New Charter Process for L’Arche

Charters are fundamental documents to any group. L’Arche’s current charter was written in 1993 by assistants (people without disabilities). In 2008, L’Arche revised our identity and mission statement. This process helped us deepen our understanding of who we are; including naming that mutual relationship—between people with and without disabilities—is at the center of L’Arche. Our charter now needs to catch up to that re-centering, as well as other developments in who we are and in our understanding of L’Arche.

Embarking on a 3-year journey, L’Arche communities all over the world – all 154 of them and our 21 projects—will work together to develop our new charter. We are entering a period of individual and communal reflection. The people and communities at the margin, whose voices weren’t always taken into account in the past, are leading us as a body in this process.

This new charter will be written by community members: core members, volunteers, friends of L’Arche, assistants, chief financial officers… anyone finding belonging in L’Arche who is willing to share their story. Using tools for accessible communication, everyone will have a chance to lend their voice and their story!

Read more about the Charter Process

See Charter “Beads” from L’Arche GWDC

L’Arche Charter Process website

Charter update video: