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Saturday 6 November 2021 17:30. KM 13580. Le Mans, France.
Matthieu has gathered some friends. We see them rising up at the end of the street, forming a hedge of honour across the path. Like a symbol of the end of our road. The end of 4 months of meetings, lights, joys, new languages, inspiring communities. 4 months of discovering the history of Europe. 4 months of quests, of trust and of Grace.
One month later, we are still trying to put our steps back into those of an ordinary life. Not so obvious. We had become accustomed to living from meetings every day. Giving and receiving. We take the first opportunity to continue this journey at the workshop of L'Arche de La Ruisselée. To see our friends again. To extend the time.
The utopia of this journey in covid time had become our new normal. To choose a unique path. Our own. Just being ourselves with our friends. Some friends tell us that coming back is often difficult. But what coming back are they talking about? Going on the road meant answering fundamental questions, understanding L'Arche, leaving our daily lives behind, in order to return enriched, inspired and in motion. The reality is more brutal. The people you saw leaving never came back. This journey has transformed us, deeply, step by step, in the manner of the diction that says "L'Arche changes the world heart by heart". In Le Mans, we feel a bit lost. We question our lives, our choices, our habits, our businesses. How can we shine with all the light we have received?
This project was a utopia that became reality. The stage that lies ahead cannot be otherwise. Thanks to all of you who have supported us, sent us and welcomed us, thanks to Him who has smoothed our path every day, we have started a journey where we have discovered ourselves to be authentic and alive. We want to continue on this path, guided by this utopia, in the weeks and years to come.
What will you find if you walk a part of this path with us?
Meetings, of course. Time spent being together and doing together. Luminous evidence that each person is useful, that their fragilities reveal the humanity of those who come into relationship with them. Concrete, manual activities, anchored in a real world. Attempts, resilience, because nobody is perfect, and that's fine.
There will be bridges between places, between organisations, without competition, links between people because each one has his own path. There will be an unconditional welcome, talents that emerge. And we will be here and now, in our own way, at the heart of a multitude of small worlds to be harmonised, with people of good will.
This utopia is inspired by the models that have inspired us along our way. Gedas from Kaunas (Lithuania) and his patient transformation of a half-day workshop into a living and dynamic community. This shop in Osnabrück (Germany), where you can find wooden toys, second hand clothes, a tea room, a book box and a sewing workshop. L'Arche's Katimavik day care boutique restaurant in Lyon (France), of course. This community in Lille that is reinventing itself in the manner of ... liberated companies. Cal Sabata, this guesthouse in L'Estany (Spain) where we imagined we could one day join a shared living home. And swiloh.com, of course!
Christine and Vincent Porte
Rencontrer L'Arche (Meeting L’Arche)
New Lives to Live Together