Week Five: Friday, October 30: A New Communion (p. 26-31)
Perhaps no other chapter in this little book is “closer to the core” of where the author connects with his readers. Whenever you hear a reference to Henri Nouwen, two words almost invariably come to mind: “spirituality” and “community”. Indeed, Henri’s understanding of God’s Calling as a theologian and author cannot easily be understood by the rest of us without these two words.
In Bread for the Journey Henri states “Community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another.” In this context it is easy to understand why The Spirituality of Fund-Raising devotes an entire chapter to fundraising as far more about “the building of community” and far less about asking for money.
Chapter 5 opens with the statement “People have such a need for friendship and for community that fund-raising has to be community-building”. To open our conversation, please offer your reflections on this one sentence in light of the following three questions:
1. How does this statement resonate with your experience of fund-raising?
2. Do “fund-raising” and “community-building” go hand-in-hand from your experience?
3. What words of wisdom might you have to share regarding community-building and Henri’s statement that “Community is first of all a quality of the heart”?
Please also feel free to return to previous postings both to learn from what others have shared and offer your own reflections. If new to the blog, please take a few moments to share a little about yourself in the “Getting Starting—About You” section below.
- Henry
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November 4th, 2009 @ 11:16 am
In this chapter I liked Henri’s affirmation “asking for money is a way to call people into this communion with us. Its saying “we want you to know us.” Each time we begin to build that relationship with others we are really wanting to gain a mutual bond with another individual to come together as one. Throughout this short book, I continue to be reminded that it is the relationship,trust building, the interconnectedness we have with each other which makes fundraising work. The realization of the universal connectedness of all people whether we recognize it or not is key. Like Henri said “it is the spiritual communion exhibited through fundraising, where like minded individuals come together for the cause of kingdom. the investment of one our prized commodity in each other is what builds the friendship and community.” We should continue to remind ourselves of these statements whenever we get discouraged or run out of courage when it comes to fundraising. We are building the kingdom and being in communion with others is essential.
November 4th, 2009 @ 6:47 am
Sharon–It is 6:30 am and I am in an airport waiting for a flight back home. Having not had email access for several days, it was wonderful returning to find your very thoughtful comments regarding the influence of Henri’s work on your understanding of fundraising in the context of people engaging others and working as part of a community–which is really want makes it “ministry” rather than “sales”.
Again, thank you!
November 3rd, 2009 @ 7:37 am
I’m always so amazed by how, when the heart is yearning for true authentic meaning in community, God gets behind helping this to come about. We are currently doing a fund-raiser in our church. I won’t go into details. Thinking about all of my previous and now current experiences with fund-raising and feeling a lot dissatisfied because, from my own perspective, I haven’t been able to see how my relationships with the people we were raising money for grew in understanding and solidarity. Except for our CROP Hunger Walks in which well-trained fund-raisers come in to “tell the people’s stories” and put everything Henri Nouwen is writing about into place. But now my feelings of dissatisfaction about our current fund-raiser to send used clothing to a small village in Liberia is turning to satisfaction because, because of Henri Nouwen’s book and the insights on this blog, I’m getting proactive and reading a couple of books on Liberia, one written by the current President of Liberia, and another about a refugee family resettling in Houston, and will catalog both books and place them in our church library. It’s a little step but never would have happened without this study which is helping me to realize that the purpose of fund-raisers is really not first and foremost to raise money but to take heart, time, energy and maybe even money to be more authentically and intentionally in relationship to each other, sharing and studying and even just being interested in new ways both here at home in our own church and also in the larger world to grow. Dissatisfaction has become purposeful and not such a stumbling block. Thank you for helping me and others to start “to see”.
November 1st, 2009 @ 8:08 am
Thank you, Sharon and Char, for your very insightful comments and reflections on fundraising and the buildig of community. As both of you have experienced (and I have as well), the process of fundraising (where people join together in as widely diverse ways as “doing and planning the fundraising” to “strangers sitting down together” at a common table) builds, strengthens, and nurtures community.
October 31st, 2009 @ 2:05 pm
Community building !! What a POWER concept!!
Having just come back from hosting a community breakfast at my church, it is INCREDIBLY powerful to see complete strangers sitting at a table and conversing with each other. Served family style on fine china, the poor and the rich enjoy a meal together and find out they have more in common with each other than they ever thought.
Communiy building and communication build bridges that will bring fulfillment to all involved. Once that door is opened and the guest is invited to the table the satisfaction experienced by all is unlimited. When invited to be a part of the community and truly FEEL A PART of that community, of course everyone will strive to make that community the best possible!!
Community must come from the heart! I think of the Rotary 4 way test: #1 Is it the TRUTH? #2 Is it FAIR to all concerned? #3 Will it build GOOD WILL & BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? #4 Will it be beneficial to all concerned? Yes, that community, that inclusion must be sincere.
October 31st, 2009 @ 7:22 am
In the little fund-raisers I have been involved in, the community building has perhaps been most among the people gathering to raise money, the askers. The leaders have the deep feeling for the “cause”, they spend time and energy developing a plan and getting workers; and the workers spend time asking friends and neighbors for money. It seems to me that the actual result of community building exists among the leaders and perhaps the relationship between them and the people they are raising money for, a deeper understanding of these people’s needs. But then, down the line, to the workers and then to the friends and neighbors they are asking money from, many times at this level, people are just working from trust and previous relationship and not a lot of time spent lifting up deeper understanding of why this money is being gathered for these people at this time. It all loses it’s focus and becomes a matter of general asking, for the church or for this organization, etc., which always does this good work. That actually robs the givers of more communion with the poor and needy and all the communion seems to be with the askers.
October 31st, 2009 @ 5:42 am
What a powerful statement, “Commuity is first of all a quality of the heart.” !!!! Who will start off our conversation?