Seed group meeting in South America

Seed group meeting in South
America
N° 27 - December 2012
Patrick Fontaine, International Leader
Several seed groups from Central and South America gathered
together in Argentina during the week of December 10th to
prepare for foundations in their respective countries. With help
from the local L’Arche community, the session was organized
by Maria Elvira (International Envoy for Central and South
American Communities) for the thirteen seed groups in this
area of the world.
Eight out of thirteen groups were able to gather enough money
and obtain visas to go to the meeting in Buenos Aires: Brazil
(Sorocaba and Salvador de Bahia), Argentina (Reconquista
and Cafayate), Mexico (Ciudad Juarez), Equator, Nicaragua
and El Salvador. Judging from the evaluations, the groups got
the help they had been waiting for: they can now say “with
whom”, “why” and “how” to found a community. They went
away having nourished their motivation by new bonds made
with each other and with the L’Arche family.
After the session was over, Maria Elvira, Ione Xavier (Board
member of the Sao Paulo community) and I were able to visit
the two seed groups in Sorocaba and Salvador de Bahia in
Brazil.
The group in Sorocaba is very motivated, and is coming into
being at a time when several private profit-oriented centers
in this large city are closing. In order to raise their profits,
the centers had cut corners on the quality of their services
and the competencies of their personnel. The high mortality
rates of people with development disabilities and complaints
of mistreatment alerted the health authorities. People with
disabilities (and their families) need to find other places of
welcome. The city is active in looking for solutions.
In Salvador de Bahia, another community is ready to give
support to a seed group - the “Trinity Community.” This
community, where street people share life together, was
founded in 2000 by Eric Guyader who lived in L’Arche in the
1980’s (Ouagadougou, Trosly and Sao Paulo). L’Arche and the
Taizé Community were inspirational in this foundation. The
community is located near the port of Salvador de Bahia in
an abandoned church. Every night around fifty people pray
and then sleep in this church. The community is self-sufficient
through its work and receives no public funding. It would like to
support the founding of a L’Arche community in the area.
Uwaga – atención – Achtung – opgelet !
For some time now, we have realized that it is
difficult to continue to offer the Newsletter in 6
languages within the planned time frame. That is
why beginning with the next issue we
will send you a summary of the news in
German, Spanish, Polish and Dutch, so
that you are aware of the essential information.
We are also looking for translators for Arabic! If you know of assistants,
friends etc. who would like to help us translate
news in Arabic, do not hesitate to contact us at
communication@larche.org.
Focus on International
Jean Vanier met the Pope
Patrick Fontaine, International Leader
14th November, Jean was invited by the Pope to Rome for a
private audience, their first meeting since the beginning of his
pontificate. The encounter between these two persons was
moving since they both share in common the living of a long
life turned towards God, in service of man.
As he has done before, Jean initiated the meeting by the striking
and slightly disconcerting gesture for protocol by kneeling in
front of the Holy Father. In return, Benedict XVI’s gentleness
and tenderness were immediately evident as he leant towards
him. These gestures, glances and smiles exchanged between
the two, said as much as the words of communion that they
embodied. Jean and L’Arche’s message about the place of
those rejected in the world and the Church, could be heard.
At the end of the meeting, Monsignor Rylko joining us again,
confided in us as self-evident that, “the Federation of L’Arche is
not affiliated to the Catholic Church, but its bond of communion
is just as strong as that of communities who are.” These words,
which are full of goodness, speak to members of L’Arche and
affirm them. The next stage on this path of communion is the
meeting of the group of Church leaders that we will have, at
Trosly in January.
Being a part of such an encounter is both a privilege and a
responsibility: it commits L’Arche to cultivate this union with the
Catholic Church, just as with each of our respective religious
families. A few hours later, we had a meeting with Cardinal
Rylko, President of the Pontifical Lay Council.
The long history of friendship and trust in Jean, as in L’Arche,
gave this meeting an almost family-like feel, made up of
exchanges of news about people as well as sharing on the
current areas of growth in L’Arche as well as its challenges and
its limits.
Simone Landrien has left Trosly
Alain Saint Macary, L’Arche Trosly, France
At the age of 87, Simone Landrien is leaving Trosly to go to a
retirement home near Paris run by the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Most of those who have come to visit Trosly have met Simone.
She is a very welcoming woman, always on the watch for
visitors or newcomers and desirous to introduce them to
Simone in her office in Trosly
L’Arche. She has also helped assistants from different parts
of the world find intellectual and spiritual nourishment thanks
to her documentation center with writings accumulated over
the years – writings from 27 different languages.
Already having had an international and multicultural life,
Simone came to Trosly in 1971. Because of her relationship
filled with tenderness for the most vulnerable, she found her
home there.
When Henri Nouwen got to know a L’Arche in 1983, she
became his friend. It was in her office that Henri discovered
a reproduction of Rembrandt’s painting “The Prodigal Son”
which inspired him for the rest of his life. Henri talks about
this in the beginning of his book “The Return of the Prodigal
Son”: «One day I went to visit my friend Simone Landrien in
the community’s small documentation center. As we spoke,
my eyes fell on a large poster pinned on the door. I saw a
man in a great red cloak tenderly touching the shoulders of a
disheveled boy kneeling before him. I could not take my eyes
away.»
2
Worth reading
Canada: Growing as Servant Leaders Program
Amy Demoulin, L’Arche Toronto
Leadership has been identified as the most important
issue that will affect the continued growth and
stability of L’Arche in the future. Good leadership will
help us stay true to our identity and live our mission
with wisdom and courage. Everyone involved in
L’Arche is called to grow in leadership towards our
mission; each one of us has a leadership gift to
give, a gift that is important for the well-being of the
community.
L’Arche Canada’s way of investing in leadership is
through the Growing as Servant Leaders Program
that was launched in April 2012. This program is a
broad effort to design and implement improvements
that will develop the future leadership of L’Arche. It
is more than a series of changes. It is about building
organizational capacity so L’Arche can achieve the
powerful mission outcomes to which we are called.
Change is envisioned along seven dimensions
that are being phased in over the next 3 years:
1. The L’Arche Servant Leadership Model
– a detailed tool that translates the Identity
and Mission into day-to-day actions in
community has been developed over the
last year, including input from hundreds
of individuals and all 29 communities.
2. Recruiting – the program will raise L’Arche’s
profile as a distinct place to grow as a servant
leader, attract best-fit assistants to L’Arche.
model for all roles
6. Individual Leader Focus – identifying
how to inspire, provide growth opportunities
and connect with those assistants who
have an interest in continuing their
leadership growth journey at L’Arche.
7. Alumni Engagement – connecting with,
engaging, and drawing on the many alumni who
carry the spirit of servant leadership in their
current roles and relationships beyond L’Arche.
The 50th Anniversary of L’Arche will provide an
excellent opportunity to re-connect with the many
individuals who have lost touch with L’Arche.
4. Continuous Learning Culture – a stronger
learning culture with coaching and learning a dayto-day reality and source of inspiration and growth.
The program is being designed and implemented
over the next 3 years using a piloted approach – a
small number of communities to start, others to
follow. A large amount of consultation is important
throughout all steps, so that communities’ desires
and concerns will be built into the proposed solutions.
L’Arche Canada will ensure that adequate resources
are allocated to this new program and that once
implemented, these improvements will continue to
benefit communities on an ongoing basis.
5. Training and Formation – a distinctive
curriculum based on the Servant Leadership
For more information:
www.larchecommons.ca > National > Leadership
3. Best Practice People Processes – mutually
reinforcing human resource tools and practices
to support the growth of assistants from the start.
Improved role descriptions, for example, are
currently being tested throughout the country.
Worth reading
USA: Friends of L’Arche Atlanta, a project born from the «yes» of many people
Curt Armstrong, Community Leader
welcome us, and who helped us renovate our home. The yes of
the State of Georgia’s Departments of Community Health and
Developmental Disabilities to trust this unique project. The yes
of L’Arche USA to believe in this group in Atlanta, to assist us, and
the yes of L’Arche Mobile to be an official partner. And, finally,
the yes of so many people who in various ways have stepped in
to help with support, listening, advice, friendship, and bringing
their own gifts and abilities to help us do this wisely and well.
Since the International General Assembly in Atlanta, the
local community has opened its doors, with Jessica, Tim,
Sara, Lara, John and Terry. Here’s what Curt, community
leader, shares about the first months of the community:
“I have become very conscious of how much all of this is built on
the «yes». The yes of our assistants to come and share life and
enter into this holy adventure. The yes of our core members to
come and help build community for people of all abilities, and
to find a home. The yes of our board members, who have toiled
for 10 years to make this happen. The yes of the Community of
Hospitality, to offer us their house and to come together in a joint
venture. The yes of individuals who have and continue to invest
financially to help L’Arche come to life. The yes of neighbors who
Please pray for us as we journey together with others of L’Arche
around the US and around the world to build community with
people of all abilities and work towards a world where we
recognize, celebrate and call forth the unique and sacred value
of each person.”
CD ‘Songs of L’Arche 1’:
Sold out but available again in early January
We’ve really been touched by just
how many people are enjoying the
CD with songs from the meeting in
Atlanta and how it’s a great
resource for our L’Arche houses
across the world.
Don’t hesitate to pre-order for
January: direction@arche-agen.org
New appointments:
Kasia Szubielska
Community leader
of L’Arche Poznan
Poland
Magdalena Kotowska
Board President of the
L’Arche Warsaw Project
Poland
Tarlie Alcock
Board President of
L’Arche Genesaret
Australia
Xavier d’Esquerre
Board President of
L’Arche Grenoble
France
Rick Hatem
assistant Regional
Leader for the
Eastern Region, USA
Jim Dempsey
Community leader of L’Arche Wavecrest, USA
James Washburn
Board President of FOL Atlanta, USA
Kumar Rasiah
Board President of L’Arche Sydney, Australie
Dick Cates
Dominic Downie
Board President of L’Arche Heartland, USA Board President of L’Arche Australia
Christine Beaver
Board President of L’Arche Erie, USA
This list is not exhaustive; we welcome updates you are aware of at the address bdd.international@larche.org (database managed by
L’Arche International in Paris).
Worth reading
The face of L’Arche in the UK
Anthony Kramers, Regional Leader North England and Wales and Hilary Wilson, L’Arche Liverpool
Recently a group of 70 people with and without learning
disabilities came and shared their lives together over 2
days in Liverpool: a real cross-section of L’Arche in the UK.
As one person put it, ‘there was hospitality and shared
living together, we ate together, prayed, sang, celebrated,
listened, shared... together. It was an expression of our
community life and a learning experience: a formation
in community life. Its form was just as important as the
content.’
We worked with David and Debbie Ford, a theologian and a
therapist. They affirmed L’Arche and all it has to offer our
country - not just our Churches but the wider community.
They called us to grow - it requires adult and mature faith
if we hope to make sense of such analogies of ‘as I have
loved you, so love one another’. If John’s Gospel invites us
dwell in the mystery of Jesus, then we are called to dwell in
the ‘mystery of L’Arche’. That mystery includes moments
when experience falls short of what we hope or expect.
People came living different hopes and questions: why
L’Arche today? / how do we live the values and core
traditions of community life as we diversify our models of
shared life and resource flats alongside shared houses /
how do we ask the hard questions, embrace change, new
commitments, and the diversity of people – in a national
climate of financial cuts / how can I find a place in the UK
to be able to speak freely about the faith and vocational
element of L’Arche / what is our mission for unity today?
We spent time in workshops and small groups: some
explored what ‘Godly play’ can offer, as a way of scriptural
story-telling which uses hand-crafted props to tell a story
with space to respond. Others were hands-on, with
baking; or crafting a time of prayer from the elements of
word and gesture, song and silence.
We were inspired to offer the event by three things: the
hopes and questions that community representatives
voice at the twice-yearly meetings of the National
Reflection Council, a body that helps carry our ecumenical
mission as communities to work for unity. Also our
awareness of the fruits of the French initiative to reflect
with Christian Salenson on what is particular to the
spirituality of L’Arche. And our experience of national
events like the UK Gathering where a diverse group of
people live as partners in a mission to create something
that both includes and goes beyond our commitments to
support and service provision.
Robin and Mark, Debbie et Rove: face-to-face...
Another prompted us to use the tools of person-centred
planning, familiar to many from individual Review
meetings, to ask ourselves what the essential lifestyle
plan would look like for L’Arche as a whole. We can
name the reality of the present, our view of the positives,
the not-so-good, and the ideal – as a step in discerning
what we commit to as non-negotiable for our journey as
communities, and the face of L’Arche today.
We left with a call to nurture the seeds that were planted,
to name and work on the ‘how’ – how to discern, how to
plan, how to celebrate. We can create the conditions for
friendship to flourish, and for face-to-face encounter; we
cannot create friendships: only the Spirit can answer that
cry.
Calendar of Upcoming Meetings and Retreats
2013
JANUARY
Church Leaders Meeting
January 22 to 24
Trosly - France
FEBRUARY
Saint John’s Gospel (in English)
February 19 to March 1
Trosly - France
MARCH
Leadership Team
Federation Leadership Meeting
Meeting and Formation International Envoys
and National Leaders - Unit 2
March 7 to 10
March 10 to 13
March 13 to 17
Larne (Belfast) - Northern Ireland
APRIL
1-3 year assistants Retreat
April 13 to 19
Formation « Community Life in L’Arche »
April 15 to 19 avril
Nevers - France
Contact: Geneviève Mathian retraite.nevers@arche-france.org
Bologna - Italy
MAY - JUNE
International Stewardship Board
International Stewardship Board and Leadership Team
Leadership Team
May 30 to 31
May 31 to June 2
June 2 to 7
New assistants retreat «Walk with the word»
23 au 29 juin
OCTOBER
Covenant Retreat
October 16 to 22
Session « L’Arche and Islam »
October 21 to 26
Vancouver - Canada
Saint Pierre de Chartreuse - France
Reference person: Emmanuel Petton hebergement@arche-larebellerie.org
Orval - Belgium
Reference person: Bruno Le Her bruno.leher@larche.org
Nandi Bazar - India
If you’d like to receive the Newsletter directly in your inbox, please send us your address at communication@larche.org.
International Newsletter from L’Arche - A publication of L’Arche International
Editor: Arno Thijs - communication@larche.org
Translation: Portia Hainzelin, Julie Rigby
PDF: Arno Thijs