People with Intellectual Disabilities and the Ongoing Quest for Belonging with Marie Moyer

For nearly 60 years, L’Arche has transformed the lives of people with and without intellectual disabilities around the world. Beginning in France in 1964, at a time when countless people with disabilities in the Western Hemisphere still languished in institutions, separated from their families and cast off from society, L’Arche founders dared to proclaim that people with developmental disabilities had essential gifts to contribute to society. Since then, across Canada and around the world, L’Arche has been creating communities of friendship and belonging, inviting people both with and without intellectual disabilities to live, work, learn, and grow together in homes, day programs and social enterprises. L’Arche demonstrates that when persons with intellectual disabilities take their place at the table, they contribute to a more just, compassionate, and vibrant world for all. L’Arche Lethbridge is a member of L’Arche International and is comprised of three homes in the city.

Our speaker will outline how the mission of L’Arche is embodied in our local L’Arche community and name some of the joys and the struggles people with intellectual disabilities continue to face in our present times. In our materialistic and individualistic age, L’Arche offers a radically different way to see people and society.

Speaker:    Marie Moyer

Moderator:  Bob Campbell

Marie Moyer has been engaged with the L’Arche Lethbridge community since 2001. She currently serves as the Assistants Coordinator, welcoming young adults from close to home and around the world to live, work, learn and grow as Assistants in our L’Arche homes. Marie has strong family roots in Lethbridge and has gained a global perspective from time spent abroad in Tanzania, Central America and Chad. She holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Theology and Anthropology and has spent her adult life finding ways to make a living off the beaten path.