The Dominican Sisters of Springfield are holding a Taizé Advent prayer service on Sunday, Dec. 14 from 7-8 p.m. at Sacred Heart Convent Chapel at 1237 W. Monroe St. in Springfield. Individuals and families are invited to the prayer service, which will be followed by snacks and refreshments hosted by the Dominicans.

The meditative candlelit service will include simple chants sung repeatedly, periods of thoughtful silence and prayers of praise and intercession. The Advent service is meant to provide a period of calm during the season which leads up to Christmas.

Taizé is a quiet, simple way of prayer designed for people of all Christian traditions. It is traditionally held in a darkened church while participants light candles to brighten the night.

Taizé prayer originated in Taizé, a small village on a hillside in the Burgundy region of France. It was formed as an ecumenical religious community in the early 1940s by a monk, Brother Roger Schultz, who was murdered in 2005 at the age of 90.

Parking for the Taizé prayer service is available in the Motherhouse parking lot and in the Sacred Heart-Griffin lot across from the main entrance to the east campus.

For more information on the prayer service, call (217) 787-0481 or visit the Dominican's Web site www.springfieldop.org .