Glascow Gathering Celebrates Life of Henri Nouwen

September 21st, 2002

On Saturday 21st September a group of about 20 people gathered in St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Glasgow at the invitation of Fr. Gerry Nugent to celebrate the life of Fr. Henri Nouwen:

"We began with a mass in memory of Henri, later on we were joined by others to share lunch and to watch a video of Henri’s life. Fr. Gerry had brought a selection of books written by Henri Nouwen or inspired by his teaching from St. Paul’s bookshop here in Glasgow and these created a lot of interest with the gathered group. A lively discussion followed and we have agreed to meet on Saturday 26th October to share our thoughts on the books we intend to read, and to tell each other how they have affected our spiritual journey.

Since Fr Henri Nouwen was such a loved member of the L’Arche community, our meeting on Saturday seemed to be the perfect opportunity to tell the group about the progress our Seed Group is making . About five years ago, after a visit to Glasgow by Jean Vanier a number of people were inspired to begin a ‘Seed Group’. We have recently completed a feasibility study for L’Arche U.K. and hope to be adopted by them very soon thus giving us a clear path to establish a L’Arche Community in Glasgow.

Hopefully news of our truly enjoyable celebration of Henri Nouwen’s work and life will spread to others who are familiar with his writing and also attract those who have yet to experience the spiritual gift he offers. Perhaps one day we will have a Scottish version of the Henri Nouwen Society."

Fr Gerry can be reached at St. Patricks, 137 William St Glasgow G3 8UR, Telephone: 0141 221 3579, e-mail: gerrynougent@aol.com

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