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You might be thinking, of course L'Arche believes we need each other, they're an intentional community! The truth is though, connection is absolutely vital to everyone. The U.S. Surgeon General's recent advisory on our country's loneliness epidemic highlights how social connection is as essential to our health as food and water--to the point that its lack increases the risk of premature deaths to levels comparable to smoking daily.
A friend told me once, "you have no idea what you have," in regards to my life in L'Arche. And he was right. I didn't. I took for granted the feeling of having a place; the fact that I was really well known by other people and that I knew those people well, too. With time, I learned to recognize the magnitude of this gift of community.
The great task of this century is rebuilding genuine connection. And although L'Arche does not have the only tool for this task, we certainly have some of them. We've been building community at L'Arche GWDC for 40 years and we will keep doing so together.
As the Surgeon General's advisory points out, connection requires commitment to our relationships and communities. This commitment can look so many different ways...
How do you live out your commitment to your relationships and communities?
Tell us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you! We look forward to genuinely connecting with you over the summer.
By Lauren Palmer Jansen
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