformed into a sanctuary illuminated by hundreds of candles and focused on images that depict the arrival of Christ in this Advent season.

Franck Launay-Fallasse, the choir’s director and head of Mercy’s Theology Department, moved to the United States six years ago from France and brought the music and spirit of Taizé with him. Taizé is named for a small village in the Burgundy region of France where a noted ecumenical group of brothers formed a local community in the 1940s, centered on a special style of singing described as meditative, with chant-like melodies and “prayer songs.” Taizé has become a beautiful part of Mercy’s faith-filled tradition. The choir has performed at several major events over recent years. On Thursday, Dec. 13, they will be performing live on Fox 5 news for the Toys for Tots campaign at the Clayton/Morrow Publix.

Membership in the Taizé choir has been an integral part of many students’ experiences at Mercy, thus many choir alumni jumped at the chance to return to Mercy to sing for the annual Advent prayer service. Katie Garten, a 2005 graduate, explained, “The Taizé choir means so much to me. I always jump at any opportunity to return to the choir or learn new songs because it is always such a wonderful experience. Not only does singing the songs bring about a connection to the other choir members, but to know that these same songs are sung all around the world is an awesome feeling. After all, that is what Taizé is about; bringing people together to praise and worship God.”

The Taizé choir Advent prayer service will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 18, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School. This free event is open to the public and all are welcome. Light refreshments will be served immediately following the service. For questions or directions, call 770-461-2202. Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School is located at 861 Highway 279 in Fairburn, Ga.

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