When asked what is at the heart of the peacemaking communities of L’Arche, founder Jean Vanier has said that the essence is “the weak touching the weak”. Fragility, weakness, and vulnerability, seen as obstacles to be overcome in mainstream society, are embraced and held at the center of L’Arche communities. Through our shared life in community, these deficits are transformed into a source of life and strength for the community and its members. As such, L’Arche communities become places of welcome, forgiveness, celebration, and life.
This session will feature members of L’Arche, people with and without intellectual disabilities, sharing the stories of vulnerability, transformation, and mutual relationships that they have experienced in these communities of possibility. They will share the lessons they have learned in L’Arche, and how these lessons can be the source of renewal and transformation in a variety of communities – churches, schools, and society as a whole.
Program Cost: $425 (tuition, meals & accommodation)
Local Price: $345 (without overnight)
We strive to make our programs as accessible as possible.
Please contact our Registrar to inquire about a bursary or payment plan.
Please register at least 2 weeks in advance to secure your place in this program.
Leadership
L’Arche community members
L’Arche community members: For almost 50 years, L’Arche has been creating community with vulnerable people, and is recognized as a pioneer and a leader in the disability field. The mission of L’Arche includes “to make known the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities, revealed through mutually transforming relationships” and “to work together towards a more human society”. In L’Arche, people with and without intellectual disabilities come together to learn from each other, discover life-long friendships, and work to create a more compassionate world. The presenters for this session will include long-term members of L’Arche in Atlantic Canada, people whose passion for community is lived out in big and small ways in everyday life, and who are convinced that their personal transformations in community can translate into global transformations.
Ron Kelly
Ron Kelly, Program Resource Group (PRG) facilitator. Ron has a deep love and understanding of the natural world. He is an ecologist, educator, mediator and counsellor of abusive men and boys.