I’m glad to introduce you to Lauren McCarthy Nagler. She came to L’Arche after university “for a few months”. That was over four years ago. She has a ton of talents and is a model for the quality of life and love that she both gives and receives in L’Arche, especially in her relationships with people who have a disability. Nathan Putting On The Brakes Do I need to slow down? Probably, yes. ...

On his way out the door to school my five year old looked up at me with his beautiful big eyes and said, - It really is Daddy, it’s after Sunday it is… I know it is… it’s the loving day. - The what?  I said.- It really is, he said again, it’s the loving day. I was perplexed and bent down to try and understand. My daughter chirped in to help out. - Dad, she said, he means Valentine’s day! ...

Mary wrote to me after my last blog. She affirmed the importance of highlighting the many variations of disability whenever we try to define it. She also alerted me to a World Health Organization initiative to reach consensus on how to standardise definitions of disability. It’s called the International Classification of Functioning (ICF). The neat thing about this project is its philosophical ...

Sometimes I am asked the simple question: How many people have an intellectual disability? Actually it is not so simple. Let’s start with disability in general. The World Health Organization estimates that around 10% of the world’s population, 700 million people, live with some kind of disability. That’s the world’s largest minority. But what a...

Joe Egan has been a L’Arche leader for over 35 years, currently as Vice National Coordinator of L’Arche Canada. He’s seen it all and still shows up every day because of his passion and commitment to the people and mission of L’Arche. Here is what Joe has to say today. Nathan Any New Year’s Resolutions?   Three times a week at 6 a.m. I swim at Variety Village, a wonderful fitness...

  I would like you to meet Jenny. She is young, smart and creative and has made some significant contributions to L’Arche over the past two years. Here is what she has to say. Nathan Ball   I could not have imagined… Jenny Prosser I can’t believe it but this is my last week with L’Arche. I co...

One of my kids has some behavioural issues. Every day he has to work extra hard to manage some of the basic interactions that many of us take for granted. His Mom and I have to work hard at being good parents for him. Lots of times both he and we get it wrong. It’s stressful. Dr. Ross Greene The other night I...

        For many of us, Christmas is a bittersweet time of year. It is a time for remembering both persons and events that have been a part of our lives in the past, but that are now changed or gone. Christmas can reveal the ways in which we belong as well as the ways in which our connection with others has been broken or is non existent. This year I will be with my wi...

(I am happy to introduce you to Jean-Louis Munn, the creative force behind L’Arche Canada’s Communications function. He has lived and worked with L’Arche for many years. He is the author of today’s blog post.)   Asking for the Moon? I just learned that ‘’The Boy in the Moon’’ by Globe and Mail journalist and author Ian Brown is on th...

Two years seems like a long time ago for you and me. Yet for many Haitians time has moved slowly. As we approach the second anniversary of the earthquake that was so devastating there continues to be elements of social instability and a great need for reconstruction in Haiti. A bright light in this situation is the rebuilding of the L’Arche Community in Port-au-Prince. Being small and agile, L’...