“Every morning at precisely 8:00 am, Anders came downstairs to wind up his clock. Hearing this daily ritual brought a joyful smile to my face. His presence provides much-needed consistency and tradition to our community,” shares Molly, who shared life with Anders as the Angel House Manager. During his nine years living at Angel House, Anders filled the home with joy and tradition; when he moved into St. Joseph House in 2024, he brought that same steady presence to his new home.
This March, Anders celebrated his tenth anniversary of living at L’Arche Chicago. Since joining the community, Anders says he feels more independent. He has built the confidence to commute to his job at Jewel and volunteer at the Oak Park Conservatory as well as at the local food pantry with Iggy, another core member. Over the years, Anders has developed his unique gift of leadership. For the last three years, Anders has served on L’Arche USA’s Inclusive Leadership Group with Cassie, an Assistant. There, Anders helps create guidance for core members to be more actively engaged in leadership responsibilities within L’Arche communities and beyond.
Anders often says that L’Arche Chicago feels like a family. In many ways, the community has Anders to thank for that feeling because of his unwavering hospitality and care for others. He decorates his home to welcome guests with each changing season. St. Joseph House has grown to look forward to his flags for the 4th of July, bunnies for Easter, Santas for Christmas, and Cubs flag to mark the start of the baseball season. At gatherings, he makes sure everyone has a chair and a plate set, and after dinners, Anders leads a candlelit liturgy that offers his housemates a comforting space to reflect and pray. During the daily examen, Anders asks everyone around the table to “Slow down and invite God to guide our time of prayer” and “Give thanks for the gifts of the day.”
“When I think back to that first day, I remember it as one of the hardest days of my life, but today we realize how blessed we were to have Anders join the L’Arche Chicago family! We are so grateful to L’Arche for helping Anders grow into the independent young man that he has become. He is so happy and content to take care of St. Joseph House and help to make it a home. What more could we ask for as parents?” shared Anders’s mom, Nancy.
