L'Arche Inverness Community News

It's 2012...

2012-01-20T07:13:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all our friends both old and new!

Like any community, L'Arche Inverness is not unique to experiencing change but in 2011 it seemed like we had experienced more than what we could have ever expected. Stretched finances led the community to a re-structuring of the Co-ordination, Workshop and Admin teams but despite these changes which have been difficult at times, the community has experienced a lot of good in 2011 as well.

Our Candle Workshop which is led by Caroline Tulloch has grown with great success and candle sales are at the highest they've ever been! With these record sales there has also been much excitement and support from Anne MacLeod and those employed at 'Dickson's of Inverness' to name but a few. Dickson's car garage have particularly done us proud with their continuous support as they manage to purchase high quanities of candles every week to give away with every new car that they sell. Not only this but the Dickson boys - Jim, Innes, Iain, Mike and Frazer - also support the community by popping into see us and became guest judges at our annual Halloween Party! . . . Innes even gave us a welcomed donation from the money he raised from swimming Loch Ness. The community could not thank these men enough!

Last year, the Candle Workshop also adopted a young soldier called Stephen through the 'Shoe Box Appeal' and had a fantastic time drawing and writing cards for him while he was away serving in Afganistan. Unfortunately near the end of last year we received news that he was injured in Sangin while on patrol but thankfully after being flown back to the UK he managed to fully recover.

The Garden Workshop were granted funding by the Lottery Fund to set up a new poly-tunnel project in the grounds of Braerannoch. The poly-tunnel is going to wheelchair accessible so that service users, core members and customers can pick the herbs and plants that will be grown and sold from there once the poly-tunnel is completed which was quite an exciting project to apply for. The garden craft projects have also been a great success last year and the success is continuing on this year with their wreaths which are made with leaves. They really do look amazing and as this is written they are commencing on the new heart wreaths just in time for Valentines Day!

The houses have had a lot of excitement in 2011 but none can top the addition of Hayley Bell, a new core member to MacTalla! Hayley joined the MacTalla family early last year and since then has brought so much fun, happiness and excitement to the house. We have been lucky to welcome a young lady who is so wonderful and gifted to our community! :)

In Braerannoch, nearly all of the core members requested a bedroom swap which happened in the Christmas holidays. It created a lot of excitement for everybody and everyone seems to be happy with their new improved bedrooms.

For 2012, the community hopes to make full use of our community blog and in the lead up to June (when Holly Hiles and Tracey O'Mara will be flying to Atlanta to join other L'Arche representatives from all over the world) we will be up-dating you all on our fundraising events and totals!

As a community we look forward to keeping in touch with all the friends of the community.

Best Wishes :)

Thirty Five!!

2010-05-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures from our recent Community Reflection Day and our 35th Anniversary Celebrations, which we held at the lovely Rose Hall of Kilravock Castle, near Cawdor. We spent the day thinking about the themes of 'Commitment and Belonging', sharing our experiences with one another in small groups. We also retold the story of L'Arche (above) - in our own inimitable way! And we travelled together through the 35 years of our Community's story, using pictures and models to map out the journey (below). The sun shone, the tea flowed and we all enjoyed being in one another's presence, away from the usual daily routine.

In the evening we welcomed a local band and special guests to join us for a wonderful ceilidh, in true Highland fashion. We danced and sang our way through the evening, stopping only to enjoy some delicious birthday cake. Not only was it 35 years of L'Arche Inverness, but also the tenth anniversary of two of our homes, MacTalla and Grianan, both opening their doors in May 2000.

Marguerite Kramers (of L'Arche Inverness then L'Arche Edinburgh) wrote to us after the evening..

Dear Friends,

How lovely to be together with you for the evening celebrating 35 years of L'Arche Inverness at Croy. In fact Croy was the very place (well I think at the other, Granary hall) where I first met, 30 years ago now, can you believe this?...Syd, Derek Thain, Floran, Barbara. Those counting the years will know that 30 years ago neither Syd,Derek or Barbara were at L'Arche. You are right, but this weekend and ceilidh had been organized by some others, and L'Arche Inverness came along from Brae, as did others who were living at Craig Phadraig at the time. L'Arche Inverness fitted all together in one small orange minibus in those days! And a few years later, when you came to L'Arche, we sometimes said, oh yes, we first met at Croy, didn't we?

And now, back here again, 30 years have passed, many more minibuses! And how many people have flowed through the community...as we could see from the impressive time line, the photos, scrapbooks, those there, workshop and office folk, past assistants, committee, friends, families.... And dear Ian, James, and Cathol who are no longer with us, and yet so well remembered too. Thanks for bringing all those faces and names together for us on Friday. Floran, we had not seen each other for years and years, and yet we remembered each other!

It's 2 years since I myself last came to Inverness. Thank you as ever for your welcome, Lill, Barbara and Fi for those big hugs, Susie, Gina, and many others for catching up on news, Derrick, great man with your special smile and big silent bow to honour all in those 35 years....And long may the dancing continue.

With love and thanks,

Marguerite

To see more pictures of the day, check out the slideshow to the right of the blog. If you left click on the image you can view the pictures in bigger format. Enjoy!

2010-04-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter from us all! Here are a few pictures from some of our celebrations. Easter is always a busy but very special time in the Community. On Maundy Thursday we gathered, as usual, at Ness Bank Church Hall, for our Passover Meal followed by a simple, but beautiful time of footwashing, as we followed Jesus' command for us to love and serve one another.

On Good Friday we were very blessed with beautiful weather - it was snowing in Inverness earlier in the week! We walked around the garden of Braerannoch to walk with Jesus on his journey to the cross. Syd took the role of Jesus with great dignity.

On Easter Sunday it was time to celebrate the Resurrection, agian at Braerannoch. There was some great singing followed by a mime telling the story of the road to Emmaus. Then...the games commenced! Chocolate egg hunting, egg and spoon races, throwing the 'egg' (a specially decorated rugby ball!), rolling eggs, rolling wooden 'tombstones' and more...it seemed like no-one wanted to go home! We were kept going on hot cross buns and wonderful home-made simnel cake. The sun shone and it felt like we had been all given new life after such a long, hard winter! It has been especially nice to welcome back previous assistants/friends/members, Sophia, Petyo, Baska and Ien Tchov.

2010-02-21T11:25:00.000-08:00

Can there be anything more exciting in the life of the community than the arrival of a baby?! With growing excitement we are awaiting Philene and Paul's baby. Philene, from the Netherlands, has been involved with the community for many years, first as a young assistant, then as an often returning friend, and finally as a nearby neighbour, coming regularly for meals at Braerannoch, and deepening her friendships there.

Today, the women of the community got together for a surprise Baby Shower! We lured Philene to the Workshop under false pretences, and then spent a lovely afternoon eating cake, making a book, playing games, giving gifts and praying blessings.

The sun shone, the baby kicked obligingly for us and the baking was wonderful! It was a sweet moment in L'Arche life. If you want to see more pictures of the event, click here. Oh and by the way, the women of the community are sure it will be a boy...so watch this space to see if we are right!

Burns Night Supper

2010-02-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

Oh dear, better late then never! Burns Night was a wee whiley ago, and this didn't get posted! Life's like that sometimes...Our 'Pal' Angus recently turned 60 and we thought that it would be good to get together and celebrate him, and Burns Night in one big party!

We all gathered at MacTalla, which had been decorated in tartan, and tables laid out with candles, cloths and flowers, for a slap-up meal of haggis, neeps and tatties! Some folks wore their kilts, or a spot of tartan. Others recited Burn's poetry, and we all sang together 'Angus is our Darling' (a lesser known Burns song...ahem!), and of course, Auld Lang Syne.

Rabbie Burns himself came to pay us a visit, complete with his red, red rose. No doubt he wanted to see if the reputation of the lovely lassies of L'Arche is really true. He wasn't disappointed, but he was rather too keen to meet them!

The address to the haggis given in fine dramatic style by (Frenchman) Thomas Lacroix, and the big pudding duly stabbed by Syd Fraser, ably assisted by Mark Mitchell and Graham Gall.

Our resident bard, David, no doubt inspired by the evening...

Naturally, in good Highland style, we all finished off with a bit of dancing, led by the fitness group from the workshop. They eased us in gently but we were soon whirling and birling! Yee hah!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-18T13:27:00.000-08:00

Rather belatedly, but no less warmly, L'Arche Inverness wishes you a wonderful 2010 - we hope your year has been good so far, and we also hope that this year will give you the opportunity to stay in touch and maybe visit us - the door is always open, and someone in the community is usually just about to put the kettle on! As you can see, Braerannoch looked even more beautiful in the snow, and gave some community members the chance to be very creative - a unique L'Arche snowark, built by Brae assistant, Bruno.

However, it has to be said, that much as we enjoyed looking at the snow, we are quite glad to see it going, especially the Garden Workshop who have done a lot of digging recently! Still, at least they are starting the New Year fitter than perhaps some of us...

Everyone enjoyed the Christmas break, and the chance to relax and celebrate together. But, even though Christmas and New Year are past, the celebrations never stop in L'Arche! There are lots of birthdays in the community just now, notably Angus who has just reached the milestone of 60 - we'll be celebrating all together with him in fine Scottish fashion on Burn's Night, so hopefully there will be some pictures to share with you then. There has been a bit of humming of a well-known Beatles song, as Syd (below) celebrated his 64th birthday with a wonderful party in his cosy flat. Lilias helped make the cake, and we all enjoyed helping Syd finish it! Tracey's birthday is also coming up, so any hopes of keeping diet resolutions in the next wee while look rather unlikely!

With much love from us all at L'Arche Inverness

Freebies!

2009-08-27T13:46:00.001-07:00

Hello! We hope you have had a good summer. We've all been away on our holidays and we hope to bring you some stories and pictures from them soon. In the meantime, we have two things we would like to share with you - we're like that you know!

Firstly, we have a giveaway. We were generously donated a large quantity of woodstains, masonery paint and coloured varnish, all very good quality and in a variety of colours. There is more than we can possibly use, so if anybody would like some, please do get in touch with Simon at the workshops (01463) 239615. he has all the details and would be delighted to pass on anything you can make good use of.

Secondly, wherever you are, you may be interested to hear Jean Vanier, the founder of L'Arche speaking - sadly he's not coming to Inverness, but you can click HERE and watch some videos of some talks he gave in Canada. Jean is very inspiring and we hope you enjoy hearing him.

Parties

2009-06-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hilary Lacroix writes...
Someone recently told me that she hadn't been to a party for about 5 years, which really struck me, as here at L'Arche Inverness, we have parties all the time! In fact it is hard to keep up with them all, as we celebrate everyone's birthday and the anniversary of them coming to L'Arche, as well as house anniversaries, the community anniversary, workshop anniversary, Christmas, New Year, Valentines, Pancake Day, Easter...you name it, we celebrate it!

I have the great blessing of sharing a birthday with Lilias, so most years we get together at some point on our birthday for a bit of cake and a discussion of our festivities. Some years we have celebrated together, and this year Saorsa, Grianan and my family got together to plan us a lovely party.

It goes without saying that food is probably the most important element, and between Thomas' BBQ and Rebecca with a whole host of others in the kitchen, a veritable feast emerged! At least three tables were put together in Saorsa's living room, for about 20 of us to sit down to a fantastic meal, with candles, wine and garden flowers. After birthday blessing songs and prayer, music and jokes flowed - a lot of cheeky ones about age, especially...

Then of course, the cake! Well, three at least! Brought in with due ceremony and song...we birthday girls felt quite spoilt!

During the cake and coffee, presents were given. L'Arche presents are always lovely. There is usually something big from your house, a special something you may have been dropping hints about all year...And then, a plethora of wee gifts from your friends, things which show how well they know you and your habits. Some people, like Mark, will really appreciate pens and notebooks, or a new tie. Angus will love to get cans of coke and crisps, Lilias, perfume and jewellry, Jackie loves flowers and socks. I'm sitting here drinking one of my gifts! Mmmm!

And then there are the cards! So often they are handmade, with original artwork or photos, which again reflect the love of friends. And of course we all like seeing the reaction of the recipient when cards have jokes or play silly tunes!

No party is complete, in good Highland ceilidh tradition, without a bit of music or a dance! And despite the many celebrations, we are all made to feel special on our birthday. Birthdays, after all, are our chance, as Derek puts it, "to say thank you, that you were born".

A Hootananny of a Night!

2009-05-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

What do you get if you mix a great pub, traditional but lively Scottish music, 20+ members of L'Arche Inverness, countless packets of crisps and enough Coke/lager/coffee/wine to fill the Ness River?

A toe-tapping, jig dancing, glass clinking, crunching & munching, yee-ha of a night out!

I don't think Hootananny's will forget our invasion for a while! But summer is coming, the evenings are long and light and there is a definite spring in our steps - time to get out!

It was a great night for old friends and new to enjoy a drink, listen to some music and have a laugh and a chat.

And did the band play 'Turkey in the Straw?' What do you think...?!

Café Review: The Olive Grove

2009-05-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

This week we welcomed back ex-assistant, houseleader and long-time friend Ien Tchov for a couple of days. He is currently houseleader in the L'Arche community of Compiegne, France, where he has been for almost two years. It was great to see him again and catch up on news from the wider federation of L'Arche.

During his visit he and Barbara went out for lunch and decided to try out a new café in Inverness. Our roving reporters checked out the newly opened Olive Grove tea room.

The verdict?

We liked: The selection of refreshing tea at 60p a cup! The homemade soup. The homebaking - yum! Even harder to resist at 60p a slice!

Overall: A simple but tasty menu at very affordable prices in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, run by one of the local churches. Barbara says: "This is a good café!"

Thanks very much Ien Tchov and Barbara for trying out The Olive Grove, it sounds like just the sort of place we at L'Arche like going to! Has anyone else visited a good local café or interesting place recently? Do let us know!

Remembering Cathol

2009-04-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Today we are remembering a dear friend, Cathol Sutherland, one of the founding fathers of L'Arche Inverness, who died one year ago, on the 33rd anniversary of his coming to L'Arche. Cathol was the Highland heart of our community, often to be found in full kilted garb, walking the grounds of Braerannoch, bagpipes in hand. He was also a beautiful model of what it means to follow Jesus, and he strongly identified himself as a disciple. A welcoming friend to many of us and a much loved member of his family, we still miss his presence among us. Although we feel sad he is not physically with us, we know that this is not the end of the story for Cathol, and it is indeed also in stories that he lives on.

Below is a picture from the 30th Anniversary celebrations of our community. Roddy Ross came to play the pipes for us, and a huge ice-cream cake had just been served. Cathol was able to indulge his twin passions! As Roddy marched up and down the hall, he was followed by Cathol, marching and eating his ice cream. When I think of Cathol, I always have this picture in my mind!

Cathol's gift to us during his last months was one of gentleness and peace. Everyone slowed down around him, and it was a great privilidge to have him live his last few days in Braerannoch, where he died in his own bed, with his family around him, with other members of the house close at hand. Today in remembering Cathol, we remember someone who was really fundamental in making L'Arche Inverness the community that it is. May we be re-inspired to create and share community anew, in the Highland welcome of The Disciple.

Friendship Retreat

2009-04-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

A group of us from L'Arche Inverness have just come back from a Friendship Retreat held jointly with L'Arche Edinburgh. Five pairs of friends, (core member with assistant) had been preparing for some time beforehand, meeting to share about some important aspects of their freindship, looking for photos, music, everyday objects and anything else that would help them communicate their life journey and special friendship. The retreat was facilitated by members of both communities. We all travelled to The Bield in Perthshire, which is a small but very beautiful place to meet. Each day we started in prayer, then in energetic and enthusiastic ball throwing and stretching outdoors in the spring sun! We told the story of the Road to Emmaus, from the Gospel of Luke, using wooden figures. Two pairs shared their stories each day and although all were different, all were very rich and proundly beautiful. We also had celebrations, times of creativity in the art room, time to talk and reflect, breadmaking, music and song. Some went swimming, others preferred walking in the beautiful gardens. We enjoyed lovely food and plenty of tea breaks! It was really good to make new friendships and deepen existing ones between our two communities. The size of the group meant that the retreat was tailor-made and personalised to the needs and interests of those attending, and it was a joy to see everyone's gifts being utilised and celebrated. It was a very full four days, but a great reminder of what our life in L'Arche is all about: Transforming Relationships.

Check out the slideshow of pictures from the retreat on the top right hand side of the blog. Click on the picture if you want to see it a little larger.

Looking For...A Houses Co-ordinator

2009-04-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

L'Arche Inverness is looking for a new Houses Co-ordinator. This is a leadership role in the community, overseeing the wellbeing of each of the people with learning disabilities who live in the community. The role involves supervision and support of House Leaders, and ensuring that each home lives in a way that satisfies statutory requirements and in the spirit of L'Arche. This is a live out role, but we would be looking for someone who has lived in a L'Arche home or who has a real understanding of L'Arche. The new Houses Co-ordinator will be chosen by a process of discernment, rather than appointment.

Do you feel this could be a role for you or someone you know? We would love to hear from you, and happy to answer any questions you may have. Please contact the L'Arche Inverness Office 01463 239615 for more details or an application form.

2009-04-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

Jean Vanier, the founder of L'Arche, has been interviewed by Mark Tully as part of a radio programme being broadcast this Sunday, April 5th April. Apparantly it was a good recording and it is always inspiring to hear Jean, so do tune in! Here are the details:

Palm Sunday, Radio 4, "Something Understood" programme, which goes out twice that day, at 06.05-06.35 GMT and 23.30-24.00 GMT.

BBC World Service will repeat their version of the programme, 3 times, on:
25 April, 18.32 and 23.32
26 April, 13.32 GMT

Listen online by clicking on this link:

"Something Understood" is a BBC radio series which "examines some of the larger questions of life, taking a spiritual theme and exploring it, normally through music, prose and poetry".

The theme is the deeper spiritual meaning of hospitality.

Community Gathering

2009-03-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

Last night the Community met for its monthly Community Gathering at MacTalla. We came together to share a simple (but yummy!) meal and to share news and prayer. We welcomed our visitors, Heather Coogan our Regional Co-ordinator, and Connie, a long term assistant from L'Arche Edinburgh, who are with us for a week.

Of course, we sang a bit and shared some laughter! Everyone seemed to have a good time.

We finished with a wee mime telling a Gospel story, and then a time of prayer together. Everyone is looking forward to our annual Passover Meal and Footwashing at Ness Bank Church, and of course, Easter celebrations (and egg hunt!) at Braeraanoch. You can tell the holidays are coming!

Early Spring in the Garden

2009-03-13T13:24:00.001-07:00

This is one of the busiest times of the year for the L'Arche Garden Workshop - a lot of clearing up after winter, and getting ready for the growing season ahead. Martin (above) keep paths clear, while Lilias and Graham have been preparing the polytunnel for the first seedlings which are already shooting in the greenhouses.

In the Conservatory we are all enjoying a bumper display of peach blossom.

There's not much in bloom in the garden yet, but prayer flags brought back from India by Stephen Pennington, our Committee Chair, add some needed colour.

Meet our new Assistant's Co-ordinator!

2009-03-02T06:43:00.000-08:00

We are delighted to introduce you to Brian MacDonald, who was recently asked to be the new Assistant's Co-ordinator. Brian has been part of the community for several years and also brings a lot from his previous work life and his experiences of community. Brian is married to Agnes and they have 5 children. Interested in being an assistant in our Community? Get in touch with Brian!

Brian has been organising times for assistants from our different Community houses to get together, to relax, share something of themselves and their lives. Pictured here is Lysann, Silvie, Mandy,Martina, Coonor and Vladimir with Brian in the woods near Inverness.

Easter is coming!

2009-02-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

This week we will begin our yearly journey towards Easter, as we start Lent on Wednesday. Fr. Chris Hughes, our pastoral minister and old friend, will be with us for the week, offering community members the chance of spiritual accompaniment, and to help us on our way. Of course we will be gathering this week to eat pancakes!
Signs of spring are slowly appearing, but in the meantime, in The Snug, Fiona, Rebecca and Lilias have been busy creating artwork with a spring theme, to bring colour and new life in these still-cold days.

WELCOME!!

2009-02-19T03:29:00.000-08:00

Hello, you found us! This is the new blog from L'Arche Inverness, stay tuned for lots of stories and picture from us. Please do get in touch if you have any of your own to share with us. Today is Jackie's birthday, so you know there will be a lot of celebrations and music coming from Mac-Talla tonight!