Joe’s reflection for the National Council: Why?

The right question at the right moment can have a big impact on our lives, both personally and as a community. In a concrete way the quality of our lives depends on the questions we ask and if and how we answer them. One of the best questions we can ask is simply--Why?

Understanding well our identity and mission is critical because it answers questions like:

• Why does L’Arche exist?
• Why am I committed to L’Arche?
• Why should anyone else care about L’Arche? 

It all starts from the inside out and it all starts with the question Why? Last year I shared with you with question that I ask myself every year on my L’Arche anniversary: Why did I stay another year? As you can see I am still here. And I’m happy to see that you are too.

A few of us here just returned from L’Arche Trosly where we had two weeks with Jean Vanier sharing with us on the Gospel of John, the beloved disciple of Jesus. This year I want to start with the question we heard in Trosly: Why did John write his gospel? The answer in chapter 20, verse 31 is “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.” This echoes what Jesus himself announces as his mission in John 10:10: “I have come so that you may have life and have it to the full.”
It is these two passages, and others, in the Gospel of John that have guided Jean Vanier’s adult life. He left the navy at age 21 explicitly to follow Jesus and find more life. This led him many years later to visit Pere Thomas in Trosly.

There he met men with an intellectual disability who asked him clearly and directly, without using words, the right questions at the right time which irrevocably changed him and his life.

Questions like:

• Will you come back?
• Will you be my friend?
• Do you love me?

Very similar questions are found the Gospel of John.

Then Jean was scandalized and shocked by his visits to nearby institutions and by how people’s lives were being wasted. He felt called and compelled to offer Raphael and Philippe the life that St. John wrote about through many stories in his gospel.

Now today Jean is being very intentional in passing on to us the treasure of this gospel which has so deeply shaped his choices and nourished his life. He is offering to us his understanding of the fundamental spirituality at the heart of his life and at the heart of L’Arche.

Without this spirituality, L’Arche will die. We must all know what makes L’Arche, L’Arche. We must all know the connection between what was and still is today in the heart of our founder and how that connects with what is in our hearts today. In the end, we cannot sit on the fence. We create our life together by the choices we make.

We best discover the spirit we need and the transformation it offers by living what Jean calls the “sacrament of encounter.” That’s when we are willing to take the risk to be truly present to one another, personal, authentic, real, transparent and choose not to hide or run away from our vulnerability, fragility and weakness. In short, to be ourselves and to be human. And, of course, to do that well we must also know what our gifts are and have opportunities to use them well to build community and the common good.

In the end, we must all help each other to discover and claim our fundamental identity as the beloved of God and that we are all, without exception, equally and unconditionally loved by God just as we are today.

A number of people have died this past year in our communities. Perhaps it is when someone we love is most vulnerable and weak that we learn the most, that grace and light can make their way through the cracks in our breaking hearts.

Ray Huntley last week in Trosly told the story of Janet Moore from Cape Breton who was Presbyterian, but when asked about her church, she always proudly claimed that she was a “vegetarian”.

In my own community, there have been four deaths in the last 18 months. In my 38 years I have been to 30 funerals in my own community. But so many lives have been transformed too! We must always celebrate well this unrepeatable grace and gift given through those who have lived and died among us. We have so many stories to tell and we must share them more and more outside of L’Arche too.

I end with a story about Patsy Ramsay from my community who died last April from Alzheimers. When her house needed to renovate and enlarge the second floor bathroom some years ago, it was necessary to decrease the size of Patsy’s bedroom by incorporating her large closet into the new bathroom. When this was carefully and repeatedly explained to Patsy, she still didn’t quite understand why and got frustrated. Her response was clear and emphatic with a wagging of her finger: “I want to explain to you that I don’t want Mary Anne taking a bath in my closet!”

Gospel of St. John

The Gospel of St. John is a way of exploring with Jean, how his faith journey has led him to grow in his understanding of the mission of L’Arche. For Jean, this flows out of his desire to be an ever better friend of Jesus. As this relationship has deepened, Jean has continued to unwarp this gift called L’Arche; he has never been stagnant. This spiritual journey, however each one defines it, is fundamental to our call. We must engage in this search for truth, for peace that will keep us alive!

Jean was sick for the last couple of days so we listened to the cds of his talks from last year. It brought home the fact that one day he will no longer be with us. He is passing on his spiritual heritage to us and we need to take this up.

The week following our return to Canada, we began a week filled meetings: the Coordinators Group meeting, followed by the L’Arche Canada Board meeting, the Annual General meeting and The Foundation General Annual Meeting, then the National Council.

Coordinator’s Group Meeting

Hollee and I met with all the regional coordinators at the beautiful Manior d’Youville in Chateauguay outside of Montreal September 26-28. It was a very good sign that the Mercier bridge was open and so we had no trouble arriving on time.

We started each morning with a faith sharing based on Jean Vanier’s book “Community and Growth” with chapter four on growth. I am happy to say it again that this book still has so much wisdom and truth for us living L’Arche today.

Our first morning was with Erik Pillet of L’Arche International from France on Skype to lead us in an experience of a “people review” process. The goals of a review process are to become more aware of various L’Arche people and their gifts and future development. This will help us over time to identify and better prepare future leaders. Erik reviewed with us the key principles of such reviews and led us through a few examples.

Each coordinator gave a brief report on their region as did I and Hollee on Canada and International. As you know, we are blessed with lots of new life and will always have a few gaps, questions and challenges too.

Finally, I want to encourage everyone to check out the new website: ibelong.ca (in french: jai-des-amis.ca. A big thank you to Beth Porter who, with others, has done a wonderful job on this special project. Now it is the responsibility of us all to get the word out to as many people, schools, families, and other organizations, etc, as possible. So use your community newsletter, social media, and other networks to let people know about this important new online resource for people with an intellectual disability.

September Board meeting

The L'Arche Canada board met for one evening and a day between the Coordinators Group and the National Council.  This is the board meeting where the regional and vice regional coordinators join the board meeting.  It is always an important time for them to share with the board the highlights of life in the communities and the regions directly.  

Last fall (2010) we announced the decision to increase the number of Board members. During the year Donna Diskos and Marie-Claire Morin were named to the Board to complete the nine places provided for in the by-laws. Donna Diskos is returning as treasurer after a sixteenth months’ absence. Marie Claire Morin is a first time board member. Marie Claire was proposed by a current board member, Jane Burke Robertson. Marie Claire brings a great deal of expertise in the area of development and working with community organizations. She will also be one of two L'Arche Canada board members who sit on the L'Arche Canada Foundation board.

Just as we were welcoming two new members Linda Nette announced that she will no longer be available to renew her mandate which ended at the time of the General Meeting. She leaves the Board having served six years as secretary. We greatly benefitted from the wisdom and quality of her listening, her knowledge, her competence and her sensitivity to the reality of daily life in communities and regions. Her commitment and love of L’Arche will continue in other forms. We give thanks for her precious contribution and wish her well.

We are also grateful to Jim Tremain and his work with the Nomination Committee, Marianne Moore of L'Arche Saint John and Jacquie Boughner, a former board member of the L'Arche Daybreak and L'Arche Ontario for their very fine work. The Board then approved their proposal to fill the vacancy left on the Board by welcoming Ian McKeigan Ian is well known in the Atlantic region thanks to his involvement as a board member at L'Arche Cape Breton. Unfortunately, Ian was not able to be with us for this meeting.  We look forward to meeting him face to face in January. The nominations committee submitted its report to the General Annual Meeting to confirm these nominations and to renew the mandate of the other members who continue to sit on the Board. You will find attached, the Board composition along with the terms of mandate for each member. I would like to remind you that according to our by-laws a Board member can sit on the Board for a maximum of three consecutive terms. Each renewal needs to be ratified by the members during the General Meeting. The Chair of the Board is elected directly by the members at the General Assembly every four years.

Another significant step was taken in increasing the collaboration of L'Arche Canada, its regions and communities. The constitutions of the Atlantic and Western Canada regions are now part of the Operating Policies of L'Arche Canada; as it was the case for the Ontario region at our previous meeting in June. To achieve this, there was much work done by the Governance Committee with John Rietschlin as chair, Pat Favaro and John O'Donnell as regional coordinators with strong support from the communities in those regions. The partnership between L'Arche Canada and these regions has been reinforced for the benefit of both, especially these two regions where there was no legal standing or protection for its leadership. John Guido and Tammy Barlel, the regional and vice regional coordinators along with the L'Arche Ontario Board and the region are now taking the last steps toward completion of this integration. Dialogue with the Quebec region continues. These movements correspond not only to an organizational rearrangement, but also to a commitment of L’Arche Canada to collaborate and concretely support regional life. In view of this the Board submitted modifications to the by-laws which specify a framework that would more clearly define the relationship between L’Arche Canada and its regions.

Finally the Board has supported the renewal of Hollee and Joe’s mandate. Each community will receive a letter regarding this proposal so they may pronounce themselves in favour of, or against it, as determined by the Annual General Meeting.


National Council

The second National Council was a nourishing and challenging meeting. This year, we invited a small group of people with intellectual disabilities who formed their own reflection group. They worked in parallel on the same themes as the members of the National Council. Their contribution was invaluable. Shortly you will be receiving a more detailed report of the National Council. The regional delegates are looking for ways to share the work of the National Council as well as to engage the members in their respective regions in this conversation. Do look for ways for them to share with you!

Companion’s Retreat

In early July, the Covenant Companions Retreat took place in Villa St. Martin in Montreal. Silas Donham with Ed Johnson and Sylvie Morin with Vincent Fafard gave the word. Jacques Lang of L’Arche Montréal created the beautiful image below of the table. Reading the evaluations of the retreat was moving. Here are but a couple of examples:

“I love my book with the photos. I also want to say again that L’Arche is my home. I know that God loves me and calls me to live at L’Arche and to be a good friend, to help in the house, go to work, go to my church and be friendly to people. God wants me to welcome everybody, and new assistants too.”

“How to grow in love. We always need someone to walk along, we are companions on the journey.”

Jacques Lang, L'Arche Montreal

Dare to dream—Federation 2012 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A

This is the year we prepare for the upcoming Federation meeting where members of L’Arche from around the world will gather in Atlanta. Jean Christophe Pascal, the International Coordinator and Christine McGrievy, the Vice International Coordinator are stepping down after having served us for two mandates. During this meeting, new leaders will be chosen, a new mandate, a constitution and structures will be voted on and the fruit of the Commitment and Belonging process will be presented.

All of these things has required some work from you and there will be undoubtedly another consultation between now and the Federation meeting. It is so important that your voice is known; so we strongly encourage you to respond as best as you are able. Together, we are setting the future direction of L’Arche as we engage in these processes.

Conclusion

How naively l’Arche began: with Jean’s invitation to come live with him. He continues on this journey with faith, trust and an unquenchable desire for truth. As we begin another year, another cycle of routines, let us help each other remember that our life is greater than routine. As members of L’Arche, we are called to live in relationship helping each to grow into our truest selves. We close this letter with this quote from Jean:

“Each person is important, each is capable of changing, evolving, becoming a little more open, responding to love and to communion. I would like to pass on to others this faith in human beings and in their capacity for growth. Without it, our societies are in danger of becoming purely paternalistic in their attitude to those who are weaker, doing things for them rather than helping them to stand on their own feet so that they can do things for themselves and then open themselves to others. Our societies are in danger of rejecting those who disturb them too much, and sometimes even wanting to get rid of them.”

- Jean Vanier, Our Journey Home, pp. 147-148

Peace,

Hollee and Joe