Stay with me

One of my hospice colleagues invited me to attend a Taize service at her church last evening. If you’re not familiar with Taize it is an ecumenical community in France, where many great songs are written. You can learn more about the community on their website: http://www.taize.fr

After trekking through the rain last night, I arrived at a very beautiful church. Unfortunately, I didn’t ask where the gathering was and found myself saturated as I ran from door to door. I eventually found where everyone was, sitting in a circle in the middle of a candle lit parlor. Several Taize songs were sung but one, in particular, stuck out. The song is called Stay with me—some of you Taize fans might know it. The words are simple: “Stay with me, remain here with me, watch and pray, watch and pray.” Taize chants are repetitious. We probably sang Stay with me 50-75 times, easily. The reason I’m sharing this with you is because the image of Jewish death customs immediately popped into mind. When a Jewish person, especially Orthodox Jews, dies the kaddish (a prayer) is said and their body is immediately covered. Until interment, the decedent will be cared for by shomrim (other Jews who guard the body until interment). The Jewish tradition’s reverence for the dead is quite impressive. Their dead are seldom stored in refrigerators nor are they violated by any intricate mortuary procedures. Rather, the dead are cared for by their community and not treated merely as empty vessels.

When I heard Stay with me last night, I pictured shomrim sitting around a decedent praying, watching, singing and caring for the dead. I believe these practices are the ideal for congregations to aspire towards and enact within their communities.