Summer 2015 Two By Two Newsletter

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS!L’Arche USA ceLebrAted the JUbiLee in WAShington, d.c.

Celebrating 50 years and feeling that our life together is ever new! Together with the other 145 L’Arche communities in 35 different countries, our community in Chicago celebrated the last year as a jubilee: 50 yearsof L’Arche!

The jubilee year culminated last month at a national celebration in Washington, D.C. Community members Mic, Luca, Mike, Noah, Sara, Jemma, and Tim, along with board member John Biggs and community friends Nick Connell and Sr. Maria Zeimen, joined the 18 other L’Arche communities of the U.S. for the week in D.C.

For Mic and John the week began with annual meetings that explored how L’Arche is called to grow and develop in the U.S. Many fruitful conversations were had and a new National Leader, Tina Bovermann, was voted to serve after a year long national search. Mike and Luca, co-chairs of the national Inclusion Team, joined the meetings with their team to extend a wider invitation of participation from L’Arche members through inclusive conversations using words and drawings. They brought with them an accessible version of our new national mandate (a 5 year blueprint of our hopes and dreams as a national body) that was able to engage more people in planning and participation.

Meanwhile, Noah and Sara spent the day on Capital Hill advocating for support for people with intellectual disabilities. They met with aides of Illinois senators Mark Kirk and Don Harmon to explain the need for increased and continued funding from our state and federal governments. Noah explained how he uses state and federal funding to lead a rich and full life in the community.

On Saturday afternoon we came together for an interfaith prayer service at the National Presbyterian Church. Highlights included a dramatic retelling of the L’Arche founding story 50 years ago (with Mike and Luca playing Philipe and Jean Vanier), Tim Shriver (chairmen of the Special Olympics) asking each core member in the audience to stand and bless the rest of the audience - which they did with a moving spontaneous song, and an interview led by Krista Tippet (host of the podcast On Being) with Tim and Sr. Maria on the meaning of L’Arche–being together.

Experiences like these, of being together as friends and sharing reflection time on our mission, deepen and expand our commitment to each other. Here’s to 50 more years of L’Arche!

Tim, Jemma, Sara, and Noah made a trip to the White House

News from L’Arche Chicago Summer 2015Encounter • Celebrate • Belong

Settling Down into Peace House

Cooking with tim

Tim absolutely loves to cook. Every meal that he helps prepare has a story behind it. Whether it is a recipe he learned from a friend or one that was inspired by his favorite vegetables, Tim will always surprise you when he answers the question, “What are you making for dinner?”

When asked what would be his favorite recipe, he said, “I like ethnic food. A lot of pizza, Thai food, etc. I love a lot of veggies. It is not anything weird like bison burgers, but if it can be one thing, it would have to be hummus”.

A good hummus recipe includes: Chick peas, sesame oil, lemon, garlic and red peppers. There also has to be a lot of

good pita bread! Tim added that if you like it spicy (like he does), then use habañero peppers. Lastly, a good recipe involves tips on how to prepare and handle food.

Tim’s major rule is that one must never use the microwave to cook dinner. Everything has to be done on the oven, but “if you have to heat up something, then that is fine.”

You can find Tim cooking three nights a week in Angel House where he is always open to new friends and opportunities to learn more recipes.

Thanks to Nelson for interviewing Tim!

When it comes to eating healthy and trying out new recipes every week, one person quickly comes to mind: Tim.

Community Members Share Their Thoughts on Our New Home

Elisha gives Peace House

two thumbs up!

“It’s big! I can go more places

and I have more room to walk around!!”

Noah

Thanks to your generosity and support, our community was able to purchase a new home for our core members and assistants! In January we packed up Interfaith House and moved into Peace House. Here’s what some of the community members have to say about the new house.

“We have a bigger house! I can sit outside

and play my music!”Jean

“We have a really big yard! I like that.”

Mike

a large non-profit agency serving 2000 children and adults with and without disabilities.

I was a Special Education Fellow at Syracuse and an E.B. Fred Fellow at the University of Wisconsin. I served on the boards of IL ARC and IL Autism Association. That’s it in a nut shell. More importantly, I have had great pleasure supporting people with disabilities and their families while advocating for social change and progressive reform of the service system.

I went to the Angel House house warming while working for the governor’s office. He was invited and asked if I wanted to go. When I arrived, I felt an immediate kinship. The people there were very different than the other people also involved in group home settings.

my heart is with L’arCheBoard Member Tim Andriano shares why he loves L’Arche and what keeps him motivated to support L’Arche Chicago

what’s your First L’arChe ChiCago memory?

I feel that the main difference between L’Arche and your typical group home is that feeling of community. The founders of L’Arche intentionally built a community. An inclusive community of anyone who had it in their heart to be a member. People who aren’t immediate family or workers. We each have something to bring and we get something special in return. It’s a reciprocal relationship.

why do you support L’arChe?

how did you beCome introduCed to L’arChe?

I first became aware of L’Arche when I was a graduate fellow in the special education department at Syracuse University in 1969. I specialized in clinical aspects of people with severe and profound mental retardation (that was the label at the time.) Our department chairperson, Burton Blatt, knew Jean Vanier and introduced us to L’Arche when DayBreak opened in Toronto. Our main public policy work at the time was deinstitutalization - getting people with intellectual disabilities out of huge state institutions. It was quite a cause which resulted in Geraldo Rivera’s expose on Willowbrook on Long Island. Dr. Blatt urged all of his students to become involved with L’Arche as an alternative to institutions.

I completed a doctorate in Social Planning with an emphasis on disability services at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I have taught special education in an inclusive public school, administered a dual diagnosis program for preschoolers, served as head of a psycho-educational clinic, was Chief of Planning for Disability Services in state government, conducted field research studies on inclusion, served as Executive Director for a non-profit agency serving people with autism and my final position was Director of

what might someone be surprised to know about you?I love horses! That’s how I became an accompanier with Elisha! I got to know him more as we went to share in our love of horses.

Interested in joining the board? Contact Mic Altena at

[email protected]

Last week I joined my friends at Peace House, our newest home in Forest Park, for a Tuesday night dinner. It had been a few months since I was last able to join them, so I was especially eager to come. Of course we’d seen lots of each other elsewhere-Community Nights, birthdays, and celebrations, but eating together, at home, is extra special for me. Something about the ordinariness of being together, about the simple, easy conversation that lingers around food and laughter. It’s nourishing to me.

As we sat together last week, and our plates were being filled with pork roast, potatoes, and asparagus, I noticed that Jean had left her seat. She had gone to Noah’s plate to help him cut his roast. I watched as she carefully, and silently, cut each piece until there was nothing but small bite sized pieces left on the plate. She returned to her seat and began eating herself. A simple gesture, but one thick with care and love. To see Noah’s plate, to know the roast wasn’t going to work and then to gently take the time to slice it-even with the aroma of her own food ready to eat-is striking!

Just the week before Jean had shared some of her experiences living in a violent institution before coming to L’Arche during an interview with StoryCorps. The effects of the institution were long lasting on her. But in the simplicity of living in community, the seeds of transformation are taking root. The same seeds that are at work in me. Being at that dinner table changes me. I’m reminded not to take myself too seriously, to take more time for conversations (silly ones too!), and am reminded of the beauty each person holds. I often leave our L’Arche homes with a certain “full” feeling. Full of the joy of relationship. And I’m grateful for relationships beyond our home, relationships like ours with you. Thank you for welcoming L’Arche into your life!

simpLe gestures

By Mic AltenA

Our Community Leader reflects on a simple act of kindness that reminds us all of the necessity for community life.

Descriptions from Top Left to Right: Luca and Mike recorded a StoryCorps interview; Mic, Yonah, and Christianne welcomed a delegation from L’Arche International; Jean and Kate recorded a StoryCorps interview; Elbert was part of an interview for Relevant Radio Chicago; Jean showing off some of her art work at Arts of Life; Mike and Noah hanging out at the L’Arche USA Gathering in Washington, D.C.; April Community Night; Rebecca and Christianne having some fun in the park; Christianne displaying her art work while Joy and Rebecca delight in the back; Elisha and Jean at the Celebration Night for Chris; David and Katie sing during our annual foot washing ceremony; Elbert, Kyle, Tim, and Christianne enjoyed a nice, sunny picnic in the park.

Our Community Coordinator reflects on the mission and identity of L’Arche and how we share that together around the world.

L’Arche began as one community in the mid ‘60s in a small French village. By 2002 it was a very spread out and diverse movement of communities across the globe; L’Arche thus recognized that there was a need for unity around a common vision. For this reason a 3 year discernment process involving all communities across the world was launched, with an international reflection group gathering all this input. This process clarified the Identity and Mission we share as L’Arche communities, helping to put words to our experience.

Let’s delve more deeply into this, touching on who we are (our identity), what we stand for (our mission) and how we seek to live that.

God’s beloved ones.Often, however, we speak of identity in individualistic tones, focusing solely on specific traits or characteristics our person might have. This is limiting.Our identity as L’Arche is relational too. As communities of belonging across the world, we (persons with and without intellectual disabilities) enter into relationship with one other, celebrating each other’s value and recognizing that -in life- we can’t do it alone; we need others.

Our community identity is therefore about who we are as a community. It is primarily about being, not about doing. It is a sacred gift to be received, not a project to be created.

our mission, which flows from our identity.

Both Identity and Mission are shared across all the L’Arche communities in the world, but are also expressed uniquely in each different community.In day-to-day life L’Arche communities seek to live their shared Identity and Mission in different ways. This is the level of projects. Projects can include housing questions, internal structure issues, how certain things are done, etc. The level of projects is not sacred, and should not be made into an absolute. Projects can thus change.

It is interesting to note that disagreement in communities often happen at the level of projects; it is thus important to realize that at a deeper level we can share who we are (Identity) and what we stand for (Mission) while remaining flexible to the changing and different ways in how we live that (projects). Special thanks to the Identity & Mission formation group in Trosly-Breui I had the privilege of being part of earlier this year. A lot of this article is the fruit of the formation and reflections that have sprung from that time together.

When asked what his hope for the future of L’Arche was, Jean Vanier pinpointed to people without and with disabilities continuing to become friends. Indeed, after all, L’Arche is fundamentally about becoming a friend.

identity & mission oF L’arChe

By lucA BAdetti

Our identity as individuals - who we are - is a reality that is both individual and profoundly relational. Not only are we generated through our parents, nurtured by loving relationships, and sustained by elements that come from outside ourselves, but most fundamentally we are

Mission : WhAt do We stAnd for?identity : Who Are We?Our mission - what we stand for and what we seek to engage in – flows from our identity. Making known the gifts of persons with disabilities, building a more human society, and fostering an environment inspired by our core founding values that responds to our changing needs, are all ways in which we express

In the photo above, Luca is shown with Jean Vanier and other members of the Identity and Mission Formation group in Trosly-Breui, France.

They met and reflected on keeping our mission and identity focused.

Living at L’arChe: JuLius’ storyA Former Live-In Assistant at L’Arche Chicago Reflects on His Time at L’Arche

what surprised you most about Living in L’arChe?

The most surprising thing at L’Arche for me was that I began to understand how wonderful it is to do things slow (very slow) sometimes!

You see so many more wonderful things when you live life as slow as possible! It gives you time to process the uniqueness of living life!

While living at L’Arche Chicago, I found trust, confidence, love and wonderful people! The future doesn’t seem so scary anymore! I know that I can be whatever I want to be!

I think it is hard to describe what I did at L’Arche on a daily basis! It would be a long list of more or less interesting things! It meant I woke up early to have breakfast with the core members, went to the YMCA, enjoyed and LOOOVED Chicago (and the food)!

It meant we had little snacks together, cooked together, cleaned the house, and did the grocery shopping. It meant that together as a community, we were happy about little things, mad about little things, laughed until we cried and cried because sometimes situations can make us really sad!

Living at L’Arche we have good conversations with everybody, shared whatever you have, to be who you are, to pray with each other and to be interested in each other!

It meant to make things important even when they doesn’t seem very important at first! Living in L’Arche means to celebrate each other and the lives of each other whenever you can!

It is and was pure life for me - isn’t that wonderful?! And the best thing is, you do it all together so you never have to feel alone!

what did you do on a daiLy basis?

To be a live-in assistant like Julius, visit our website at

LArcheChicago.org/Assistants

1011 Lake Street, Suite 403 Oak Park, IL 60301

In ThIs Issue:

LarCheChiCago.org | FaCebook.Com/LarCheChiCago | twitter.Com/LarCheChiCago

Celebrating 50 Years of L’Arche

Identity and Mission: A Reflection

Simple Gestures: The L’Arche Spirit shining in small places

Living at L’Arche : Julius’ Story

My Heart is In L’Arche: Why Tim has a special place in his heart for L’Arche

Cooking with Tim Stone

Thoughts on the New House