Community

Henri Nouwen wrote and spoke often about community during his life and ministry as a pastor, priest, professor, and prolific author. His search for community propelled his writing and many of his life’s most significant life choices, including his decision to leave an academic teaching position in 1986 to serve as chaplain to the L’Arche Daybreak community in Richmond Hill, Ontario. There, living alongside those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their assistants, his understanding and commitment to community ripened and matured. And yet, surprisingly, he never wrote a complete book on the subject. Now, drawing on a number of articles as well as previously unpublished material, this book provides a picture of why Nouwen thought community was such a necessary and integral part of the spiritual life in all its many dimensions.