THE ARK

"The people who have lent their voices to this book have a wonderful gift - an enlarged capacity to make meaning out of the "mess" of life." So speaks the author, Bob Abernathy, in the introduction to Chapter Seven from our Life of Meaning text.
The last chapter of our book lives up to the wonderful gift described by Abernathy as we see the witness of those who live to give meaning to others.
Our guest interview this week is from Jean Vanier, who established L'ARCHE (the Ark), constructing a community where the mentally disabled live alongside the spiritually capable. A worldwide collection of such communities has grown over the decades since its beginning.
The image of a boat and its people reminds me of the statement once made by Martin Luther King Jr. regarding racial inequality in the U.S. when he said, "We may have all come over on different boats to this land, but we're all in the same boat now." This appears to be the similar definition of the cry for community made by all who wish to live a meaningful life in the context of God, others and our self.
Vanier speaks of community, religion, mystery and the relationship of crisis and brokenness in the human spirit as guides to a meaningful expression of life. Our facilitator, Geri Hale-Cooper will pick the discussion points for Terra Incognita this week.