Above: Members of L’Arche Saint John gather for a group photo earlier this month during the 20th anniversary celebration. It was a beautiful event of reunions, storytelling and support. To view photos of the event, click here.
June marked the official 20-year anniversary of McKim House, celebrating the establishment of L'Arche Saint John.
On June 8, we hosted a party with family, friends, supporters -- those from the early years and current day. Leading up to the event, I had the usual pre-event jitters: will anyone come? Will the event feel way too long? Did we buy enough food?
As usual, those fears proved irrelevant. Our community turned up in full force -- on the first sunny weekend day in months, no less -- to demonstrate the significance of our shared history.
Families, friends, partners, donors and politicians joined us to celebrate. Members of other L'Arche Atlantic communities traveled some distance to attend in solidarity and friendship.
Gray and Patrick emceed the event, and Patrick's puns kept us all cackling. We heard about Patricks' journey in L'Arche, unearthed a time capsule, welcomed new core members to L'Arche Connects, enjoyed hearing the perspective from our late founding core member's brother, Ken Pike, watched a photo slideshow of archival photos from the early years of L'Arche, and ate popcorn.
Leaving the event, I felt an overwhelming truth: we are not alone.
In our day-to-day lives, it's easy to be tunnel-visioned by what's happening right now, in front of us. Some days, the breadth of stress and responsibility can feel overwhelming. Yet this community has survived, thrived and grown to be what it is today over the decades thanks to a host of committed, caring folks, including our core members. This is true not only for the past 20 years, but for the 14 years prior to our official establishment, thanks to the New Dawn community, which Rick writes about more in his blog post.
It is a privilege to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves. And it is essential to be reminded of our shared history so that we may forge ahead with the assurance of rich support behind us.
It was – and is – a powerful experience to be a part of.
If you have encountered L'Arche Saint John over the past 20 -- or 34! -- years, in any capacity, thank you. You have helped shape who and where we are today. I hope you'll continue on this journey with us for the next 20.
With deep gratitude,
Rachel Vander Vennen
Community Leader & Executive Director
1 comment
Rachel it was truely awesome☺️Our family so appreciate all that L’Arche does for all the individuals living their best life. We love spending those special moments with my niece Krista. She just glows when we get together. Keep up the good work!