We couldn’t imagine a better way to kick off the summer than by reuniting with our fellow L’Arche communities during our Regional Gathering! The biannual Midwest Regional Gathering brings together L’Arche Chicago, L’Arche Clinton, L’Arche Heartland, L’Arche Michiana, L’Arche Milwaukee, L’Arche Northern Colorado, L’Arche St. Louis, L’Arche Twin Cities, and friends of L’Arche for the opportunity to share stories, reflect, and have some fun.
This year’s Gathering was held here in Chicago at Concordia University. We were thrilled to welcome our sister communities on Tuesday evening with a shared meal and a welcoming ceremony. The next two days were filled with activities, small-group discussions, and bouts of laughter.
The theme of this year’s Gathering was Belonging and Beyond. It was a gift to watch the theme come to life as old friends reconnected and strangers became friends through our shared belonging to L’Arche. Iggy, one of our new core members, formed dozens of new friendships and even planned a few vacations to visit his new chums. Group sessions gave core members and assistants the opportunity to intermingle with other communities and reflect on what belonging means to each person and how our communities can extend that sense of belonging beyond L’Arche.
Each L’Arche community presented a showcase, highlighting moments and milestones from the past two years. We enjoyed hearing about the incredible things other communities had been up to—like service projects, welcoming new core members, and building new homes—while also treasuring the simple joys of life together, like gathering around the kitchen table.
For our showcase, L’Arche Chicago embraced an Olympic theme. Core members and assistants carried handmade torches, crafted from tissue paper, to contribute to a symbolic Olympic flame. Each torch represented a special moment: weddings, the addition of new core members, the completion of our fourth home, and, of course, unforgettable dance parties.
There was no shortage of fun throughout the Gathering. Core members took a pickling class led by Edward, a core member from L’Arche St. Louis, played bingo, and made all sorts of crafts. Chicago’s very own volunteer, Mary Susan Chen, led the gathering in a morning session of Tai Chi. Mary Susan did such a good job relaxing the group that John, a core member, accidentally fell asleep. During some free time, Anders couldn’t wait to bring a group of his friends to St. Joseph House to give a tour of his new home.
One of the highlights of the week was the variety show, where Tim performed a skit about his trip to Italy, Stephan danced to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and Anders shared his knowledge of U.S. presidents. It was a blast to have two of our founders, Dale and Spencer, enjoy the variety show with us.
The Gathering wrapped up with the ultimate karaoke and dance party on Thursday night. Tim and Andrew happily closed out the evening with a karaoke performance of ABBA’s Dancing Queen. Gatherings like these remind our community that we do not stand alone—we share a mission with communities around the region, country, and globe. What a terrific week filled with wonderful people!
Special thanks to L’Arche USA for helping make this year’s Gathering possible. We made memories that will last until the next Gathering in two years.
