Will You Be My Friend? A First Glimpse at the Allotment

I spent two hours in accident and emergency two Sundays ago. "Sciatica" they said, "likely to last for months." Thank God it didn’t.

For the few days when my physical needs were all that I could think about I got a brief glimpse of the riches I so often take for granted. Health is wealth and friendship is the only thing that matters.

Everything I needed was given. People fetched and carried, did my dishes, made me tea, carried my bags and generally kept an eye that I had everything I needed. I HATE being needy and I don’t accept help graciously but in the end I guess that all of this is the universal language of friendship.

We say that the secret of L’Arche is relationship. One day Thomas asked ‘What’s that mean? After my awkward explanation Thomas exclaimed: "Ah…I know now – its about Friends!" Our ‘Field’ project comes out of a longing for more space and a way of being together so we can welcome new friends into our lives. We want to create a space of welcome, work & hospitality to those who come where, together, we can nurture friendship and cultivate community.This year we are choosing to make ‘friendship’ the focus of our planning & actions. Already in January old and new friendships are beginning to bloom. Like me, some people in the community have been connected with their friends through personal and family illness and we have also started on a journey of friendship with a few people in a local hospital. We will have a Craft Weekend in early Summer and we hope that friends from far and wide can come and participate and we are re-awakening our friendships with other communities and organisations with similar aspirations to ours. Finally … TODAY– the first day of the Celtic Spring, Scott and I met David who showed us our Vista allotment where we will be cultivating food and friendship in the future. What friends we have in the world. We are lucky indeed.