Posted 433 days ago

L'Arche: International Community of Love

by Judy Naegeli, Mustard Seed Associates, with Melody George

“Communion is a to-and-fro of love; we give and receive mutually.” Jean Vanier, 1996.¹


Jean Vanier started L’Arche International in 1964 when, at the suggestion of his spiritual mentor, Father Thomas Philippe, he invited two developmentally disabled men, Raphaël Simi and Philippe Seux, to live with him in a small house in Trosly-Breuil, France. Today there are 133 communities in which people with disabilities (core members) live with people without disabilities (assistants) and together practice mutual transformation and love.

It is easy for most people to overlook the contributions of disabled people in our midst. Many traditional forms of “care” for disabled people in the past included locking them away in institutions or even attics, as in stories like The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Jane Eyre, so they would not be seen or heard. But L’Arche is truly unique in its belief in the intrinsic value and dignity of all people: “Everyone is of unique and sacred value, and everyone has the same dignity and the same rights.” ² For this reason, L’Arche is set up in communities focused on mutually transforming relationships: “A respectful relationship between people who treat each other as of equal value provides security, allowing for growth, personal development, and freedom to become more fully the people we want to be. Most importantly, mutual relationships foster the acceptance of each person as a unique and valuable individual, whatever his or her abilities or disabilities.” ³

Melody George was an assistant and house leader at L’Arche Tahoma Hope, a community in Tacoma, Washington, for two years from. She wrote in an email,

Some important lessons I learned in L’Arche were how to be present in the moment with my friend Shann who has Down’s Syndrome and enjoys sitting on the coach looking at books and cards for hours and just being with someone. I also learned how much people with disabilities have to teach us and how much when I serve and “hang out” with “the least of these,” I am blessed with some deep relationships and I am changed by just being loved by them for who I am. I think I found my true self in L’Arche. I did not have to pretend that I was cool or had it all together, I could just be me and be loved for who I was and find real joy in simple acts like helping someone with personal care, going shopping for playing cards, or having a coffee.

L’Arche communities celebrate together, worship together, and even grieve together when core members pass away or assistants move on. Communities learn to be honest about differences and work out differences together, and learn to “live together as family with the idea that God is most present in the weakest member of the community.” Melody writes,

Living in community has shaped my faith by stripping away a lot of my defenses and preconceived notions about God and others, leaving me raw and vulnerable. It is at these times that God was at work, when my friend Wally washed my feet, or my friend Shann laughed with delight when I came in the room.

Her words echo an essay Jean Vanier wrote:

Our goal is to live community with handicapped men and women, to create bonds with them and thus to discover their prophetic call. It is to create a community where handicapped people are fully members. It is to enter into deep relationships that are healing for them and hence for the assistants as well. Handicapped people are so frequently closer to living the Beatitudes than the assistant; to live with them can only constitute a real gain from a spiritual point of view. This unity in community between assistants and handicapped people is the heart and essence of L’Arche.⁴

There are 133 L’Arche communities on five continents that form an international federation and share a charter and mission statement. Although each community maintains its own flavor, there is a sense of L’Arche being “a world-wide family.” L’Arche’s quarterly publication, Letters of L’Arche, printed a letter from Maria Garvey, the Community Leader of L’Arche Belfast, to Joseph, who had moved to L’Arche Community in Kampala, Uganda. In it, she described her realization of what it means to belong to an international organization:

I asked Noah, at our last sleepover, why being in L’Arche is a good thing. […] “Because I have friends all over the world and there are good places to go on holidays.” Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking of L’Arche International in terms of our structures. Other times I get hung up of our Mission and the obstacles that get in the way. From now on I’m going to adopt Noah’s definition: “L’Arche International—lots of friends and places to go.” ⁵

L’Arche members can visit each other, regularly pray for each other, and welcome friends from all over the world to join them. Some assistants rotate through many communities and then start new communities using all the insight they gained in their travels. Sister Lucia Murashko was appointed the founding community leader of L’Arche Kovcheh, the first L’Arche community in Ukraine, earlier this year. She spent time in Poland and Italy before her appointment, and now seeks the support of other communities in their start-up process: “We as L’Arche in Ukraine are very open to the Federation, to the international dimension of L’Arche. […] We are a new community and want to learn as much as possible.” ⁶ The result of having “lots of friends and places to go” is a beautiful network of open, accepting, understanding, humble people who look for the good in and celebrate the uniqueness of every person they come in contact with. L’Arche is an international community characterized by loving relationships—relationships that heal. As Jean Vanier said,

To love is a way of looking, of touching, of listening to all: taking time with them, especially with those who are broken, depressed, and insecure, revealing to them their importance. As we take time with them and enter into communion with them, they in turn reveal to us our beauty. Community is a to-and-fro of love; we give and receive mutually.⁷

I will conclude with this anecdote from Melody:

One of my favorite memories is from a vacation with my friend, Wally. He was in his 70s and a father figure to many. He was a wise, funny, prayerful Irishman who stole my heart and was a mentor to me during my time in the community. We were in Coos Bay, Oregon, and Wally and I were “buddies.” We were having a great time going to classical concerts, playing Crazy 8s, and sipping Irish Cream cappuccinos. Midweek, we were talking over coffee about the next day’s plans. I casually mentioned that some people were going on a jet boat ride, some others on dune buggies, and some to a petting farm, but I assumed he would not be interested. He said, “What do you mean? Of course I want to go on a jet boat ride!” So we had a great adventure getting down the “handicap accessible ramp” (hardly!), being tossed into the boat by the captain, and wheeling down a trail on the other side of the river out of “sheer Irish stubborness” (on my part!). He had an amazing time! When we got back to Tacoma, I helped him write one of his famous letters to thank the jet boat tour company. It began “Top of the morning to you!” and ended “Without further eloquence, I bid you adoo. Mr. Twinkletoes, Himself” as did all his letters. He was such a great man who always prayed for Gil and me, who prayed for my baby after I miscarried, affirming my loss, and who invited me to take communion even though I wasn’t Catholic. I miss him greatly, but I know he is in heaven singing Irish songs to Jesus!

Notes
1. Quoted in Carolyn Whitney-Brown, introduction to Essential Writings, by Jean Vanier (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2008), 44.
2. “Charter of the Communities of L’Arche,” accessed December 30, 2008, here.
3. “A L’Arche Community Is…,” accessed December 29, 2008, here.
4. Jean Vanier, Essential Writings (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2008), 108.
5. Maria Garvey and Thomas Kerr, “Another Look: We Are All Connected,” Letters of L’Arche, no. 124 (April 2008), 19.
6. Lucia Murashko, “Who knows … and God will guide us!” Letters of L’Arche, no. 124 (April 2008), 6.
7. Quoted in Carolyn Whitney-Brown, introduction to Essential Writings, by Jean Vanier (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2008), 44.

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