L'Arche in Portland

CELEBRATING 28 YEARS AT THE COMMUNITY PICNIC

L'Arche Portland gathered at Montavilla Park on July 11 to celebrate 28 years of shared life in community together. The afternoon celebration brought together over 60 supporters, volunteers, friends and family, board members, associate members and daily life members. Cindy Leonard, one of our core members, led the group in prayer before a picnic lunch, and ten founding members with and without intellectual disabilities presided over a community blessing complete with birthday cake.


 
BENEFIT CELEBRATION TICKETS ON SALE NOW!! 

We have a fabulous night on tap for L'Arche Portland supporters with our Annual Benefit Celebration at the University of Portland on Saturday, October 17. Julianne Johnson and Michael Allen Harrison headline an incredible team of talented musicians with and without intellectual disabilities. Bid on wonderful auction items and raffles, hear from community members about the impact of L'Arche on their lives, enjoy great food, beer and wine, and support our efforts to make the world a more peaceful and just place. Thank you to our wonderful sponsors, listed below.
SHARING DAILY LIFE TOGETHER

NEWS FROM NEHALEM
Nehalem recently welcomed Jonathan Landolfe as a live-in assistant and Jess Weisensee as a community summer intern. Marilyn celebrated her 13th anniversary in community and made a zucchini cake with Keeley for Erin's birthday. Adam was treated to a Hops baseball game by Andrew Danner. Adam went with Amanda Brown, got player autographs and went home with a game ball! Joni, Corrine and Meredith went out for ice cream in June. Erin and Corrine went tent camping with St. Andrew's Parish. Nehalem hosted our first Dessert with L'Arche, an informal get-together with several guests from the wider community who wanted to learn more about us. Assistants from both homes enjoyed their quarterly Assistants Night Out, riding bikes to the food carts and Roscoe's.

NEWS FROM NEAHKAHNIE
Neahkahnie welcomed a new assistant, Ilana Weber in June. Sean Baird and Annie Murphy-Hagen celebrated their wedding with many from our community in attendance. Neahkahnie hosted a group of students from Jesuit High School in Sacramento, California in June. Together with core members and assistants, they painted new panels for several of the house's ceiling fans. The group cooked dinner for both houses and helped us bless the new prayer garden at Nehalem. Rodney celebrated his 85th birthday in style with a beautiful cake and a trip for doughnuts. Cindy and Malou went to the Waterfront Pops Festival to see Blondie. Robyn visited the Farmer's Market to get fresh veggies and fruits and made a smoothie. Ben went with Ashley and Ben Luginbuhl for a day on the town. 
L'Arche in the USA


AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT TURNS 25  

L'Arche's Laurie Pippenger and Eva-Elizabeth Chisholm attended President Obama's celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act at the White House on July 20. The President hailed the progress that has been made since 1990 and the need to remove the remaining obstacles to a more inclusive nation.
SERVING LOVE --
L'ARCHE STYLE 

Special educator and author Rumni Saha recently visited the L'Arche Irenicon community outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She recently wrote about her experience in an article in the Huffington Post:
"Looking out for each other is a way of life at L'Arche-- we found out. How blessed were these people... to have such amazing relationships!"
  Read more...
CHANGE IN NATIONAL LEADERSHIP

L'Arche USA has a new national leader. Tina Bovermann of Atlanta began her 5-year term July 1, succeeding Portland's Joan Mahler.
"In all my years serving L'Arche in different roles, I have never met anybody who is not hooked in by all that happens when we enter relationships across differences and abilities," said Bovermann. 
Read more...
L'Arche Around the World
MA'AN LIL HAYAT 

L'Arche International's Patrick Fontaine and Eileen Glass recently visited L'Arche's newest "community," Ma'an Lil Hayat in Palestine. Upon reflection, they invite us to consider the question, "What is a community and what does it mean to be a member?" The story of Ma'an Lil Ayat reminds us that belonging and community can come in many forms.

LA VIE L'ARCHE 

L'Arche's newest edition of La Vie L'Arche is available for download.  This bilingual magazine contains a treasure of articles on life in L'Arche communities across 5 continents, reflections from Jean Vanier, and beautiful images of belonging and inclusion from across the globe.  

 
 JEAN VANIER ON RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY  

"We can use religion to crush people, or we can use religion to reveal that God is love." - Jean Vanier
 
The enigmatic Templeton Prize Laureate and founder of L'Arche, spoke about the role of religion and spirituality in today's world.

Watch the video
BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES & HOUSE EVENTS 
We are celebrating the following milestones for community members in August and September:

Birthdays for Core Members, Associate Members, Assistants, Board and Support Staff:
8/19 Matt Weisensee
8/24 Matt Casey

L'Arche Anniversaries:
8/29 Keeley Terpstra
9/3 Sean McQueen
9/4 Malou Hiss
9/18 Ben Miller and Corrine Montana

If you would like to join us for someone's birthday or anniversary celebration, please call 503-251-6901 or [email protected] 
Prayer Night & Simple Supper - Please join with us in prayer and at the table as we come together as a community. 
1st Wednesdays @ 5:00pm
Dessert with L'Arche - We have recast our monthly Home Tour into a more social gathering over dessert! Who can resist? Come and see how L'Arche Portland is changing the world one heart at a time when you join us for an evening in community.
3rd Thursdays @ 6:45 pm 

Please RSVP for all events to confirm time and location: 503-251-6901 or [email protected]



BENEFIT CELEBRATION SPONSORS
 
  


 
SHOP AT AMAZON AND SMILE WITH L'ARCHE PORTLAND
An easy way to support L'Arche Portland is through  Amazon Smile. Just start your shopping from our link and you'll receive the same products, same prices, and same service. Amazon will then donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to L'Arche Portland whenever you shop on AmazonSmile. It makes a difference!
 
BECOME A MONTHLY SUSTAINER. SIGN UP FOR EFT!
Help L'Arche Portland better meet ongoing needs by signing up to make your gift monthly.  We can now also set up electronic fund transfers to making supporting our mission even simpler than ever. 
  • $10/month ($120/year) covers the gap between state funding and the actual cost of running our L'Arche community for one core member for a day.
  • $25/month ($300/year) provides food & household items for 4 core members and 4 assistants for a week.
  • $50/month ($600/year) provides assistant support of 2 core members to attend the annual L'Arche core member retreat.
  • $100/month ($1200/year) helps send one of our homes on vacation together to bond, refresh and renew.