Listening to voices of love

I'm not a crowd counter, but I would guess that more than 4000 people gathered near the steps of the Alberta Legislature on Monday night, and thousands more continue to gather in other cities and towns across Canada to stand in solidarity with our grieving Muslim communities. Six of our Muslim brothers in Quebec City, members of our human family -- a computer programmer, a university professor, a pharmacist's aide, a Hallal shop keeper and two newcomers to Canada who were fathers and husbands and brothers and uncles and friends -- died when a university student shot them after their evening prayers on Sunday night.

It's not much of a stretch to link the events in Quebec to the fear and lies being spread by certain politicians in our midst who are focused on closing our borders to immigrants and refugees. It hurts to listen to them create undue fear and insult those who simply want to live in peace and security by insinuating that they are terrorists -- to the point that I'm finding it harder to listen to the news for all the political lies and finger-pointing we have to wade through to get to the real stories of families who are often fleeing terrible situations for a better life with us here. Perhaps you've seen this list from the American Centre for Disease Control already, the point being that terrorism is a poor excuse for closing borders:

Such stupid excuses to close borders are enough to make anyone lose heart. Thankfully, a friend of mine from work was doing a Toastmasters presentation last night and she reminded me why I need to continue to pay attention. We spent some time chatting about how a book called Becoming Human dragged her from her home in Aleppo, Syria, nine years ago to come to Canada and join L'Arche, a community that helps people with and without disabilities to belong with and to each other. She reminded me of the L'Arche dream to "build a world where everyone belongs," and in the process, she put the heart back into me. I realized that shutting out the world only allows the wrong rhetoric to gain strength. I need to be aware and to refute it every chance I get. Even with these moodlings.

I'm not sure how we can convince those who are living in fear of immigrants and refugees to believe that everyone belongs -- except to invite them into relationship and to treat them with such tenderness that their fear is banished. It takes time and effort, but most Muslim members of our human family seem to be more than willing to show us the way, laying down their own anger and anxiety to reach out and invite us in to be with them in peace and to pray with them. On my way home from work, I pass a mosque that has thrown up a sign since the shooting inviting passersby to get to know Islam. They are living proof of the words spoken by one Muslim man to our mayor: "We Muslims hear whispers of hate, but we just listen to voices of love."

Every single person on the planet is called to listen to voices of love and to build a world where everyone belongs. So what will you do to help?

The L'Arche AGM has me thinking...

For the past six months or so, my visits to my workplace have been rare, because I'm in the so-called enviable position of working from home. Trying to write the 40-year history of our L'Arche community requires a lot of concentration, and sharing the office at the Community Centre with two others and friends from the Day Program (Thomas, Sandy, Harry, Glen* and others) who stop by to chat, while enjoyable, isn't exactly conducive to the kind of word wrestling I've been doing of late. To put it plainly, I write better at home, without interruptions.

But the last couple of weeks, I've enjoyed going to work more frequently because of preparations for yesterday's Annual General Meeting. There were stakeholder packages to prepare and mail out, new documents to be copied for the Board members' binders, files to be organized, and the Day Program to be commissioned to make special, coloured and laminated voting cards for all our voting members to wave during our voting procedures. Besides accomplishing these things, I made one special trip on Tuesday to bring Shadow, our puppy, to meet my Day Program friends, at which time he was immediately scooped up and loved by Leanne. At last night's meeting she asked me, "How's your doggie?"

Yesterday was a busier than average day for me (for which I'm paying with dizziness today), but it reminded me why I love L'Arche so much. From a conversation with a colleague who was hoping I'd apply for an internally posted position, to an unexpected hug from Leanne, to a fond farewell to two Board members who have been amazing, to a powerpoint that was deeply touching and had our community leader sniffling as she tried to go on with other community presentations, it was a lovely day.

There were three moments/events in particular that really touched me. The first was the presentation by Shalom house about how they like to pray. They have been faithful participants in the "A Taste of Taizé Prayer" nights that I've been organizing for the past few years... and last night, they held their own version of Taizé Prayer, encouraging everyone at the AGM to sing and pray along with them to this video of Ubi Caritas:

I'll admit that a tear trickled down my cheek. I had been musing about moving our Taizé  Prayer to other parts of the city, but seeing how much Shalom House (and others in L'Arche) appreciate being able to attend, I'm rethinking that idea. Somehow, we'll have to continue in the southeast, perhaps in different churches, so Shalom can continue to join us.

The second special moment was when one of our non-verbal core members was invited to present a farewell gift to one of the board members whom he has known for many years, and included a heartfelt hug. Frank might not be able to speak, but the message in that embrace was clear to everyone present, and I'm sure it was how we were all feeling towards Norm and Dan, plus a little extra on Frank's part. Norm is his buddy...

The final moment was a simple gesture by Bill, the founding member of our community. When he saw me come into the room for refreshments after the meeting, he patted the seat beside him to say, "Come sit here," in his warm and welcoming way. So I sat and chatted with him for a few minutes. Bill is the core member who most reminds me of my uncle Louis, and I was happy just to sit quietly with him when our conversation ran out.

All of these moments have me thinking about all the good things at work that I miss while working in solitude. I'm more efficient here, but is it really that enviable to work from home? I'm thinking, not always.

* I use pseudonyms online for all my L'Arche friends.

Belonging

Did you know that December 3rd is the 30th United Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities?

In its honour, I've decided to moodle about my L'Arche friend, Lizzie (a pseudonym for internet purposes). Lizzie has been part of the L'Arche community for as long as I've known it. She has striking auburn hair and a huge smile, and she loves people. She's one of our community's meeters and greeters. If you come to one of our events, you can't miss her for her level of enthusiasm and excitement.

Just over a month ago, something special happened for Lizzie, as she was celebrated as a confirmed member of L'Arche Edmonton. She went through a special process to determine whether she felt a sense of belonging to the community, to discern whether she felt called to live in L'Arche as a long-term vocation, and to discover how she planned to help her community to grow. She was confirmed in her calling as a member, and we celebrated her membership at our General Body Meeting in October.

What a celebration it was! As it happened, we had quite a few visitors and guests from the L'Arche Western Region present, and Lizzie's sister came, too. What really stood out for me was Lizzie's excitement, even before the meeting began. Though she had lived in the community for many years, this was a special step, and she knew it! She was more than ready and willing to become a confirmed member. When it came time for the membership ceremony, Lizzie was invited to stand in the middle of the room, and before she was asked if she really wanted to be a member, even before the question was on the lips of the person who was to ask it, Lizzie announced loudly, "Yes! Yes I do. I wanna be a member." Everyone present had to smile, and Lizzie's great joy filled the room and all of us as we sang a blessing over her a few moments later.

Belonging to a community or a family is never easy. It requires commitment and determination to get through the rough spots, tireless communication, and a perpetual willingness to forgive and ask forgiveness.

It can be difficult for people with developmental disabilities to make friends and feel that sense of belonging where our deepest selves can grow into fullness of life. So the L'Arche Association has come up with a neat little website, called iBelong (click on the graphic if you'd like to check it out), a place where people with developmental disabilities and those who support them can find information, and share stories and experiences. I haven't explored it fully, but it seems like an excellent resource, in both of Canada's official languages.

At Lizzie's membership celebration, it was clear that Lizzie has found her place of belonging in L'Arche. Would that everyone was so fortunate! L'Arche is a place of welcome and belonging for many people, including me, and I feel so blest to be part of it! If you're interested in becoming involved, check out that tab on the new website...

Happy International Day of Persons with Disabilities! And have a good weekend.