It is a great delight and privilege to have accepted the invitation to be our Community Leader for our new 2023-2028 Mandate.
The Mandate is bold and encouraging, centering on the needs of the community, broadening and deepening our relationships.
It calls us to “strengthen relationships and structures within our homes and community that have been frayed by the pandemic.” It calls us to “cultivate relationships with new and old friends.” And it calls us to “imagine new, purposeful, and innovative ways to grow in the spirit of L’Arche.” (2023-2028 Mandate)
The Mandate is built upon the successes of the last Mandate and the work that each of us as community members has in building L’Arche. For nearly 40 years we have listened and responded to the challenges and opportunities named by our core people, this is central to the next 5 years.
I give thanks for the voices and commitment of our core people, assistants, leaders, friends, and partners who have shaped who we are.
As a community, we have named in the Mandate three areas for focus:
- Strengthen Relationships and Structures Within Our Homes and Community…
Invest in supports that allow our employees, especially assistants and those in house leadership, to feel cared for, re-energized, and have opportunities for growth and skill development. - Cultivate Relationships With New and Long-Term Friends…
Re-establish connections with regular volunteers and friends that have been lost or lessened during the pandemic. - Imagine New and Innovative Ways to Grow in the Spirit of L’Arche…
Explore the feasibility of expanding into new homes, including the Reeves Farmhouse project, within a process that carefully attends to financial resources, appropriate timeframes, and pertinent partnerships.
The Mandate holds much promise and opportunity; it holds an invitation for each of us to shape our future and assure that we, a community, grow from strength to strength centered around the lives of our people in meaningful ways.
As I start this new Mandate, I ask that you hold me accountable, engage in a spirit of partnership, and perhaps most importantly, hold the community and me in your prayers.
My hopes for the Mandate include more people finding belonging in L’Arche’s deep spirituality, mutuality through relationships, and sustainable growth from good stewardship of our shared resources.
I look forward to being able to celebrate our new Mandate with you in person in due course.
In peace and deep gratitude,
Luke
L’Arche GWDC Mandate 2023-2028
As the L’Arche Greater Washington D.C. community, we begin the shared work of our 2023- 2028 Community Mandate with renewed commitment to care for one another, to tend to the spaces we share together, and to pursue sustainable growth that nurtures and feeds our community.
This work finds roots in our mission and the rich spiritual life of our community. It is also set within our tentative yet eager emergence from the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. We have strong roots that have grown stronger even in the difficult time of keeping each other safe. This foundation needs continued tending. We have also made progress towards key parts of our previous mandate, such as responding to the needs of aging core members, building a successful executive leadership team, achieving financial sustainability, and ensuring the thriving and happiness of our core members. The new mandate calls us to build on our successes to date while prioritizing our internal needs. It calls us to strengthen relationships and structures within our homes and community that have been frayed by the pandemic. It calls us to cultivate relationships with new and old friends. And it calls us to imagine new, purposeful, and innovative ways to grow in the spirit of L’Arche.
This mandate shares the direction and dreams of our community in a broad way and, guided by our Board of Directors and Community Leader, it will be made measurable through strategic planning.
Together, the L’Arche Greater Washington D.C. community will:
1. Strengthen Relationships and Structures Within Our Homes and Community…
- Invest in supports that allow our employees, especially assistants and those in house leadership, to feel cared for, re-energized, and have opportunities for growth and skill development.
- Strengthen and support channels of communication between members of the office and each home.
- Audit our homes and properties to assess and commit to necessary improvements that meet the community’s current and pending needs related to maintenance and care, accessibility, and supporting aging core members.
- Led by the ongoing work of the Inclusion Party Team and the Diversity Commission, embed everything we do, including our approach to leadership, within a culture of diversity and inclusion.
2. Cultivate Relationships With New and Long-Term Friends…
- Re-establish connections with regular volunteers and friends that have been lost or lessened during the pandemic.
- Take small, relational steps to connect with local spiritual communities, neighbors, and neighborhoods near our homes and office. Allow those connections to further natural supports for the community.
- Cultivate relationships that allow us to deepen our diversity and strengthen our advocacy skills with and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
- Connect and collaborate with partner entities that help us grow our skill and competency in meeting the needs of aging core members.
- Rekindle relationships with other L’Arche communities in the Federation.
3. Imagine New and Innovative Ways to Grow in the Spirit of L’Arche…
- Explore the feasibility of expanding into new homes, including the Reeves Farmhouse project, within a process that carefully attends to financial resources, appropriate timeframes, and pertinent partnerships.
- Commit to conversations that help imagine creative ways to serve and be served by people with disabilities that don’t live in a L’Arche home.
- Empower our volunteers, board members, and friends to share stories that communicate what we’re learning, build our network, and deepen our impact.
