Happy Mardi Gras from Hamilton!

Happy Mardi Gras from Hamilton!

Today was quite a busy day for us here at L'Arche! This morning, we made the hour and a half long drive into Toronto to visit the Sole Express program run through L'Arche Toronto! This program helps core members from L'Arche, as well as other people with disabilities but who have different living situations, get in touch with and learn about the arts. The group we worked with today was a performance group. They work on all sorts of projects throughout the year based on the year's theme, and are even preforming at the Fringe Fest coming up in Toronto! During our time with sole express, we participated in the group's improv exercises, ate lunch with them, and joined in some other activities. We then traveled back to Hamilton to set up for the L'Arche community Mardi Gras party and dinner. We were very excited, we knew that all of the core members had been anxiously looking forward to this Mardi Gras party.
As each core member arrived, they put on the masks they had made on Tuesday and their beads. Before we arrived, some of the assistants had already made the pancake dinner. Once it hit 5:30pm it was time to eat. Each student served either pancakes or sausages to the core members. After everyone was served we were able to sit down and eat with the core members. We love building on the connections we have created and spending time with the core members.
We are excited to see what tomorrow has in store for us!!

A Birthday Celebration

Hello everyone!

This beautiful Monday started with volunteering with a community program in Hamilton called the Welcome Inn Community Center and New Horizons. The Welcome Inn is a community outreach program that serves the needs of the surrounding neighborhoods, it creates a diverse community that is welcoming to anyone. Half of us served at the Welcome Inn consisting of setting up the food bank, cleaning up outside, and baking. The baked goods will go to the after school program and food bank participants. The other half of the group went to New Horizons, the community's thrift store. We tagged clothing and cleaned around the store. From interacting with the staff and volunteers, we could all sense a true sense of teamwork and family.

For dinner we went to our individual L'Arche homes where we were able to dive deeper into the relationship with the core members and assistants. After only the second day there we can all sense that the level of comfort has increased with the core members and students.
It is very special that this community invites us into their homes and lets us experience their everyday life. Today it was one of the core member's birthdays, after dinner there is a tradition where each core member goes around the table and says something meaningful about the birthday core member. Listening to each little story or loving memory each core member expressed was so impactful. This led to a realization that L'Arche is not just a community, it is a family. The birthday core member was moved by each story and began to cry; it was quite a beautiful  tradition that we were able to be a part of.

There was a big celebration for the birthday core member. All core members came to one L'Arche home for cake. We were able to interact with all of the core members in a home setting. It was easy to see that the birthday core member was so happy that all her L'Arche family was there to celebrate with her, and being in this experience really made us feel like we were part of the family. The love was overflowing and the sense of community was great!

We are excited for the rest of the week. Tomorrow we spend the day in Toronto and then have a community dinner for Mardi Gras!!

Finding Love in Chaos

Chaos is often something most people are afraid of. However, this trip, even with it only being the second day, has taught us to embrace chaos.Today we started off by eating breakfast as a group. Some of us experienced almond milk for the first time because we didn't know that regular milk does in fact come in a bag (dang Canadians). Then we split off and went to church, and eventually reunited to find out we had no clue what we were doing. This is where the chaos came in. Our group leaders worked extra hard to figure out what we were all doing for the day and ended up doing an awesome job. We were all sent to different L'Arche houses to experience the unique love that each home had to offer. Later we spent time with many core members making masks in preparation for Mardi Gras. During this time we enjoyed the core members company and tried Ketchup Chips. We got a taste of the beautiful city by exploring the edgy and modern Locke Street and going to the highest elevation of the city and looking out across Ontario. We had dinner with the L'Arche homes again and then came back to the Hamilton home to spend some more time in our home base.

One of the most impactful moments of the day was when a couple of us witnessed an incredibly touching moment between one of the core members and assistants. It was the end of the day, and most of us were lounging around in the living room while others were getting ready for bed or working on other things. The core member sitting on the couch near us was obviously upset for some reason- whether it was from not wanting to take some medicine, or being slightly off her routine, or something else entirely, she was clearly angry and grumpy. The assistants had been on and off trying to make her feel better, with no success, but when she started to raise her voice, one of the assistants went over to see what was the matter, and hopefully put it to rest. He sat down, put his arm behind her on the couch, and looked her in the eye, asking what was wrong. She made a couple disgruntled sounds and looked away, unwilling to reconcile, before he finally asked her again, "what's wrong?" They locked eyes, and a look of tired sorrow and frustration came over the core member's face. Without another sound, she lowered her head to rest on the assistant's chest, and they both closed their eyes for just a brief moment.

The action, so simple, was loaded with love, and was apparent with the joy their reconciliation obviously restored. After a moment, the core member tugged on the assistant's hood, and with a little laugh, he tapped her on the nose (which was obviously something they did to communicate). She returned the gesture, and before we knew it they were laughing and happy again. The assistant walked away with a smile, and the core member continued laughing for another five minutes or so, the pain of the previous hour entirely forgotten. The joy that this little exchange brought to both the core member and assistant was profound, and not something that could be communicated in any number of words. It was the joy of unconditional love, captured in a small moment in time, that we were blessed and honored to witness. It was certainly a moment that one walks away from changed- perhaps not in a way one can put into words, but a different person nonetheless.

Today helped us to realize that some of the most inspirational and touching moments can come from turbulent times. Whether it be an unknown itinerary that leads to a delicious meal shared with friends or a frustrated core member showing what unconditional love really is, never be afraid to embrace the chaos.

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Where are you going? Canada!

Hello everyone!


Our group left Gannon this morning for Hamilton and built community along the way by stopping at a fun coffee shop and singing along to music together. As part of our journey, we stopped to see Niagara Falls and explore the area. We walked across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada and experienced the intense winds and beautiful views. We thought the powerfulness of the water was humbling and noticed the diversity of people there. We had an interesting experience with the border police that made for an uncomfortable interaction, but also gave us a better understanding of what people crossing the border experience. We were greeted in Hamilton by the members of the Sherman home and enjoyed sharing Indian for dinner, watching a movie, and being present with everyone. We are looking forward to what tomorrow will bring!

Learning the ropes

Hello all,
As we begin our journey learning all about L'Arche and what all we will be doing with our time at L'Arche, we would like to begin by introducing ourselves.

Hannah Murkens is a Sophomore Occupational Therapy major. She is looking forward to building community bonds with the partners in L'Arche between all of us and also building a very special bond between the members of the L'Arche family.

Sammi Lee is a Sophomore Nursing major. She is looking forward to making new friendshios and building the connections with the people of L'Arche community and everyone who will be on the trip with us and she is very excited to travel.

Mary Margaret Brady is a Freshman Physician Assistant major. She is most excited to meeting all the different people and learning their stories.

Lauren Hanna is a Sophomore occupational therapist major. She is looking forward to learning and creating lasting bonds with the members of the L'Arche community.

Anna Lacy is a Sophomore Occupational Therapist who is looking forward to learning about L'Arche and exper8encing their community.

Amanda Mock who is a co leader who is a Senior Physician Assistant major. Amanda states "After learning more about L'Arche missions and principles, I am excited to experience the communities in person and meet the members!"

Megan Alexander is also our other co leader who is a Sophomore Nursing major. She is most excited to get the opportunity to be in the leadership positing and to allow herself and the group to grow along the way. She is excited to see the doors that will be opened and to form the new bonds with those who help with and live in and among the L'Arche communities and the community partners that help to make this such a successful life for those in need.

Brent Heckman is our faculty accompanier on this trip. At Gannon he is the Director of Campus Ministry, and he also serves as the Resident Campus Minister of North Hall.  He is looking forward to discovering a deeper understanding of human love.

We are all so very excited to start this journey amd see when the road leads us. Thank you all. Family and friends for the support!

L'Arche Log- Day 7

Hello for the last time! I can't believe the week is over. We have had an incredible time here and are devestated that our time is coming to an end. Today was another fabulous day! We spent the morning talking with Karen about our week and experiences at L'Arche. Due to a chance of plans we headed to Gleaners for a tour. Gleaners is a Christian organization that uses donated vegetables that they dry to make soup mixes. These mixes are then sent to various countries around the world for people who have difficulty obtaining food. It was a truly incredible place! Everyone that works there is a volunteer and they have the process down to a science. They are extremely efficient! The manager, Sherry, told us that they make 25,000 servings of soup everyday! Once we were done we drove back to Hamilton for lunch at another wonderful place, 541 Exchange and Eatery. 541 is a volunteer based cafe. Almost all of the people that work there are volunteers (even some core members)! The food and conversation were wonderful! After a trip back to the Day Program for a little shopping, we went to our homes for the afternoon. Nathan and I were lucky enough to celebrate Laurence's birthday again! We decorated Cornerstone and went to Jack Astors for dinner. We had a great time! After dinner it was time to go to a fundraiser L'Arche was having at 541. Megan and I handled the donations at the door while the rest of the group sold drinks and desserts. We were lucky enough to have Paul (who came for music therapy on Wednesday) singing and playing guitar, and violin. There was also a lot of chatting and eating! Many of the core members came and it was sad to say goodbye to some of them who we won't be seeing tomorrow. On the bright side, we raised over $1,000 for L'Arche Hamilton! Due to Jeb's (and my) persistence we were invited back to Cornerstone to watch Inside Out. Thank you aging for following along all week! I have truly enjoyed telling you about our journey. I am so grateful for this experience. Each of the core members and assistants were truly unforgettable and we are thrilled that we had the opportunity to get to know each and every one of them. I feel as though I can't end the week without a Jean Vanier quote. I noticed one on a sign they had up at the cafe tonight that I feel encompasses what we gained from our time at L'Arche. "When we begin to believe that there is greater joy in working with and for others, rather than just for ourselves, then our society will truly become a place of celebration."

L'Arche Log- Day 6

Hello all, it's Kara! Today was a truly wonderful day! We visited Daybreak,  which is a L'Arche community outside of Toronto. We arrived around 10:15 and were immediately greeted with coffee, which made some of us very happy! After a brief introduction and tour we all divided amongst the facilities at Daybreak. Emily and Nathan were at The Club and worked on crafts with the core members. Anna and Zack helped bake cookies at the Day Program. Megan and Jeb worked in the woodery making wood discs which are sold to educational companies and used in classrooms around the country! Fun fact, Daybreak is the only place in North America that makes this product. Lastly, I was in the craft studio helping with various projects. I was slightly intimidated at first because I am not crafty at all! However, I was immediately welcomed and it did not matter that my skills weren't up to par with the core members. After working hard all day, we met back at 4 to meet with Father George Strohmeyer (one of the founders of L'Arche Erie and retired Chaplin at Gannon) and Elizabeth Buckley. Elizabeth is a former nun who has founded multiple L'Arche communities. Throughout the hour we spent with them we gained a lot of wisdom and inspiration to live out a fulfilling and authentic life. When our hour was up we divided yet again to visit multiple L'Arche homes for dinner. We all felt extremely welcomed and the hospitality was incredible. We only had a limited time at the homes, before we headed back to Hamilton for the evening. We had a great reflection sharing stories about our days. It was a little sad tonight as we realized tomorrow is our last day here. However, we are looking forward to spending our last day at the day program and helping out with a coffee shop fundraiser in the evening. Thank you again for following along with our journey! To end the blog with a quote from Elizabeth, "Are your hands cold? That means you have warm hearts."