L’Arche NC House Blessing & Ribbon Cutting
We had over 90 people join us a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the L’Arche House for the House Blessing & Ribbon Cutting Ceremony! We were especially grateful to have former board members, and those who helped shape this vision over a decade ago, with us at our wonderful L’Arche home south Durham. Their dedication has truly made a difference! Check out this reel on Facebook or Instagram.
We were thrilled to welcome L’Arche USA staff, including Laura Giddings, the Executive Director of L’Arche USA and Thomas Marquis, Manager of Community Support & Learning. Other L’Arche communities were present for this exciting occassion, too, including Katie Miyakado from L’Arche Tacoma and Dustin Barrington from L’Arche Northern Colorado. The connections of L’Arche across the country were truly felt!
Thank you to all our L’Arche friends, community partners, and supporters for, not only joining us, but making this day possible. Your presence, financial support, prayers, and many volunteers hours have made this house a home!
*Special thanks to Mark Evans for capturing these photos during the ceremony.
House Blessing
Leader 1: We gather here today to bless this home, a place where love, inclusion, and community will flourish.
All: May this home be filled with joy and peace.
Leader 2: This plate represents the dining room, where meals will be shared. May the conversations around this table be filled with laughter, understanding, and friendship.
All: May this home be filled with joy and peace.
Leader 3: This mixer represents the kitchen, a space where meals will be lovingly prepared together. May the act of cooking inspire togetherness, creativity, and the joy of serving one another.
All: May this home be filled with joy and peace.
Leader 4: This pillow represents the bedrooms of our Core Members and Assistants. Each room is a sanctuary for rest and reflection. May we honor the unique gifts read more
Our New Website
Check out information about our site redesign!
You’re Never The Same
At my first prayer service at L'Arche, a long-term assistant welcomed me and said, "Be careful. L'Arche gets in your blood, and you're never the same." 26 years later, I still affirm that she was right. L'Arche is so much a part of me that it's like it's "in my blood."
Welcome Tatum Tricarico, our new Disability & Theology Intern
This month, we welcomed a Duke Divinity School Intern to L'Arche North Carolina. We are excited to introduce Tatum Tricarico.
Passion & Gifts
by Tammy Breeding, Board Chair L'Arche Fort Collins Recently I attended an event entitled “Y'all Belong Here.” It is an inclusive sacred space event collaboration by L’Arche Atlanta and L’Arche North Carolina. I love to attend, to make time in the midst of a busy day for a “soul break”, to focus on gratitude. The theme was Passion & Gifts. We were invited to ask ourselves questions, such as “What do you Love?”, “What are you good at?”, and “How can you use your gifts to benefit the world around you?”. For me, I love children, nature, music, and faith. I am good at collaboration, singing, organization, and communication. I can use my gifts to benefit the world around me through my involvement in L’Arche. I find that the more I receive from L’Arche, the more I want to give back to L’Arche. I have a son with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and one of the things I love about him is his childlike approach to life. When I look at the world through his eyes, I get in touch with my own inner child, and experience joy read more
A Welcome Like No Other
Last month, I had the opportunity to visit L'Arche Atlanta for a couple of days. Before I tell you about this amazing community, I'd love to share briefly-ish how I came to work for L'Arche North Carolina.
What a Ball!
Our L'Arche Community is growing! We had some new friends and familiar faces gather at the Durham Bulls game on Friday, August 12. We had a total of 29 people join us as we cheered on the Durham Bulls! Our enthusiastic cheers helped the Bulls win against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Winning was fun, but the best part of the evening was getting to know new friends. The night ended with fireworks -- which was fitting because we all had a BLAST! This community gathering was made possible by grant funds from the NCCDD Summer Program Grant. We are grateful for the ways these funds have helped provide opportunities to be and learn together.
Sharing about L’Arche
We love visitng local congregations and organizations! Yesterday L'Arche was at Raleigh Mennonite Church. We visited with Liddy Grantland, who graduated from Duke University and now serves the L'Arche GWDC (Greater Washington D.C) community. She delivered a sermon during the service with L'Arche stories, reflections, and wisdom. You can listen to her sermon here. Through Liddy's stories, you can learn more about L'Arche. As she shares about her community, we invite you to consider supporting L'Arche GWDC, but in prayer and gifts. Likewise, as you listen, dream with us about the L'Arche Community we are building here in the Triangle Area. During the service, we also had the opportunity to share some of the gifts of L'Arche North Carolina. Kyla, a regular volunteer and participant of L'Arche NC, shared a poem and Laura provided image description of the slides. It's always a blessing to be in community with local congregations. We'd love to visit you and your religious, nonfaith, or civic group. Please email Laurasl@larchenc.org to plan a L'Arche NC visit to your club or organization.
What a SAILABRATION: a recap of our 2022 breakfast fundraiser
On Saturday, July 23 we held a L'Arche NC SAILABRATION Breakfast at Duke Memorial UMC in Durham. We had pancakes, music, and a mini boat regatta! This gathering celebrated our growing community. It provided an opportunity for friends (new and old) to come together for fun. Thank you to everyone who joined us. It was so much to create and watch the regatta race. Congrats to Kevin for winning the Fastest Boat Award and Dash for winning Best of Show. During our morning together, our Executive Director, Laura Steed Lorino, asked audience members, "What are you celebrating this month? There is always something to celebrate!" Some attendees shared of new jobs, others shared about their anniversary, while others focused on recent accomplishments. At L'Arche, we CELEBRATE! And, we continue to celebrate the community that is growing in the Triangle Area of North Carolina. THANK YOU for being a part of it. Our breakfast also meant that we could share more about the mission and vision of L'Arche NC. We are excited for our future! L'Arche staff, read more
