In his book "Reaching Out," Henri Nouwen writes: "Why is it, that many parties and friendly get-togethers leave us so empty and sad? Maybe even there the deep-seated and often unconscious competition between people prevents them from revealing themselves to each other and from establishing relationships that last longer than the party itself. Where we are always welcome, our absence won't matter that much either and when everyone can come, nobody will be particularly missed. Usually there is food enough and people enough willing to eat it, but often it seems that the food has lost the power to create community and not seldom do we leave the party more aware of our loneliness than when we came." Discussion question: In a comment below, explain how Nouwen's insight does or does not apply to typical “church gatherings” (Sunday schools, Bible studies, men’s/women’s groups, etc.)
