We are delighted to announce Following Jesus: Finding Our Way Home in and Age of Anxiety as the selection for our Advent 2019 online book discussion.
The year was 1985. It was an uncertain time in Henri Nouwen’s life. Two years earlier he had returned from a missionary effort in Peru to a prestigious teaching position at Harvard Divinity School. However, feelings of isolation and restlessness had followed him from South America, and the competitive and ambitious atmosphere of Harvard only added to his feelings of unease and loneliness.
During Lent of that year, Henri gave six talks at St. Paul Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Never one to shirk from asking the hard questions of faith, Henri used this opportunity to ask himself, as well as his listeners, how does one live and follow Jesus in anxious times. By articulating his vision for what it meant to be a follower of Jesus, Nouwen clarified his own vocational path. Less than four months after delivering these talks, he would leave his tenured position at Harvard to become the pastor for L’Arche Daybreak, one of a network of communities founded by Jean Vanier for and with people with intellectual disabilities.
Edited by Gabrielle Earnshaw, Following Jesus artfully reveals what sustained Nouwen to remain faithful to the teachings of Jesus and led him to become an icon of compassion and vulnerability. Henri speaks eloquently about calling and purpose, fear and hope. And he explains why—with so many choices available to the twenty-first-century seeker—the greatest reward for those looking for spiritual direction is rediscovering Jesus’s teaching on love.
Please join us on Wednesday, November 27th for greetings and introductions. Then beginning on Sunday, December 1st we’ll journey through the Advent season reading and sharing insights gleaned from this wonderful, never-before-published work of inspiration.
Following Jesus offers a compelling case for why Christianity is still relevant, beautiful, intelligent, and necessary in the modern world.
A reading schedule can be viewed by clicking on the Reading Schedule tab in the menu bar above. Facilitator Ray Glennon will prompt each week’s discussion by offering thoughtful questions and insights to get the discussion going.
The Advent online book discussion is a wonderful way to enhance your Christmas preparations and make this Advent particularly meaningful and memorable. We hope that you will join us!
Need a copy of the book? It is available at many bookstores, or you can order it online through the Bookstore tab in the menu bar above.