Sav, House Manager, Reflects on L'Arche's Midwest Mini Regional Gathering
Last month, a small group of us embarked on an 8-hour road trip to Kansas. We attended the Mini Midwest Regional Gathering, where we had the opportunity to connect with other small groups representing L’Arche communities in the Midwest. On day one, we all met and presented each other welcome signs, a favorite L’Arche tradition. We spent the evening connecting and getting to know each other.
On day two, we met with Andy Noethe from L’Arche USA and had a great surprise when Tom Murphy joined via Zoom. We heard about the hard work of the Inclusive Leadership Group for L’Arche International and USA. We were excited to learn about a series of toolkits that will be rolled out soon to bring inclusive leadership to the hiring and onboarding process. One of my favorite pieces was the core member led routine orientation for new assistants. We were then given time to break off into small groups from different communities to discuss our wins and challenges.
On Day three, we heard and presented Community Spotlights! This was an informal time of sharing and receiving, displaying the best of L’Arche’s value of mutuality. It was a privilege to get a peek into how other communities “share life” and find opportunities for inclusive leadership. We learned a lot as a group and had really meaningful discussions before and after our presentation.
We were so sad to say goodbye on day four, but we were also energized and ready to return and bring what we learned to L’Arche Chicago.
On our drive home, Davey and Tim reflected on their experience. Tim shared, “Each community does things differently. I learned different ways to do reflections after dinner.” Davey said, “My takeaway was connecting with Julian from L’Arche NoCo. He gave me resources to advocate for disability and human rights and Medicaid. Because of the retreat, I want to start meditation at Peace House after dinner. If people wanted to, they could, but they don’t have to.” Personally, my biggest takeaway was to pause and create space to listen. We have so many incredible voices in our community, and sometimes life moves fast. We can all slow down and make room for core member voices to rise.
