Dear Friends,
It is with great joy that I write to you from Durham, North Carolina. Over the past two months, I have worked remotely from my previous home in California. On Sunday, my wife and I, with our two dogs, arrived in the Triangle area after a five-day road trip across the country. I am grateful for the opportunity to have begun this work while still living on the West Coast. However, I cannot tell you how excited I am to finally be here! I look forward to social distanced gatherings, exploring potential properties in person, and working with the Board of Directors, volunteers, and future staff members to bring the dream of a L’Arche community in North Carolina into reality. In the meantime, I would love to meet with you. If you’re in the area and would like to connect for an outdoor coffee chat or socially distanced meeting, please email me ([email protected]). If you’re not in the area or prefer to meet on Zoom, I would be happy to set up a call. It would be wonderful to connect with you!
For those who celebrated, I hope and pray you had a wonderful Easter Sunday. I enjoyed viewing photos of Easter celebrations from other L’Arche communities on social media. Through these pictures, I saw friends sharing a meal… I witnessed community members gathering for outdoor worship and prayer… I also spotted some L’Arche accounts with some egg-cellent crafts! With permission, I have included some of the posts below in this letter. All in all, as I scrolled through various social media pages, I caught a glimpse of “L’Arche life” at Easter time, and it filled me with hope and excitement. I look forward to the day when we open the first L’Arche home in North Carolina, and we can share in similar celebrations. With your help, prayers, and support, I know this day will come.
By the same token, in my first two months serving as the Executive Director and Community Leader, it has been a blessing to gather with you and the wider L’Arche community in various spaces online through L’Arche North Carolina meetings and L’Arche USA events. I am also eagerly awaiting our next opportunity to join together for the upcoming gathering on Zoom on April 12th at 6:00pm EDT. I hope you can join us for our virtual event, “A Conversation about Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution” (more information and registration link are shared below beside the image of the Crip Camp movie poster). We are also busy planning some collaborative events for the summer — more information to follow in the upcoming weeks. Likewise, if you or your organization would like to partner with L’Arche North Carolina for a program or prayer night, please let us know. Our goal is to continue to create opportunities for building friendships while we seek to establish the first L’Arche home in the area.
As we continue to map out the road ahead and find unique ways to be together in the midst of the pandemic, I am filled with hope for the future. I am grateful for you and all of the ways you have and continue to support L’Arche North Carolina. You matter!
Peace and blessings,
Laura Steed Lorino
P.S. This letter was included in our April e-newsletter. If you are not currently signed up to receive the latest news from L’Arche NC, click here to subscribe.
