Core members Jean and Mike led Alexandra Baig through many apartments in Oak Park and Chicago, searching for their new home. Alex knew that the new apartment would be home to Jean and Mike and wanted them to feel comfortable. Alex was a little concerned what potential landlords might say about the non-traditional household, but she did not see any sign of hesitation in any of the landlords who showed them around. When Alex– then Alex Conroy – became Executive Director and Community Leader of L’Arche Chicago in 2006, she wore many hats. The small organization had an Executive Director and a part time bookkeeper/ receptionist. Alex functioned as human resource department, outreach coordinator, financial officer and accountant, and even filled in as an assistant. In her time at L’Arche Chicago, the commu- nity has doubled in size! L’Arche Chicago now has twice as many households, twice the number of core members, and an admin- istrative infrastructure. Alex has a background in finance but it is not just about the numbers: she reflects that the gifts of each member and relation- ships are what add value to the community. Growth in L’Arche does not happen without commitment and passion. Alex recognized the assistants and staff who made longer-term commitments have helped L’Arche Chicago to gain traction. Staff such as Program Coordinator Rebekah Flores and Community Coordinator Steve Nazaran have helped L’Arche Chicago grow from being a single-leader organization to a true team effort. Always looking at the big picture, Alex oversaw L’Arche Chicago’s growth from “Founding” stage to a “Confirmed Community.” Alex guided L’Arche Chicago through a time of crisis to a stage of stability and consequent growth. The International Federation recognized this achievement: L’Arche Chicago now has voting privileges in L’Arche at regional, national, and international Assemblies. Obtaining state funding in 2006 was an essential element of this stability. At its founding L’Arche Chicago was not able to receive state funding. But as it grew, Alex’s fore- sight in partnering with Garden Center Services allowed L’Arche to not feel alone in a large sea and the partner- ship paid off. Even though the State of Illinois is in financial crisis itself, Alex has been able to maintain relatively consistent State funding. Many Hats and a Big Heart L’Arche Chicago honors outgoing Community Leader Alexandra Baig Summer 2013 MarySusan Chen Alex and Elbert Lott, founding core member of L’Arche Chicago continued on page 4...
Transcript
Core members Jean and Mike led Alexandra Baig through many apartments in Oak Park and Chicago, searching for their new home. Alex knew that the new apartment would be home to Jean and Mike and wanted them to feel comfortable. Alex was a little concerned what potential landlords might say about the non-traditional household, but she did not see any sign of hesitation in any of the landlords who showed them around.
When Alex– then Alex Conroy – became Executive Director and Community Leader of L’Arche Chicago in 2006, she wore many hats. The small organization had an Executive Director and a part time bookkeeper/receptionist. Alex functioned as human resource department, outreach coordinator, financial officer and accountant, and even filled in as an assistant.
In her time at L’Arche Chicago, the commu-nity has doubled in size! L’Arche Chicago now has twice as many households, twice the number of core members, and an admin-istrative infrastructure. Alex has a background in finance but it is not just about the numbers: she reflects that the gifts of each member and relation-ships are what add value to the community. Growth in L’Arche does not happen
without commitment and passion. Alex recognized the assistants and staff who made longer-term commitments have helped L’Arche Chicago to gain traction. Staff such as Program Coordinator Rebekah Flores and Community Coordinator Steve Nazaran have helped L’Arche Chicago grow from being a single-leader organization to a true team effort.
Always looking at the big picture, Alex oversaw L’Arche Chicago’s growth from “Founding” stage to a “Confirmed Community.” Alex guided L’Arche Chicago through a time of crisis to a stage of stability and consequent growth. The International Federation
recognized this achievement: L’Arche Chicago now has voting privileges in L’Arche at
regional, national, and international Assemblies.
Obtaining state funding in 2006 was an essential element of this
stability. At its founding L’Arche Chicago was not able to
receive state funding. But as it grew, Alex’s fore-sight in partnering with Garden Center Services allowed L’Arche to not feel alone in a large sea and the partner-ship paid off. Even though the State of Illinois is in financial crisis itself, Alex has
been able to maintain relatively consistent State
funding.
Many Hats and a Big HeartL’Arche Chicago honors outgoing Community Leader Alexandra Baig
Summer 2013
MarySusan Chen
Alex and Elbert Lott, founding core member of L’Arche Chicago
continued on page 4...
L’Arche LanguagesCommunication and Faith at L’Arche
Alison Kopit joined L’Arche Chicago in September 2012 and reflects on her retreat and on expressions of spirituality in L’Arche.
In early April, I attended The Journey of L’Arche, a five-day retreat in Montreal, Canada with an interfaith focus. We had both English- and French-speaking assistants so all lectures and meetings were bilingual. For the most part, the retreat was silent, but this silence did not prevent me from meeting others. Instead, it allowed me to meet people from all over the world through a language familiar to all of us. We often speak about solidarity in L’Arche, but until I explored silence with assistants from other communities, I never fully knew what solidarity meant in the context of L’Arche. Until I watched the sun set over the river, and moments later, looked behind me to find 20 other participants experiencing the same sunset, I cannot say I truly understood the meaning of solidarity. We communicated non-verbally throughout the week, locking eyes, helping open the door when someone’s hands were full, and smiling down the corridor.
At L’Arche, we speak this language. In fact, L’Arche communities all over the world speak this language because our emotions and capacity to feel compassion
for others is at the core of mutuality in commu-nity. A smiling face is a smiling face in all corners of the world. At L’Arche, non-verbal members are as integral as verbal ones. At the end of the day, the way that we love each other in community is not contingent upon what we say. L’Arche is an embodied experience—it is felt and intuitive.
Time and again I have struggled to explain what I do in L’Arche and what L’Arche is, but once
someone comes to visit, it is clear: L’Arche is about existing together. This non-verbal communication that I was completely immersed in during my retreat was so familiar, as it is the spirit of L’Arche. This realization brought me back to the community with a new awareness and appreciation for the ways that we communicate.
Just as nonverbal communication helped me better understand the way we communicate in my home at Angel House, celebrating Jewish holidays with the community—most recently, the Passover Seder—has led me back to the feelings of my childhood home. I was raised Jewish, but this identity has shifted and taken different forms for me over the years. Many Chris-tian traditions that are engrained in the lives of mem-bers of L’Arche were foreign to me when I first arrived. Perhaps that is why it wasn’t until I came to L’Arche and was challenged by new traditions and expressions of faith, that I found myself reclaiming aspects of Jewish culture I had left behind. Tradition, another form of non-verbal communication, can help us experience the core of community.
Late this past March, core member Elisha Preston and his mother Linda led us all in a collaborative, colorful Passover Seder. Being a part of this tradition helped me remember a language of home. Bringing L’Arche into a tradition that was an important part of where I come from was a full sensory experience and solidarity with the home of my upbringing in another way. More than the prayers, or the actual reading of the Hagaddah, it was the smell of Charoset, the acting out the story, and the dipping of the parsley—just like the non-verbal communication of my retreat—that led me back home.
Editor’s note: as part of its effort to help each new assistant learn and appreciate what L’Arche is, L’Arche Chicago sends them on a L’Arche-sponsored retreat in their first year. There are several such retreats each year in the U.S. and Canada where assistants and other staff from various communities can come together to reflect on their life in L’Arche and the mission of L’Arche.
Alison Kopit
Tim Stone and Alison serve L’Arche’s entry at the Arts of Life Chili Cookoff
Alison and core member Christianne Msall
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Modern society, with its multinational corporations, global politics and digital citizenship, projects an inter-esting dichotomy; while information can be transmitted from one point to another instantly, the dispersion of wealth and resources remains remarkably unequal. Despite the many connections that exist across the globe, our culture fixates on divisions that seem too wide or too deep to bridge. How do we, as members of the international Federation of L’Arche, a global family, respond? Solidarity.
Rather than despair, we make small attempts to con-nect with individuals and communities across cultural and geographical barriers. This can be as simple as writing a card or praying for a fellow community. It can be travel to assemblies with other members of L’Arche
USA or communities worldwide. Or learning about our sister community in Buenos Aires, El Arca Argentina. The common thread among all these is an ongoing call to be in relationships--locally, nationally and globally. This call to live as members of a global family challenges the notion that superficial divisions are greater than our common humanity and thus allows us to taste the fruitfulness of unity among God’s people throughout the world.
In order to give more attention and intention to our relationships with other L’Arche communities, we in L’Arche Chicago held a workshop focused on Solidarity in March and spent time sharing and reflecting about our friendships with other L’Arche communities during our most recent community night. We are also work-ing to become more regular in our contact with fellow members of L’Arche, especially using Skype or other digital forms of communication.
We ask for your prayers that through our efforts we will become more present to the six other communi-
ties of the Central Region: Atlanta GA, Harbor House (Jacksonville FL), Mobile AL, Heartland (Kansas City, KS), St. Louis MO, and The Arch in Clinton IA.
We also ask that you keep in your prayers our broth-ers and sisters in El Arca Argentina: Sandra, Maxi, Marquitos, Osvaldo, Dani & Patricia.
Solidarity: Our Answer to a Call
“Behold how good and how pleasant it is for God’s people to
dwell together in unity”Psalm 133:1
Editor’s note: the Federation of L’Arche challenges member communities to participate more fully in Solidarity. L’Arche USA works with member communities to establish relationships both between those communities and with others throughout the world. Each community appoints a Solidarity representative to coordi-nate efforts with their region and with L’Arche USA.
Catherine NorcottSolidarity Representative for L’Arche Chicago
Members of the El Arca community of Buenos Aires, Argentina
L’Arche Chicago at its Solidarity Retreat
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I’ll miss you - please check your Facebook
Mike Marino, Core member
I especially remember the times that Alex lead us in prayer at regional council. I was inspired by
the depth of her spiritual life.
Sr. Maria Zeiman, founding director of L’Arche Chicago & former regional coordinator
Thank you Alex!
Welcoming Ronnie for the short time she was part of L’Arche was a pivotal relationship for Alex. Ronnie was the founding artist at the Arts of Life studio; she joined L’Arche Chicago as a core member in August 2009 and passed away in January 2010. Ronnie’s situation was reminiscent of the original L’Arche in France which welcomed people coming from unsatisfactory institu-tional environments. In just a few months, the changes in Ronnie as a person confirmed the mission of L’Arche: that the simple yet powerful acts of love and care in relationships can indeed transform people. As Alex and the other members of L’Arche Chicago walked with Ronnie to the unexpected end of her life, the community gathered around her, placed their daily lives and concerns on hold, and held her as if she had been
a long time family member. The essentials of mutual relationship come to the surface when life is on the line. While that time was one of grief, love and relationships grew stronger – another testament to the power of L’Arche.
The practice of revealing to people their gifts, telling them what they are good at, and why they are valuable has been an essential and life-giving habit for Alex. Such an intentional practice is done at anniversaries and birthdays and Alex will definitely carry this forward into her own family.
Because the charism of L’Arche still rings true in her heart, Alex intends on staying involved in L’Arche in new ways: perhaps on the Board, perhaps as a financial consultant to families with disabled individuals, and most essentially as a friend. As Elbert so eloquently put it “Even when you leave this job, you’ll still be my friend.”
Many Hats ...continued from page 1
I appreciate Alex’s Faith and Spirituality. She has a gentle and joyful spirit.
Sara Fisher, Assistant
Your steady, consistent presence in our community has blessed us with a picture of faithfulness.
Mic Altena, Interim Director
I’ll miss you - I love you as a friend
Noah Cichon, Core member
Alex brought a love of the L’Arche Mission and great integrity to her role as community leader. The community has grown and become more integrated into the fabric of Chicago life
under her leadership.
Joan Mahler, National Leader, L’Arche USA
We have been blessed by Alex’s dedication and leadership as she has applied her gifts and efforts to the calling as Community Leader. I wish her the best as she moves into
this new phase of her life.
Jim Richards, Board member
I want to thank Alex for the outstanding leadership she has given to L’Arche to
make it what it is today. I wish you well!
Kathy Marino, core member parent and supporter
Alex’s contributions were always attached to her genuine care and tenderness with which she treated everyone. L’Arche core members’ lives were enriched because of her involvement
Tony Abri, core member parent and supporter
We love you, you were a great leader
Elisha Preston, Core member
Alex told the story of L’Arche over and over, month after month, and each month she made it seem like this wondrous event had just happened and we who
were listening to her were part of the coming-to-be of L’Arche. I never got tired of listening,
it was as if she created the world anew each month and wove all of
her listeners into it. I am so grateful for the chance to know Alex.
Linda Preston, parent of core member & supporter
Alex, Your years as community leader of L’Arche-Chicago have been so filled with grace. For me a
key gift has been the many steps you have taken to encourage in core members freedom to do what each one is capable of. It has helped create a community where healthy relationships take root and grow. Thank you for your loving and wise spirit and for the ways you
reflect the dreams of Jean Vanier.
Love, Ted, Beth, & Tim Stone
Alex, You stepped in seven years ago when L’Arche Chicago was in crisis and that was heroic. Your heart for L’Arche, your remarkable
education and your love for each in the extended community have brought us impressively far. We thank Jesus for your vocation to L’Arche! Adieu
Peg O’Brien, volunteer and supporter
Thank you Alex for your time and the cool mini cooper drives. It has been fun
knowing about your time around the world. I hope we can hang out in the future.
Lisa Sinnott, House Coordinator, Angel House
Thank you Alex!
Contrary to popular belief, saints did not become saints because they were perfect. In fact a number of them had serious deficiencies. But they rose above their imperfec-tions by being clear that the most important things in life are to love and care, to treat others with respect, to be fair, and in all humility to stand for what is right. It’s the same with leaders. We are not perfect but we are most effective when we are clear and consistent about what’s most important in life.
Working closely with Alex over the years, I have found that she loves and cares deeply about each and every core member and they know it. They are family and she is their good friend who respects and cares for them so much that they know they can trust her and if
it came to it she would go to the mat for them. In L’Arche and in the rest of life things change and
there comes a time to move on. Our community has grown under Alex’s leadership and so has she. Both she and L’Arche are now stronger and more capable of meeting what life has in store for us. We wish Alex and her husband Adam the blessings of a rich life together and a family of their own. And we look forward to her continuing to be a member of our community in what-ever way possible. Please take the time to personally thank Alex for her years of dedication and for the many personal sacrifices she has made in order to lead us.
During the interim before a new Leader is selected, I want to thank the house coordinators, assistants and staff for their dedication and hard work; the Discern-ment Team that is spearheading the search for the new Leader, and my Transition Management teammates Michael Altena of L’Arche Chicago and Stacy Cates-Carney, our Community Accompanier. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.
Donn RaabePresident, Board of Directors of L’Arche Chicago
Thank you, Alex, for your time and dedication to L’Arche Chicago!! Your impact will be felt for years to come!
Where ever God leads you will be a better place because you’re there! Wishing you
peace, love and lots of jellybeans!!!
Rebekah Flores, Program Coordinator
I find Alex to be a great listener, and to also ask astute questions, which
shows her humble, learning posture.
Nick Connell, Regional Leader L’Arche USA Central
Region
She got me my job, and gave me a place on the board. She
does nice things for me.
Elbert Lott, Core member
I’m gonna miss you. I hope she comes back to see us
Jean Wilson, Core member
We have been blessed by Alex’s dedication and leadership as she has applied her gifts and efforts to the calling as Community Leader. I wish her the best as she moves into
this new phase of her life.
Jim Richards, Board member
Alex is a peaceful steady presence. Full of kindness.
MarySusan Chen, volunteer and supporter
Alex, thank you for giving yourself through relationship, opening yourself and sharing from
the deep part of your heart for God for all the time you have been part of
L’Arche - best wishes!
Philip Cordes, House Coordinator, Interfaith House
Early in her role, Alex’s gifts of clarity and vision helped to guide the community into receiving state funding and then later in her role those same gifts helped to guide the community into becoming a confirmed
member in the Federation of L’Arche. Thanks, Alex, for giving your gifts to L’Arche for seven years.
Jo Anne Horstmann, former Central U.S. Regional Coordinator
It’s hard to say good bye, and make a change. Miss seeing you at Arts of Life and glad you
like my paintings.
Christianne Msall, Core memberI am grateful to Alex for helping to guide the Ark of L’Arche Chicago through a stormy transition in 2006-2007. L’Arche
Chicago’s success is due in no small part to her achievements and gifts as a leader and friend. I am so happy that she took up
her calling to life with L’Arche in Chicago.
Brendan Crowe, former assistant
Alex, we will miss you. Peace,
Joe Koller, Treasurer and Board member
President’s Corner
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Tom Van Winkle, Executive Director of the Oak Park Animal Care League, received the Arlene Bozek Vision Award. Arlene Bozek was to be the first assistant at L’Arche Chicago but passed away shortly before the community established its first home; she
was inspired by a vibrant vision of an inclusive future for persons with disabilities. This award is for those who are similarly inspired in their work for persons with disabilities.
Tom notes that a staff diverse in abilities both physical and mental helps the Animal Care League better understand animals’ true personalities and reactions to situations, thus leading to better adoptions; the animals also meet a wide range of people and become more comfortable with new situations. Tom recognized core member Chris’ passion for dogs and cats and his willingness to work hard to take care of them and gave Chris a chance. Thanks to Tom, Chris progressed rapidly from being a new volunteer to a paid and trusted regular staff member.
You can learn more about the Oak Park Animal Care League at www.animalcareleague.org
The Peacebuilders Initiative team received our Elbert Lott Service Award. Service to others is important to founding core member Elbert Lott. This award is for those who exemplify service to the L’Arche Chicago community.
The Peacebuilders’ Initiative seeks to prepare Catholic
youth for active leadership roles in peacemaking, reconciliation and conflict transfor-mation in their communities and inspire them to consider ministry as a life choice. The team spent a week of their summer redoing the back porch at L’Arche’s Angel House. Beyond simply accomplishing the work, they took time to building mutual relationships with the core members and assistants.
You can learn more about the Peacebuilders Initiative at www.peacebuildersinitiative.org
Melody Cibock received the Veronica Cuculich Award for a great impact in a short time.Veronica (Ronnie) Cuculich, the founding artist of the Arts of Life, joined our community in August 2009 and passed away in January 2010. This award is for those like Ronnie who made a transforming impact upon our community in a very short space of time.
Melody joined our community in the fall of 2012 as a Schweitzer Fellow, part of a cohort of recipients dedicated to improving the health of vulnerable people now and for the future. Melody has developed strong relationships with our core members and assistant as a friend and advocate. With her professional background in nursing, Melody has encouraged and mentored the community in areas of health and wellness.
L’Arche Chicago Honors Friends at Annual Valentine’s Day Brunch
Tom Van Winkle with Chris Abri
Melody with core member Jean Wilson
L’Arche Chicago is still a small community, but we have been blessed from the beginning with an extraordinarily large number of friends. Members of this extended community are an integral part of our mission. At our 2013 Valentines’ Day brunch, we took the opportu-nity to honor three of these faithful contributors with awards that we present annually.
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L’Arche Chicago takes its charism of being a sign seriously. We engage the wider disabilities community both to learn how we can better live our mission and to share what we live. This year core members Tim and Mike, program coordinator Rebekah and Liz Longo and David Krueger from Arts of Life were invited to present a workshop at the annual ARC of Illinois Conference held in Lisle. The conference is attended by representatives of the State of Illinois, various community providers, self-advocates, parents, and many others. Rebekah and Liz share their experiences.
Rebekah Flores: What a great experience! It was a great opportunity to share the L’Arche story and network with other professionals.
Our presentation was called “Living out Person-Cen-tered Planning Daily.” Person-Centered Planning means focusing on the wants and desires of persons receiving services instead of simply planning for them. While this practice is second nature at L’Arche, it is still a dream for many providers in the state.
We talked about L’Arche and Arts of Life and how our programs focused on serving the whole person. We spoke about how Person-Centered Planning affects every person in the whole community, including themselves. This was an opportunity for L’Arche to be a SIGN to other providers of what truly Person-Centered Planning can look like
It was standing room only as we shared why we love our communities. Mike and Tim spoke from the heart and they were amazing!! Following the presentation,
a parent came to me with tears in her eyes, saying, “I was so afraid there was nothing for my children after high school. Now I have hope! Thank you!”
As a bonus, Tim was approached by Vicki Niswander from Disability Beat Radio. On May 17, Tim and L’Arche assistant Alison were interviewed by Vicki for her weekly broadcast about Tim’s dream of owning and managing his own coffee business. You can listen to the interview here: www.disabilitybeat.com/MP3s/tim.stone.mp3
Liz Longo: Looking back, I’m not sure how often we used the words, “Person-Centered Planning” as we were busy sharing stories of our friendship and community. We each took a turn to speak on how the experience of being a part of our communities had impacted us in positive ways.
Each of our stories were similar, regardless of disability. Being accepted with open arms by both The Arts of Life and L’Arche Chicago has made us all more confidant, open, happy people. We spoke about how our self esteem and friendships have grown through our work and living situation. We spoke about how we support each other by respecting each other as individuals. As staff members we support our artists and core members by developing friendships, and getting to know each person.
Although we steered away from overusing the formal terminology of “Person-Centered Planning”, our positive experiences reflect this in the best way.
To learn more about the ARC of Illinois, go to www.thearcofil.org
L’Arche Advocacy: Invited Presenters at the ARC of Illinois Conference
Melody with core member Jean Wilson
Assistants Anne & Phil
Thanks to the initiative of assistant Anne Peloquin, some hard work from others in the community, and a generous grant from Home Depot, Angel House is ready to begin planting in a set of raised beds set up in the backyard.
Throughout the last year, assistants Alison and Anne talked about having our own garden. According to Anne, they “thought that having our own garden would be a good way to permit healthy eating as well as provide an activity for the house to do together and beautify the backyard.”
Our regional coordinator, Nick Connell, got excited by the idea and invited Christianne, Chris, Alison, and Anne over to his home in Evanston to start some shoots for the garden.
Thanks to a generous back-yard improvement grant from Home Depot, we were able to obtain the wood and other materials necessary to set up the raised beds.
We’re hoping and praying for a bounteous harvest this summer and fall!
L’Arche Gardens
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L’Arche Chicago2010 W. Carroll AveChicago, IL 60612www.larchechicago.org
L’Arche Chicago is a community of faith where life is shared between people with and without intellectual disabilities.
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Our IdentityWe are people with and without developmental disabilities sharing life in communities of faith.
Mutual relationships and trust in God are at the heart of our life together.
We seek to build a world that recognizes the unique value of every person and our need for one another.
J O I N U SFOR AN AFTERNOON CELEBRATINGRELATIONSHIP · TRANSFORMATION · SIGN1 3 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y D I N N E R
SUNDAY, JULY 14, 2013 · 3:30 PM – 5:30 PMWHITE EAGLE BANQUETS · 6839 N MILWAUKEE AVE, NILES, IL 60714
TICKETS START AT $65, AND ARE AVAILABLE AT LARCHECHICAGO.ORG/EVENTS OR BY CALLING (312) 226-1273. PLEASE RSVP BY JULY 1.
