With confusion and anticipation, I watched Daniel make his way to the large crucifix that rested on risers for veneration. He moved on his knees toward the image of Christ. If all I knew of him was the sincerity of his crawling, I would have thought he was in the final stretches of pilgrimage to pay homage at the Santuario de Guadalupe. As Daniel drew near, he placed his forehead upon the sacred icon with the reverence of the Filipino tradition of touching one’s forehead to the back side of a priest’s hand. Yet Daniel is neither Mexican nor Filipino Catholic. He isn’t Catholic at all. He is a white, nondenominational, evangelical Christian.

I met Daniel when we both attended the “Pilgrimage of Trust” facilitated by brothers from the Taizé community. What we shared in our time of prayer was the very mission of the white-robed men who spoke to us through thick French accents. Taizé is not a religious order nor denomination. It is not even a strictly defined approach to prayer or spirituality. It is an intentional, ecumenical community of Christians from diverse backgrounds seeking to inspire unity, trust, and hope in the world.

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