L'Arche Charter
"In a divided world, L'Arche wants to be a sign of hope. Its
communities seek to be signs of unity, faithfulness and reconciliation."
L'Arche Charter
In 1964, Canadian Jean Vanier invited two men with developmental disabilities to live with him in an old house in Trosly-Breuil France. He named the house L'Arche after Noah's Ark and gradually welcomed, not only more men and women with developmental disabilities but assistants who would live and work with them. Since then L'Arche has grown into an international federation of more than 120 communities in nearly 30 countries.
In 1991, a small group of people with an interest in L'Arche gathered to pray and lay the ground work for L'Arche London. We have two homes, Cana (opened in August,1997) and Jubilee (opened in March, 2003). There are eight core members who form the heart of the community, and several live-in assistants.. L'Arche London is part of L'Arche Ontario which includes eight L'Arche communities in the province.
"A community is never there just for its own glory. It comes from and
belongs to something much deeper: the heart of God yearning to bring humanity to
fulfillment."
Jean Vanier
A Call to Growth
By welcoming people with handicaps to a safe, stable home, L'Arche empowers them in turn to welcome others - including the assistant who are drawn to the community from all over the world, seeking a different way of life and bringing with them a wide range of beliefs, background, and qualifications. The experience of living community fosters personal growth, competence, and lasting friendships. Just as assistants are always needed to maintain the ordinary life that has such an extraordinary effect on those who experience it, so are ‘friends of L’Arche’, who are willing to contribute time, skills, or financial support to L'Arche London's crucial future.
"Whatever their gifts or their limitations, all people are bound
together in a common humanity."
L'Arche Charter
One myth about people with mental handicaps is that they have nothing to give, only needs to be met. At L'Arche London, core members participate in a variety of work and activities, including arts and crafts, volunteering at a food bank, going on outings to parks and attending performances. L'Arche London enjoys a strong collegial relationship with other members of the Alliance, a consortium of human service providers in London, as well as good friendships with several local churches and the London Faith and Light community.
In a world that often sees people with mental handicaps as less than whole, L'Arche celebrates their simplicity, vulnerability and great capacity for joy as gifts to be shared, not rejected. Here, core members are teachers whose limitations inspire other paths to growth. At L'Arche there are no outsiders. Core members are at the heart of a community dedicated to helping them realize their potential through a full life that guarantees their fundamental rights to a home, to meaningful relationships, to an education, to satisfying work, to fun. It is through sharing with those that have some form of disability that we realize our own disabilities and can move toward our own healing process.
Care is given where ever needed, but core members are encouraged to take an
active part in the work and play of the household.
"The person with a mental handicap teaches us the way of trust, of simplicity, of love, of unity" Jean Vanier
Home life is the cornerstone of L'Arche. Prayer is an important part of each day. The people of L'Arche London are enriched by the daily prayer after the evening meal and regular worship service in the home.
L'Arche London welcomes members of all faiths.