1964: "An irreversible act"

L’arche Edmonton community newsletter
Special Anniversary Edition September 2014
Happy 50th Anniversary, L’Arche!
Fifty years ago, Jean Vanier changed the lives of thousands of adults with developmental disabilities when he walked into an
institution in Trosly-Breuil, France, and brought three men home to live with him as family in a dilapidated house with no
electricity or running water. Vanier named his home L’Arche after Noah’s Ark – a place of refuge and new beginnings. Today,
there are 146 L’Arche communities in 35 countries. Edmonton’s first home was the second in Canada when George and Doris
Meyers founded Shalom in Sherwood Park in 1972.
On Sept. 20, L’Arche Edmonton will commemorate this historic occasion with a 50th Anniversary Gala at the German Canadian
Cultural Centre. Tickets are $60 each or $450 for a table of eight, and are available at the Community Centre, 10310 56 St.,
phone 780-465-0618. Leave a message for Maria Kruszewski in the general mailbox or call Debbie Weismiller, ext. 213. The
deadline for purchasing tickets is Thursday, September 11th.
1964: "An irreversible act"*
Jean Vanier, as interviewed by Charles Eric Hauguel in 1989
Raphael, Jean and Philippe
“I went to visit Father Thomas, who was the chaplain of a
residence, the 'Val Fleuri', which welcomed about 30 men with an
intellectual disability. I was deeply touched by my first contact with these men, by their remarkable tenderness,
coupled with their deep suffering.....a strange mix of enormous tenderness and enormous anger.
“During a visit to one asylum, I had met three men. The parents of both Raphael and Philippe had died, and
these two men had been placed in the asylum, events which were devastating for them. There was a third man,
Dany. I invited these three men to come and live with me. Dany was not able to stay more than one night
because he was too unstable. I had no long term plan. The only thing I was sure of as I began, was that this
beginning was an irreversible act.
“I was able to buy the house, L'Arche, in Trosly-Breuil. It had no electricity, no toilet, and only one tap
with running water. There was electricity but I didn't know where the meter was, so we lived for a while with
candles!
“Raphael, Philippe and I started very simply to live together. We cooked together, ate together, did the
shopping together, and worked together in the garden. We lived very poorly materially, as the house was
completely dilapidated.”
*Articles with an asterisk can also be found at www.jean-vanier.org
Philippe Seux: “When he took me out of there, well, I felt......phew!”*
“He [Jean] took me out of a centre where I had been placed by social workers. It had really been desolate
there: There was no village nearby, there was no way of communicating with the outside world, and we were always
inside surrounded by four walls. When he took me out of there, I felt so relieved: ‘phew!’
“When I came to L'Arche, there was no electricity, none. We used candles for lighting, it was fun! There were no
toilets or showers, but I felt like I was exploding with joy - phew! - I was so happy to be there. Previously, for me, it had
been no life at all: all day long, sitting in a room. There was nothing to do, we never went out, we were bored stiff, there
was no life. I even cried. I was not at all comfortable there. Little by little, at L'Arche we settled down and things were
sorted out.”
Henri, Jean-Pierre, Mira, Barbara, Benoit, Lucien and Jean behind the first house in Trosly-Breuil
Louis Pretty: “I said to myself, 'He's completely nuts!'”*
Excerpt from an interview, April 26, 2012
“I met Jean early in June 1964. He explained his plans to me, though nothing had yet begun. It was a Friday
night, and he told me that on the Sunday he was going to see a house in Trosly-Breuil. As I am an architect, he
invited me to go along with him, to give him my opinion.
“It was a house which had been abandoned for some time. There was no bathroom, no toilet, the roof leaked a
little bit more or less everywhere, there was no heating or insulation, and the floor was laid directly on the bare
earth without any foundation. There was only one tap with running water, located in the kitchen. The garden had
been completely neglected as well, and some of the weeds were a metre and a half high.
“On the other hand, the structure was sound, and the lovely older architecture style included gabled windows.
Jean asked me if I would stay to draw up plans for the renovations. I stayed almost a month, until I left for a
training session at Macon, for people wanting to go and work in developing countries.
“When I returned to Paris, as I was getting off the train, who should I see to my enormous surprise, but Jean
Vanier! This meeting was completely by chance, as he had no idea where I had been or what I was doing. We were
both astonished. He told me that he had bought the house, and that he had moved into it, as it was, with Raphael
and Philippe. I said to myself, ‘He is completely nuts, to move in there!’ Then Jean said to me, ‘Perhaps you could
come and see, and give us some advice?’ Thus, I went.”
“In a healthy society, the strong need the weak as much as the weak need the
strong.”
- Jean Vanier
Antoinette Maurice: “In spite of everything, that meal amazed me”*
Antoinette Maurice, Cette richesse qui vient du pauvre, 2009
“At the end of August 1964, I was invited to lunch at
L'Arche. It was August 25th, the feast day of Saint Louis.
I remember the meal very well. Jean Vanier himself had
done the cooking. We ate carrots which Jean had not
peeled. "It seems", he said, "that if carrots are peeled,
they lose their vitamins". There was also herring, a fish I
do not like at all. As the guest, I was given the biggest
portion, and it was not cooked all the way through. I ate
everything, the carrots and the barely cooked herring. For
dessert, there was applesauce, served on the same plates
as the main course, so the applesauce tasted of herring!
However, in spite of everything, that meal amazed me.
“What moved me was not so much the menu as the
atmosphere
in that house. Each one participated
Supper with the community in the early days
according to his abilities: Philippe ground the coffee,
Raphael swept the floor, and everyone, including the
guest, did the dishes together. The atmosphere of attentive listening, of joy, and of I'm not quite sure what
else, meant that I returned there often. I was moved by the friendly welcome, and the warm and brotherly
atmosphere. I was very struck by the focus on the needs of the people living with disabilities.”
Please continue to keep Therese Vanier and those who loved her in your prayers. Therese, sister of Jean
Vanier, died in June at the age of 91. Despite a busy medical career, Therese strongly believed in her brother’s
mission, co-founded L’Arche in the U.K. and acted as L’Arche regional co-ordinator in northern Europe.
The Economist's Intelligent Life magazine in the U.K. has published an inspiring article about L'Arche and
Jean Vanier in its July-August 2014 issue, entitled “JEAN OF ARK.” It can be accessed by clicking here or by
typing the following into your browser:
http://contentviewer.adobe.com/s/Intelligent%20Life/7b89e5228771411a81ef6ba6485fb0cb/
com.intelligentlife.jul14/17266.html#page_0
The Servanthood of Margaret Ross
By Annette Marie Williams
Margaret Ross, a vulnerable woman in my journey revealed of my inability to see. And it must be tiresome for
Margaret to always and forever be explaining things and teaching people to see.
Importance of reflecting brings me to one prayer night when our L’Arche Community set up a circle of chairs - a holy
place with towels and basins of water.
The celebration began with all reflecting on giving thanks for the gift of servanthood. Each individual began by
kneeling in front of another person. I experienced much joy through the movement and tenderness Margaret Ross
performed in holding Angelina’s foot, holding the foot with a tenderness, drying that foot in a way I will never forget. I
could almost see Margaret’s purity of heart, kindness of
thought exercised with all humility possible in one or two
motions giving me heaps of Joy.
Margaret took this activity and demonstrated to me the real
place of service, a very special service realized in the gift of the
moment.
Margaret is a quiet, gentle and joyful woman, seemingly
knowing there is always a reason for hope of happiness
whatever her life’s circumstances - while living her world of
silence…
(Annette Marie Williams is a former assistant and board
member with the L’Arche Association of Edmonton. Currently
she is an associate member and friend of the community.)
Lunch with L’Arche
When: Every Friday
Cost: $5 Drop-In or $20/month
Time: Noon
Where: L’Arche Community Centre 10310 56 Street NW
For more information, contact Day Program at 780.465.0618, ext. 210
[email protected]
In The Boat is a regular newsletter
produced by the L’Arche Association
of Edmonton. We welcome
submissions on any topic. For more
information, contact
[email protected]
465-0618, ext. 201, or
Debbie Weismiller at
[email protected]
780-465-0618, ext. 213.
If you are from outside the L’Arche
community, and you would like to
receive mailed correspondence
from us, please phone Suzanna at
the above number.
CONNECT. ENGAGE. BELONG.
YES, I want to be involved with L’Arche Edmonton!
OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE:
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Volunteering
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Attending upcoming community events
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Working as an assistant
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Having a presenter speak to a group about L’Arche
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Making a financial donation to L’Arche
Enclosed is my gift of: $250 $100 $50 $____
Please make cheque payable to L’Arche Association of Edmonton
Charitable Registration #: 10759-7635-RR0001