Gathering in Trosly, France for Retreat Givers

During the first week of February, a group of 25 L’Arche retreat givers from around the world met at La Ferme at L’Arche Trosly. L’Arche in Canada was well represented by Bill Clarke, Sue Mosteller, Agathe Dupuis, Doug Graves and me (Joe Egan). The session was well facilitated by a team which included Colin Maloney, former president of L’Arche International.

The program began with a day of silence and prayer, including a conference by Jean Vanier and one by Agathe. Colin was the main speaker for the following two days and he gave four conferences on “giving the word”. All the speakers were nourishing and inspirational.
The group dynamic was also nourishing as old friends reconnected and new friendships formed. Through daily faith sharing and meals together, we came to appreciate all that we are living in L’Arche today.

There were two other wonderful sessions. One focused on reflecting together on the Founding Story of L’Arche and the other was a panel of three assistants from different faith traditions (e.g. Moslem & Jewish) sharing about their journey in L’Arche and their experiences of deepening in their own tradition.

We all know how difficult it is to get away from the demands of normal daily life, which are also piling up and waiting for us when we return. But is also essential that we take time to reflect on and deepen our call in L’Arche and on how we are developing and using our unique gifts to build L’Arche.

Québec Regional Council

Attending a regional council is always enlightening and a privilege. I am always impressed by the commitment and dedication of the community leaders in a very demanding role. Being part of this regional council was no exception.

The members of the regional council were welcomed by the community of Trois Rivières for supper one evening. How delightful it was to be welcomed by the members of the community!

Visit to Saint Malachie 

After the Regional Council, I (Hollee) headed to Saint Malachie for a community visit. En route, I was welcomed by Yvette Légaré for one night. Together we watched Alex Bilodeau win the gold medal!

This was my first regular community visit. The charm of the community is undeniable. The week before my visit, the Bonhomme Carnaval visited the L’Arche workshop in Saint Malachie. The whole town was invited. By selling hot chocolate to the visitors, the community raised money for L’Arche Haiti. This visit made the front page of the local newspaper.  Sylvie Cloutier, the community leader, continues to be on medical leave. When I met with her, she was uncertain as to when she would be able to return to work. I am grateful to Mario Ouellet who as interim community leader is ably leading the community.

L’Arche Canada Board Meeting February 19-20

Since the Annual Meeting last November, the Board of Directors has already met three times – not counting the meeting we held on the morning of November 8. We have met twice via teleconference and once face-to-face, in Gatineau, on February 19 and 20. As Hollee and Joe have said, we are truly in a time of transition and consolidation. All the decisions made at last November’s Assembly must now be enfleshed, and we must all learn to work within the new structures we have created for ourselves. Certainly, not everything will change, and the changes to come won’t happen all at once.

To date, in addition to looking after ongoing business and monitoring budgets, we have formally adopted the processes related to the new remunerations policy that will apply to people who report directly to the Board of Directors of L’Arche Canada. We have also met and had a fruitful discussion with representatives of the L’Arche Canada Foundation, to clarify our relationship and to assure ourselves that the financial resources are available to support all our activities, especially our solidarity efforts with each of you and with our brothers and sisters around the world. The members of the Board of Directors wish to take up the challenge of registering publicly, collectively and individually, as donors to the Foundation.

With the help of Mel Gill, an expert consultant in governance matters, we have started to explore the best governance practices for an organization like ours. We have set aside an entire day for the discussion; it will allow us to undertake an evaluation of the ways we operate and to identify the gaps we must fill. In his book, Governing for Results, Mel Gill identifies the principal responsibilities of the Board of Directors of not-for-profit organizations, and how a Board, taking into account the size, mission, culture, and values of the organization, may ensure that those responsibilities are properly fulfilled.

It is clear today that the governance model outlined by John Carver, which we explored with Les Stahlke, does not fit our organization. That approach does not promote the partnership or the type of relationships we wish to live in L’Arche, both in terms of the national coordinators and the communities. It is not simply a matter of responding to legal obligations (as important as they are), but of working together to attain the goals identified in the mandate and those which flow from the mission of L’Arche in Canada. We are responsible for ensuring that our resources are used effectively, so that the gift of people with intellectual disabilities may be made known, and so that L’Arche communities may be supported in their efforts to be vibrant environments, rooted deeply in their society, and working to make this a more human world – a world to which those who are most vulnerable have the opportunity and the means to contribute.

L’Arche Canada Coordinator’s Group Meeting in Montreal February 22-25

This was our first face to face meeting since the special one day meeting held last September which was a challenging one for the group as reported on the Meeting Ground at the time.
We continued to “build together” on the fruits of that September meeting and on the spirit of the General Assembly meeting. This recent meeting was a time of deepening our unity, building trust through honest dialogue, faith sharing and working well together. In short, we had a very good meeting. It was also a pleasure to have Jean Christophe Pascal with us for a day, including dinner out together, as he is now the International reference person for L’Arche Canada.

Our agenda was full and reflected well the significant concerns of the regions and communities:

• Four regional reports & our report as National Coordinators and the common questions emerging from those reports.
• Governance implementation questions.
• Haiti and Solidarity.
• Reflection on topics like leadership, the founding of communities, membership, the purpose of the Coordinator’s Group, and a strategic plan for Canada.
• A session on communications with Jean Louis Munn and Bernard LeBleu
• and an introduction to non-violent communication with Valérie Lanctôt- Bédard-. She will give us a two-day training session at our next meeting in Halifax in June. Please check out her website at www.spiralis.ca.

Needless to say there is a lot going on for us all at all ‘levels’ of L’Arche. As we ended our meeting we could easily identify all that was given for which we were very grateful.

L’Arche Canada Foundation

On March 2nd the L’Arche Canada Foundation Board of Directors met in Toronto. The Board meets twice a year, face-to-face, and several other times via conference call. The Board reviewed its recent past strategy and discussed its priorities and objectives going forward. The April 2010 – 2011 budget was presented, including the annual grant request from L’Arche Canada which was well presented by Hollee Card. The final decision on the budget was deferred for three weeks.

The agenda was full!

1. Reviewing fundraising strategy;
2. Annual performance review for the Executive Director (Nathan Ball);
3. Financial Matters;
4. Decision to invite three new Directors to join the Board;
5. Discussion of the need to strengthen the relationship between the Foundation Board and the L’Arche Canada Board; and 
6. Recalibration of individual Board responsibilities;
7. Discussion Foundation staff resources and some proposed changes.

Communication Audit

We want to give others the opportunity to give feedback. An on-line survey is available on the Meeting Ground until Friday March 19, 2010 for anyone to give their feedback. To go to the survey, click on the following link: Questionnaire - Communication review 

Database

The L'Arche Canada database contains the names and e-mail addresses of all those in each community who receive communications from L'Arche Canada.

Through the Meeting Ground's intranet, each community has access to its own database, which can be updated regularly so that it is accurate and consistent with the community's address list.This allows L'Arche Canada to communicate directly with members without the intermediate step of going through Community Leaders or the Presidents of Boards of Directors.

We are in the process of making changes to the databases. As soon as they are complete, you will receive a notice asking you to update your community's database. We thank you in advance for your cooperation for your help with this!

Intercordia

Intercordia is another organization whose founder is Jean Vanier. It has been operating in Canada for at least five years. Its focus is providing university students with an opportunity to share their lives and serve others in another part of the world.

A conversation is beginning between Joe Vorstermans, director of Intercordia and ourselves to see if we could develop a partnership.

Jean Vanier’s vision of what it takes to become human can be lived in so many ways. Given that we have the same founder, it is important to see if we can find ways to support one another so that this vision can have a greater impact on Canadian society and the world.

Haiti

L’Arche Carrefour is moving into the reconstruction phase. Isabelle will return to Haiti this month. She will continue to work with Evelyne Verdier the Board President and Jacqueline  ______ to organize this. As can be imagined, there are many questions to resolve. Did you see the pictures on the Meeting Ground with the Canadian Army who provided and put up tents for the community?

Canadian Forces Members Work Magic for L'Arche in Carrefour - Photo Jonathan Boulet-Groulx. See other pictures of the Canadian Forces in L'Arche Carrefour on larchenetwork.org

Jonathan Boulet-Groulx continues to write his blog Mwen pa fou. Jonathan will continue to provide weekly updates as he is able to his blog. When you visit his blog, you will find an invitation to visit the L’Arche Network. This link provides more information regarding Haiti and the place of people with disabilities. There is an interview with a government minister, M. Préan. There is also a video clip of Evelyne Verdier in the Focus page of the network.

The purpose of this larchenetwork.org  is simply to share information about what is happening in Haiti.  Please encourage everyone in your community to register and join the network and relay the information  with those in their own network (facebook, twitter, etc. ) so that more people in the world can follow this story. 

New Community Leaders

Jennifer McCauley has recently been named the new community leader of L’Arche Sudbury. Christine and Hervé Monier and their family have arrived from France to the Comox Valley. Christine is the community leader of that community.

Thank you to each of you for saying yes to this call!

Conclusion

What does building together mean within L’Arche Canada? One way is through simple acts of kindness and thoughtfulness. Do we follow the news that is posted on the Meeting Ground from communities across Canada? Do we share this news with other members in our community? Do we pray for one another? For my fellow community members who work to keep the community running smoothly? For our regional leaders who encourage and support us in living the mission of l’Arche? For Nathan Ball, Dean Leavitt and board members of the L’Arche Canada Foundation who share our story inviting those who can to financially support us? For Guillaume Richard at the L’Arche Canada office, Jean-Louis Munn and the L’Arche Canada communications team, for Beth Porter and her work in reaching out to the schools, for Peggy Keaney and her efforts in supporting communities with the compensation policy, for Danielle Thibeault and Marc Larouche and the work of Human Resources,? For Jean Christophe Pascal and Christine McGrievey who lead the L’Arche Federation? Do we let people know that we are thinking of them, that we are praying for them?

If we were to take this invitation seriously until the next letter, our sense of belonging and commitment to each other as L’Arche in Canada and around the world would deepen profoundly.

Will you accept this invitation? If so, we would love to hear your stories.

Sincerely,

Hollee and Joe