version π¨π΅ π§πͺ | π¬π§ version | π©πͺ version | versiΓ³n πͺπ¦ | wersja π΅π± | πΊπ¦ kalba | π±πΉ versija
Dear friends,
Preparing a trip in covid weather spices things up a bit. The pandemic makes it possible to follow school lessons at a distance for a few months. It also makes it more difficult to plan the project several months in advance. This is fortunate, as Laurence, our contact at L'Arche International, explains very well why our trip, our "Buddies in Europe Tour", should not be too planned, to let us be touched by the encounters to come.
The covid is also a challenge for the communities that accept to open their doors to us. This is how we meet Gertrud Nicola, co-leader of the community of Tecklenburg in Northern Germany.
Tecklenburg, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland, is a town of about 10'000 inhabitants, between MΓΌnster and OsnabrΓΌck. It is known for its medieval streets, its forests and its open-air theatre. It is about 100 km away from Paderborn, which is twinned with Le Mans.
Gertrud joined the L'Arche community in Tecklenburg about ten years ago, after 16 years in the community of Trosly (FR) and a diversion from the classical professional world to experience "something else".
Gertrud welcomes us on video to get to know each other and to talk about the time we will be with the Community.
The Tecklenburg Homes
The Community welcomes 18 core-members in 3 homes. The two latest arrivals are 18 and 50 years old, and are having their first community experience. Conversely, Antje is the memory of her home, which she joined shortly after the founding of the Community. We listen with pleasure to her recounting her memories during Tecklenburg's 35th anniversary party.
The community has a total of 45 members, including 3 families, not counting friends and associate members who see her less often since the covid.
The Workshop in connection with Tecklenburg
3 core-members are now retired and stay in the Community by the day. Gertrud tells us that they have the talent to make beautiful soaps. The other 15 work in the adapted workshop 4 km away, often doing subcontracting work.
This workshop was created by the founder of the Tecklenburg Community. The links between them are naturally strong. For example, he allowed the first leader of the Community to get closer to Tecklenburg by employing her through the workshop.
Rituals and Pearls
After the workshop, at about 3.30-4.00 pm, the core-members meet for a snack and to tell each other about their day, before the daily evening prayer. Outside of covid, guests are welcome for dinner, which is much simpler than a French dinner, says Gertrud. The community also meets for a weekly prayer time, an ecumenical prayer and a prayer that calms, in Gertrud's words, where the faith and the differences of each person find their place.
Community life, living and doing together, is an essential point for the Community. She participated in the work of the Federation of L'Arche International to collect the "pearls" of each Community in order to rewrite the Charter of the Federation. The "Pearls", like a necklace, are those small treasures that, when assembled together, reveal the beauty of the Communities. These "Pearls" are everything that gives us life, but also everything that takes life away.
Through this journey, we see ourselves as simple visitors, passing from community to community, ideally to contribute to strengthening the links that unite them, like a red thread, like the thread of a necklace. Coincidence or not, our project is very much in the spirit of the Federation in Gertrud's eyes.
The Meetings
Our journey is a project in time where covid prevents projects. We will have to invent adapted forms of meetings with the communities. Luckily, the core members of the communities we visited are all vaccinated or almost. The month of August in Tecklenburg will also be favourable for external meetings. These could take the form of shared dinners prepared together at the weekend, discussions with assistants to understand why they have come to L'Arche and why they stay, and time to maintain and embellish the gardens of the homes.
Speaking all languages
The other challenge besides the covid. Gertrud speaks very fluent French and tries to reassure us that core members, language or no language, will come to meet us. Julia, an assistant, also speaks French and the Community uses pictograms to communicate with a hearing impaired core-member. Let's bet that our first non-French speaking stage will reveal unexpected talents and solutions.
We have also just learned that one of the teachers at BarthΓ©lΓ©my's school (aged 6) uses makaton gestures to communicate with some of her pupils. Perhaps we can start practising before we leave.
Plan but not too much
Each dialogue with our contact in the Communities allows us to prepare our passage. At the time of writing, we are planning to be with the Brussels Community from 17 July to 1 August, and then with Tecklenburg from 8 to 22 August. Next stops : Poznan and Vilnius.
Thank you Gertrud for your time in preparing our visit. Thank you also for your kind words and smiles to tame BarthΓ©lΓ©my during the video. Take care in Tecklenburg and see you soon,
Tecklenburg, to be loved the way you are.
Share this post