National Leaders. Letters From the. March L Arche Development Workshop

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1 Letters From the National Leaders March 2013 Dear Members of L Arche Canada: Happy New Year to each of you! This will be Joe s and my last letter to you in this mandate. In the last weeks, you have been helping to create the priorities for L Arche Canada for the next four years. Thank you for your thoughtful responses. Soon many of us will be gathering at UBC in Vancouver where we will vote and celebrate what has been accomplished as well as be challenged for the future. L Arche Development Workshop From Doug Wiebe: Over 40 people (paid and volunteer fundraisers, community leaders, and board members) from L Arche communities across Canada and the United States gathered for the bi-annual Development Workshop in Montreal from January We were there because we believe that fundraising is a mission critical issue for L Arche today and we need to integrate a vision and practice of L Arche fundraising into our minds and hearts and L Arche vision. We were taught, inspired, and challenged by Nathan Ball (L Arche Canada Foundation), Bethany Keener (L Arche Greater Washington D.C.), and each other, to become more confident and competent in how we share about, and invite people to contribute to, the vision and mission of L Arche. Easier said than done! My relationship, my community s relationship, and the relationship almost everybody has with money is complicated. We have all been blessed and wounded by money. Our relationship with money can get «stuck» in the places we ve been wounded by it - and that usually compromises our ability to reach out to other people who might have money to support the vision and mission of L Arche. Sound familiar? Sound a little bit like the dynamics that can get us «stuck» in some of our other relationships in L Arche? But there s also the gift. At its deepest level, fundraising in L Arche is a spiritual practice. Fundraising in L Arche is about announcing the reality of the transforming love of God revealed in the vision and mission of L Arche. It s a call to conversion in our relationship to money - particularly for those who are doing the asking. It begins and ends with prayer and gratitude for the treasure that God has given us to nurture and share in the world. Sound familiar? Sound a little bit like the deepest level of any other relationships we live in L Arche? Relationships of mutuality between people with and without intellectual disabilities are at the center of the vision and mission of L Arche. But the vision and mission of L Arche doesn t stop there! As these relationships grow and deepen, the vision and mission of L Arche also calls us to transforming relationships of mutuality with our friends, enemies, colleagues, family, environment, our God, ourselves, and our money. 1 6

2 From Sonia Larouche: Over the past three years I have been involved in fund raising for my community, and in particular with the elaboration of an annual benefit event. I participated in a Development workshop from January 7th-10th with participants from L Arche across Canada and the United States. I went hoping to discover tools and to be enriched by the diverse experiences of both those giving the training and participants. During the workshop we were invited to participate in different role playing situations and sharing. We began with a reflection to identify our personal values and deepest convictions which finally led us to the elaboration of an action plan including our own fund-raising plan which would be described as irresistible and fantastic! These different aspects met my expectations. And as always, when we participate in this type of workshop, we leave with a renewed energy as well as a certain apprehension in the face of new work to be done. Of course fund raising can only be carried out in our communities in proportion to the human resources at hand. However fund raising remains the responsibility of each of us and we need to recognize that our most effective tool is our relationships. It is through the impact of our relationships and our bearing witness that we invite potential donors to make a financial commitment to our vision and mission. L Arche Canada Leaders Group The week of January 21st, the regional leaders, Joe and I met at Villa St. Martin. The group was smaller than usual as Tammy Bartel was still on her sabbatical, Christiane Ménard had returned to Amos to be with Marianne in her last days and Marni Davis was on a community visit. We began our time with a reflection on the covenant led by Agathe Dupuis who is a member of the International reflection group on the covenant in L Arche. To begin our meeting with a time of reflection was a gift for each one of us. Thinking about what our commitments are to one another was good ground for the remainder of our meeting. Murray McCarthy, the new Executive Director of the L Arche Canada Foundation, joined us for a day. It allowed him to gain a greater understanding of L Arche Canada as well as to meet the regional leaders. Joe Vorstermans, the Executive Director of Intercordia informed us that there are a number of Intercordia participants who wish to come to a L Arche community in Canada this summer. Via skype, Marc Larouche, as a representative of the Mandate and Selection committee joined us to present the input that the committee has received from the communities regarding the strategic framework. It was very interesting to hear your reflections. Thank you. 2 6

3 This group continues to meet via conference call until we see each other face to face at the General Assembly in May. The L Arche Canada Board meeting held February 8-9, and hosted by the L Arche Agapé Community in Gatineau, QC, provided the Board with the opportunity to address a number of important matters: 1. We received the draft mandate from the Mandate and Selection Committee and adopted it with minor changes. We asked the Committee to share the revised draft with communities and to proceed with seeking names for the National and Vice National Leader roles for We adopted a draft budget for for L Arche Canada, including the draft budgets for the Western, Ontario, and Atlantic regions (which were prepared by the regions and submitted to us). The budget has been aligned with the priorities suggested by the Mandate. 3. We received a report from a committee that has been examining the membership agreement that all communities have signed with L`Arche Canada. The agreement document is now more than ten years old and many factors point to a need to update it. A fundamental goal of L`Arche Canada is to support communities to live the mission of L`Arche both individually and collectively as a country. As we reflect on the changes that we have seen over the course of the Mandate, the Board believes that we have made considerable progress on many fronts. We are very appreciative of the contributions that our national leaders, Hollee Card and Joe Egan, have made in this regard. The Board is looking forward to meeting and engaging with community delegates at the National Assembly in Vancouver in May where we can celebrate our accomplishments and build for the future. Annual National Human Resources Workshop The Assistant s Coordinators/HR people from most of our 29 communities gathered from February 4-7th in Montreal. The main topic of the workshop this year was Servant Leadership. As you recall, Servant Leadership is our top priority and a multiyear effort to attract, develop and retain the leaders who will bring our Identity and Mission to life both now and in the future. This includes all of us! Janet Maclaren and Amy DeMoulin organized and facilitated 2.5 days of training focused on the People Processes (e.g. role guides, annual review process and goal setting) we will be putting in place in all our communities in the coming months. These People Processes will be piloted soon in L Arche Toronto and L Arche Hamilton and later on in the Spring in a few more communities. Janet and Amy also presented the cultural shifts needed in our communities that are built into or implied by the direction we have decided on with the Servant Leadership Program. These cultural shifts are supported by the People Processes and would include: 3 6

4 More shared ownership of our Identity and Mission, which calls us to greater collaboration in our community life. Continuous and mutual learning: Everyone at L Arche will be encouraged to take ownership for their ongoing growth and learning, both in and beyond their role. Mutual vulnerability will enhance the learning environment. Focus on Strengths & Gifts We will support each person in discovering and making known his or her gifts and strengths. Holding to Account for Performance in Role We will be clear as to what is expected from each person in his or her role. We expect everyone to take seriously their role and seek out help and support when needed. Support in Role We recognize that much is asked of people in the roles they hold. We will provide more support including orienting, coaching, training and providing practical and personal support. Appreciation & Contributions Each person, regardless of role, will be appreciated not only for their gifts but also for their effort and the contributions they make. Support for Relationships We will legitimize the inherent struggle that comes along with joy when living in relationship. We will support both skill building around relationship and processes to support people when conflict arises. These cultural shifts are a real challenge for us! I will speak more at the Community Leaders meeting in March about this challenge and our call to model the changes we hope to make in all of our communities. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Peggy Keaney for her willingness to take on the national HR role for three months after Danielle Walker s resignation at the end of January to take on a new job in Ottawa. With Peggy s help and in consultations with others we are quickly reviewing what we need from the national HR role in the short and longer term. Public Relations and Senior Marketing Advisor John O Donnell began in his new role January 28th, His priorities in the coming months include: The General Assembly; The 50th Anniversary of L Arche (2014); The mandate and selection committee; The Promotion of L Arche and the Sharing communications committees; and The relationship with the L Arche Canada Foundation. We are very grateful that John said yes to this role. It allows him to use and further develop some of his other skills and interests in new ways than his role as regional leader demanded. 4 6

5 Promotion of L Arche Communications Committee On Monday, January 11th, the Promotion of L Arche communications committee met at the L Arche Canada Foundation office in Richmond Hill. The members of this committee are: Isabelle Robert, L Arche Beloeil; Madeline Burghardt, L Arche Toronto; John O Donnell; Murray McCarthy, Executive Director, L Arche Canada Foundation; Pat Lenon, L Arche Lethbridge; and Hollee Card, national leader. The purpose of this meeting is to develop plans for how to engage with Canadian society. Through reflection on L Arche and the message that we wish to share with Canadian society, we realized that one of the key words for L Arche is the word with. We don t do things for someone. Living in L Arche is an experience of living with, being with. With is the word which distinguishes L Arche. By using this word with, we build those relationships which change our hearts and have the potential to change the world. We also discussed the idea of a fundraising campaign that has the potential to raise the profile of L Arche across the country as well as raise money for the L Arche Canada Foundation and local communities. Both these projects require a great deal of preparatory work before we are able to share more. Stay tuned! General Assembly 2013 May 23rd-26th, delegates from all the communities across Canada will be meeting in Vancouver. At this meeting, a number of things will be happening. Some of these items are: reports from the L Arche Canada board regarding their work over the last four years; a session on Servant Leadership led by Amy DeMoulin; a public talk by Ruth Patterson, the founder of Restoration Ministries (see link: restorationministries.co.uk); and a symposium with those who will call us to grow; a closing fiesta which will include the washing of the feet. At points during the General Assembly, there will be parallel meetings. The core member delegates will meet with Gabrielle Beaulieu, Jacques Lang and Amy DeMoulin while the other delegates will gather in another room. The purpose of this is to allow all delegates to participate to the their fullest. Prayers Nathan Ball and his wife Paula Kilcoyne and family are settling into their new life in St. Louis, Missouri. Joe and I try to speak with them regularly in order to keep the connection alive. As we write this last letter, Jean Christophe Pascal, the previous International Leader, is coming to the end of his sabbatical. Please keep him in prayer as he discerns his next steps. 5 6

6 Conclusion Joe and I have had the privilege of being the national leaders for the last four years. We want to thank you for your support of our leadership and your faithfulness to our mission. In the four years, there has been much to celebrate; much for which to give thanks. Over the course of four years, there have been moments, where we have caused pain. For this, we sincerely ask for your forgiveness. Our Identity and Mission is wonderful and something of great value. We will never fully live it; our life is about trying to live it as fully as possible. Celebration Maybe the world will be transformed when we learn to have fun together. I don t mean to suggest that we don t talk about serious things. But maybe what our world needs more than anything is communities where we celebrate life together and become a sign of hope for our world. Maybe we need signs that it is possible to love each other. Jean Vanier, «Living Gently in a Violent World,» p. 75 Let us continue to celebrate! 6 6