Provisional fraternity of Taizé in Lebanon (2017)

Escalation of violence in Ain al-Hilweh For almost one day now, we are hearing heavy shootings in the biggest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, Ain al-Hilweh, which is just situated between Saida, Miyeh w Miyeh, and our hill of Maghdouche, 500m from us. Practically without any interruption, we can hear severe fights and we see smoke over the entire valley. Conflicts like this seem to take place here rather regularly, so for the people here, it is nothing new. We are in security, because the fights are limited to the camp's are which is very well secured by the Lebanese army. So you do not need to worry about us at all. But, shocked by the intensity of violence, we would like to ask you if you could pray for the people inside this camp. They need peace so urgently. Thank you!

Getting to know Lebanon every minute of the day We are very sorry! During the last one and a half weeks, there was almost no free minute to write to you about our experiences. But: There are many! Maybe you remember that in our first week, we had thought having some initial difficulties trying to find out where we can meet young people or help in pastoral activities during our afternoons and evenings. This worry vanished during one single evening when one of the people we had contacted came to visit us with lots of friends from the students' pastoral (Jeunesse Etudiante Crétienne, JEC; see also our last post). They were (are!) like angels for us - within one hour, they helped us fixing numerous meetings with different youth groups in the area around Saida (there are youth groups of JEC almost in every village here). Also our friend Rodrigue (who is an angel, too; remember him?) helped us to visit a lot of different places. Because he is a Maronite and the young people from JEC ...

Merci, frère Roger! Today, we remember fr. Roger, the founder of the Community of Taizé . None of us three has ever got to know him: When each of us arrived to Taizé for the first time, he had already died. But, dreaming of living together in peace, he and his brothers have built up a place where we encounter so much of God's love and where we receive courage to reconcile with ourselves, our past and others, and to live towards global friendship. Peace and solidarity are possible! We cannot describe it: Taizé has changed our lives profoundly. No words are enough to give thanks to God, the community, and to you, fr. Roger! fr. Roger Schutz (12th May 1915 - 16th August 2005 )

Starting to meet youth groups In the last week, we started meeting a lot of youth groups next to our activities at the Fratelli Association. We are very thankful that we have the opportunity to encounter so many interesting and interested young people all over Lebanon. Soon, we will tell you more about these meetings. Thanks to these five angels from the students' pastoral visiting us last week, and their commitment, we are able to visit a lot of youth groups all over the country. Where we are But today, we would like to share a map that we have created for you, so that you can easily discover where the places are that we have all our activities in. You will find the map here . It will always be accessible in the left sidebar of our blog. Don't hesitate to try the interactive version that you find on an external site - you will find a lot more information there. More places and activities will come up in the next days, so the map will become fuller little by littl...

Great news!! On Monday, wonderful children arrived to Rhmeileh and we started our core work at the Fratelli Association’s socio-educational summer school there, which we enjoy a lot. Already after three days, we have beautiful stories to share! And yesterday, five angels came to visit us and we managed to fix a lot of meetings with youth groups for the upcoming weeks! Our previous worries of not managing to contact youth groups and communities well enough vanished within one evening. We are extremely happy and thankful about both of these developments. But today, we want to share our experiences of the three first days we spent with refugee children at the Fratelli project. Fra, fra, Fratelli! Welcome to the international team that supports the brothers to welcome refugee children! About 450 children come to the Fratelli center every day. The brothers, teachers, and volunteers that collaborate within the Fratelli Association welcomed around 450 children fro...