Hello Family and Friends!
This spring break, there will be five students and two faculty accompaniers traveling to Ontario. Although we have not arrived in Ontario yet, we have already begun our adventure with L’Arche! The group has started to explore the surface level of L’Arche communities and what they represent.
We are fortunate enough to have a wonderful resource right here on campus that can teach us about L’Arche: Father George Strohmeyer. Father George founded the L’Arche Erie community with colleagues in 1972. Since the founding, L’Arche has grown and prospered within the Erie community. Our group meet up with him recently to dive into the topic of L’Arche.
Some of our group members would love to share some insight and knowledge that stemmed from our meeting and our introduction to L’Arche:
“What stuck out to me most from Fr. George's talk was that in order to have the best experience with the L'Arche community, he advised we should go in with no expectations. This was a pressing question I had in regard to this ABST trip. I wondered how I should prepare so that I can get the most out of this experience. I see how just letting go and letting God will ultimately bring the best out of our L'Arche Ontario journey.” - Favour
“I was impacted by Fr. George’s discussion when we talked about what it meant to say that every life is worth living. It can’t just be something that we talk about but don’t put into action. I love the fact that both Fr. George and L’Arche communities work everyday to spread the awareness surrounding this topic through their treatment of the disabled and their genuine love for others.”- Meghan
“One point what stuck out to me was, that Fr. George was mentioning that he learned to become more human through living and working with L’Arche. L’Arche seems to have a great transforming component. I am so excited to be part of this trip. Already the preparation is so precious.”-Sister Carmen
As we leave for Christmas Break, we continue to reflect on the values of L’Arche and Father George’s statements. Stay tuned for more updates during Spring Break from Ontario!
Until then with love,
The L’Arche Ontario ABST Members
(Alli, Casey, Favour, Mary Margaret, Meghan, Lydia, and Sister Carmen)
