File 93 - Letters from Alastair Heron

0.2 cm of textual records

File consists of six letters from Nouwen to Alastair Heron and one letter from Kathy Christie on behalf of Henri Nouwen. These letters were written while Nouwen was in Toronto at L'Arche Daybreak.

1. October 4, 1995. One letter to Alastair Heron from Kathy Christie, on behalf of Henri Nouwen. Letter is typed, 1 page, and dated October 4, 1995. In it, Christie thanks Heron for his letter, but informs him that Nouwen is away on sabbatical and will not receive his letter until the fall of 1996. Contains annotation by Heron: "Replied, asking her to forward my letter (copy attached here, below), since I did not want him to wait a year before seeing it. [I assume that the copy of my book ("Quakers in Britain: a century of change") did NOT reach him."
2. June 7, 1991. Typed, 1 page, and dated June 7, 1991. Letter was written from L'Arche Daybreak (on Daybreak letterhead). Nouwen thanks Heron for his letter, and expresses regret that he will not be able to meet with Heron in fall 1991. He concludes with a brief discussion of age, and says, "I very well understand your feeling of wanting to be half your age, but I have, personally, come to enjoy more and more my own age, and, although I have my melancholy moments, I am grateful for the time that I am living in and for the possibilities that God gives me to respond to the needs of people around me." Letter is signed.
3. October 11, 1990. Typed, 1 page, and dated October 11, 1990. Letter was written from L'Arche Daybreak (on Daybreak letterhead). Nouwen thanks Heron for his letter, and says he is glad that Heron made a retreat to a Carmelite Friary. He then congratulates Heron on his 75th birthday and 50th wedding anniversary. He concludes by saying his is enclosing a little piece about his visit to Lourdes in January. Letter is signed.
4. November 9, 1989. Typed, 1 page, and dated November 9, 1989. Letter was written from L'Arche Daybreak (on Daybreak letterhead). Nouwen thanks Heron for his letter, and for Heron's acceptance of Nouwen's inability to meet with him. He then tells Heron that he will be going to L'Arche in France to "dedicate myself to my writing" with "as few contacts as humanly possible." Letter is signed.
5. October 24, 1989. Typed, 1 page, and dated October 24, 1989. Letter was written from L'Arche Daybreak (on Daybreak letterhead). Nouwen thanks Heron for his letter, and regrets that he will not be able to meet with Heron, as his calendar is very full for Advent and Christmas. He does not want to visit with Heron when he is too busy, as there would be too little time to be together. He concludes by asking Heron to suggest another time to visit and get the "feel" of the community. Letter is signed.
6. September 15, 1989. Typed, 1 page, and dated September 15, 1989. Letter was written from L'Arche Daybreak (on Daybreak letterhead). Nouwen thanks Heron for his letters, and appreciates Herons remarks about their fellowship [Heron is a member of the Religious Society of Friends]. Nouwen says, "I have always felt very much at home with the Friends, and have received much from them over the years, so your visit was a real affirmation of the importance of that spiritual connection." Letter is signed.
7. May 16, 1989. Typed, 1 page, and dated May 16, 1989. Letter was written from L'Arche Daybreak (on Daybreak letterhead). Nouwen agrees to meet with Heron for lunch on May 30, 1989. He concludes by saying he is looking forward to meeting with Heron and sharing a little about how they live at L'Arche Daybreak. Letter is signed. Heron visited L'Arche Daybreak on March 30, 1989 and had lunch with Nouwen and Sue Mosteller.

File also consists of three letters from Heron to Nouwen. Contents from the letters from Heron to Nouwen consist of the following:

1. September 29, 1995, typed, 1 page, Heron writes regarding his newest book, and tells Nouwen about his recent retreat to a Benedictine abbey.
2. August 8, 1992, typed, 1 page, Heron writes regarding a book of his that is soon to be published, titled "Caring, Conviction, Commitment: Dilemmas of Quaker membership today." Contains annotation by Heron: "He replied with book Oct '94."
3. August 29, 1989, typed, 1 page, Heron writes regarding the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and gives his thoughts on a fellowship between the Friends and the Roman Catholic Church, and a fellowship between himself and Nouwen based "upon our experience of the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives."

Title based on contents of the file.
See Henri Nouwen fonds - General files for the original copies of Heron's letters. Letter #1 - box 262, file 6256. Letter #2 - box 289, file 8042. Letter #3 - box 322, file 10636.

Revised by T Wong, 1 September 2021