Living this day

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has

enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

 

The past six months have been tumultuous times here in L’Arche Belfast. Changing leadership,

re-creating our office space to accommodate a team of 6 rather than 2, moving to a new “Ark”

(volunteer house) over the Christmas holiday, and preparing to say farewell to several beloved long-

term assistants were among the many transitions we’ve experienced. I began to fear going in to

the office on a Monday morning, as each week seemed to bring new and unexpected (and often

unwelcome!) challenges that piled themselves on top of the already busy day-to-day life of the

community.

 

However, every cloud has a silver lining. The past six months have also highlighted the role that the

core members have at the heart of our community. As the leadership team and assistants struggled

at times to keep our heads above the chaos, Thomas, Larry, Jillian, May, and Matthew provided a

sense of stability in the midst of it, assuring us in their own ways that everything would be fine, and

that the life of the community would continue to carry on regardless of the current tribulations. At

our Monday morning prayers in the community, we often talk about giving ourselves up to God,

and trusting that everything that happens is a part of God’s plan for the world. However, this is

much easier to speak than it is to believe, especially in times of crisis. I am grateful for the wisdom

of our core members, who constantly remind me to live each day as it comes, and to take time to

appreciate the small joys that life brings, even in hard times.

--Scott

At the end of November we celebrated American Thanksgiving with lots of food, festive hats and good friends.    There was much to be thankful for after a year of growth and great experiences in the community.  From new and old friendships, to holidays here and abroad, to new jobs, to God's faithfulness and plenty of food, we were one thankful bunch.

20 people enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner in 'The Ark'.

Octavia and Aodh waiting for the yummy food to be served.

The Pilgrims and the Indians don't always get along......

Check out the videos and photos from our 'Spooky New York' Halloween Party! It was filled with good fun, good food and good people!   Can you tell who everyone is suppose to be?  Can you find the business man, the mechanic, the ghost, the gangster and the cop?

Root Soup

Root Soup has continued and prosper over the past year.  Micah, the Root Soup coordinator, has put together quite a few videos that explain a lot better than me what happens.  Check them out!

Check out the Root Soup Website for more information!

Highlights Video from Community Holiday in County Cavan

Beautiful Beautiful!

Beautiful Beautiful

Jesus is beautiful

And Jesus makes beautiful

Things of my life

Tenderly

Touching me

Making my eyes to see

That Jesus makes beautiful

Things of my life!

Maria's May Musings

“Cogar i leith chugam anois agus éist go fóill” - Whisper here to me now and listen for a while…

Just the other day, a friend and I drove around Belfast noticing the spaces in North, South, East and West where L’Arche has a connection or a presence. She was astonished how something so tiny could ever be so big. Passing ‘The Loom‘ on the Crumlin Road where Thomas, with his coloured ‘Bible Book’, faithfully weaves relationships with others through prayer at 7am every Monday morning, it struck me that what L’Arche is essentially about is listening for the whisper of what is powerful and not useful and being with what is worthy of being with.

Something is useless if you can’t use it or so it is said. We often apply the same principle to people. If they don’t fit on a production line or consume what comes off a production line they too are considered useless. We don’t understand how they can really matter and humans have a habit of invalidating that which we don’t understand. In our eyes people who seem useless become invalid people. In another era, invalid was the term used for disability.

After our Belfast L’Arche tour, my friend and I returned to the Ember and, there in his usual spot, Larry was standing at the gate waiting for us. I asked him to introduce himself to Ann. “Larry what shows up in our house because you are there?” – he answered – ‘Happy’. Yes indeed, ‘Happy’ surely shows up in the world because Larry is here, faithful friendship through Thomas, beauty through Jillian, kindness through Matthew and lovability through May! Through the filter of our utilitarian worldview I wonder how many of us could describe ourselves so humbly and so powerfully. How many of us would measure our value through what gets generated through our lives instead of what we produce.

I heard it said once “to commit our lives to a purpose bigger than our lives … is the context for ecstasy”. Larry lives that kind of ecstasy. His whole life is such a commitment. He is unstoppable in ‘Happy’ing the world. He has given his life to it. It is who he is. Most of us who know Larry would say that it is not related to his doing but rather through the quality of attention he gives and the relationships he creates. Larry ‘IS’ that we are happy.

In our world of recession talk of diminishing production and consumption, it is likely that many people experience themselves as useless and in their shame they become invalid and voiceless. If we have eyes to see, people like Larry, Jillian, Thomas, Christian, May, Matthew, Helen, Paul, David, Adam, Lisa…can be the unlikely leaders of our times. They know a truth and a purpose bigger than our capacity to do and they are an unshakeable force for the transformation of our world through love. Though they use few words they are not the voiceless ones. They do, however, have the authority to speak in the name of all the voiceless people and into the hearts of all of us, who in one way or another live in fear that any day we too could become useless, voiceless or …God forbid, invalid!

It’s good to be reminded that ‘Usefulness” is, in fact, only the booby prize. It is something altogether different that truly matters and makes all the difference.