Community

Joe Nangle 11-01-1995
Community for a dying friend
Joe Nangle 9-01-1995
What community is not.
Joe Nangle 7-01-1995
Showing the way of compassion.
Joe Nangle 3-01-1995
Countering the idol of self
Joe Nangle 12-01-1994

Three American soldiers committed suicide in the first few months after U.S. forces arrived in Haiti in September 1994.

Joe Nangle 11-01-1994
Harvesting Occasions of Grace
Joe Nangle 9-01-1994

The value of a faith-based community in children’s lives cannot be overestimated.

Joe Nangle 8-01-1994

Spending a night together helps strengthen the bonds of community. Somehow the psychological impact of knowing that the group will stay the night and not have to "rush back," that you will rise in the morning and take those first drowsy steps together into a new day, that your initial encounters will take place over juice and coffee—these very ordinary details of life go far to build the cohesiveness that is so necessary for community. For that reason above all, successful communities include overnight retreats in their annual plans.

Of course, other considerations go into the need for regular retreats. The community needs, in Jesus’ words, to "come aside and rest awhile." Getting away as a group is good for the spirit and body of each and all. People on retreat tend to be more their true, good selves, and in that sort of climate the members renew their reasons for having come together in the first place. The common vision is brushed up; shared ideals get focused.

The setting for a retreat generally lends itself to tension-free hours. Our times have been gifted with numerous places for "active relaxation." It’s as if the killing pace of late 20th-century life has taught us the need for a refuge, sanctuary, or haven, where we can breathe deeply, sleep soundly, and interact calmly. Such locations exist in virtually every part of our country and must be counted as some of God’s choicest graces.

Retreat-goers have learned the value of free time, or better stated, time for personal solitude and reflection. There was a time when going on a retreat meant an effort to fill up every waking—and some non-waking—hour with activities. Within such a mindset the very word "retreat" becomes a misnomer. Fortunately we have moved away from that counterproductive era of frantic "retreats."

Joe Nangle 7-01-1994

Every successful community relies on the member who is its heart. This is true for communities that live together and for those that live apart but gather regularly.

Joe Nangle 6-01-1994

Worship at the Heart: The PAX Community Celebrates 25 Years

Joe Nangle 5-01-1994
Sustaining the witness of the faithful.
Joe Nangle 4-01-1994
The rituals of welcome and mission
Joe Nangle 2-01-1994
The first year of "Sharing the Sojourn"
Joe Nangle 1-01-1994
When community is disrupted