Many of us will have heard of the L’Arche communities and we have one in this Diocese, in West Norwood. These communities bring together people with learning disabilities and those without to be together in community. During the first week of Lent, the Bishop of Southwark and the Dean of Southwark, together with the Rt Revd Paul Hendricks, an Auxiliary Bishop in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, and Canon Richard Hearn, the Dean of St George’s Cathedral, Southwark, will lead a group of 60 people from across the two Dioceses on an ecumenical Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Whilst there they will visit Ma’an lil-Haya – the L’Arche Community in Bethlehem. So, in this the first week of the Bishop’s Lent Call, we are focusing on the work that the community does.

Ma’am lil-Hayat, which means Together for Life, is the L’Arche community in Bethlehem. It is a member of the International Federation of L’Arche Communities, created in 1964 in France by Jean Vanier, and it brings together approximately 50 people in two locations (Bethlehem and Dar Salah). Of these, 36 are core members with learning disabilities, while the remaining 14 members are known as assistants. Ma’am lil-Hayat is the only community project in Palestine which brings these groups of people together to engage in creative activity and share daily life. The community celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2019 and began its second programme in Dar Salah in April 2017; this programme now welcomes 10 core members with a team of three assistants and many volunteers. When the community was formed it was decided to create Palestine’s first wool felting shop, and the community now sells its products online to consumers around the world and in many local shops visited by tourists.

The community buys raw wool from women living in villages on the outskirts of Bethlehem and uses it to make ornaments, nativity sets and other items. Members treat and prepare the wool, create, finish and then pack the range of goods. Those members of the community with learning difficulties would not be able to gain employment otherwise as there is a severe shortage of jobs generally and very little support for employing people with learning disabilities in ‘ordinary’ workshops and places of work. The work that Ma’am lil-Hayat does helps to change the perspective in the local community of the value and worth of those with learning disabilities. It also helps the core members of the community to gain self-esteem and to feel valued

Week 1 — The Holy Land:L’Arche, Bethlehem

“But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the

kingdom of heaven belongs.’ ” Matthew 19.14

LENT CALL 2020

The Bishop of Southwark’s

Walking Welcoming

Growing

and to know that they are productive members of society.

During 2018 the community was able to sell more than 15,000 felted sheep and almost 3,500 nativity scenes, more than 2,000 doves and many other products. These activities provide enjoyment for those involved in production — and also a valuable income for the community and its members.

Ma’am lil-Hayat’s work enables the core members of the community to enjoy a normal daily routine of going to the community and working with other core members and assistants. It is sometimes hard for the families and carers of those with learning difficulties to see their relationships grow and change, and watching the core members of the community grow in self-esteem and self-reliance through their work at Ma’am lil-Hayat helps with that process.

There is a varied series of daily activities at Ma’an lil-Hayat. These aim to help the community to meet its three main objectives, which are therapeutic, social and economic: to help boost members’ self-esteem; to help them make decisions and develop creative skills; and to enable them to experience working as part of a team and, in so doing, realise the needs and realities of other people. Together, the activities help individuals to gain a sense of responsibility for themselves, for others and for society.

Also, importantly, it is hoped that the sale of the products will allow the members to receive payment so that they can enjoy being able to buy things they want for themselves as well as gifts for others.

Each day at Ma’am lil-Hayat begins as the community members come together in songs and prayers that reflect the different faiths and diversity of the group. It is absolutely clear that it is not only the core members

who gain and learn from their time as part of the L’Arche community in Bethlehem and Dar Salah. Since the first L’Arche community was founded in France in 1964, people who become part of the communities or volunteer with one gain so much from learning how to go slower and to make the time to get to know those with learning disabilities.

Please consider prayerfully what you can give to this year’s Lent Call in order to help to ensure that this truly inspirational community in Palestine can continue to bring security, purpose, laughter and spiritual and personal growth to all who are touched by it.

Walking Welcoming

Growing

Lent Call 2020The Bishop of Southwark’s Lent Fund Registered Charity No 1075122

www.southwark.anglican.org