NEHALEM NEWSPAGE

NEHALEM NEWSPAGE

L'Arche Nehalem 8501 SE Stephens Portland, OR 97216
(503) 251-6901 Fax: 251-6952 e-mail: mail@larche-portland.org web site: www.larche-portland.org

JULY 2004

Our mission is to create a place to call home
for people with developmental disabilities and those who share life with them.

NEWS

Still on the journey together The theme of our Spring Social on May 6 was "Together On the Journey." Our focus was on achieving our goal of replacing one of our two ten-year-old vans, to provide core members and assistants with reliable, safe transportation. Marilyn Petruzzelli and Jeff Deeks regaled guests with tales of cranky doors, windows, and even engines. The repair bills back up their stories! So much enthusiasm was generated that we have announced our Van Drive to replace both of our vans. The first new van arrived at Neahkahnie House, June 29! It is a silver 2003 Dodge Minivan, and was road-tested by an enthusiastic crew including Ben Miller, Rodney Gabriel, Susan Mitchell and Dan Barcia. Special thanks go to Greg Gage of Gage Auto Sales, who is locating suitable nearly-new vans and donating the dealer profit, and to all our friends who have been helping with gifts and leads&emdash;keep them coming! We still have a ways to go on our journey, but with your wonderful help and energy we can go the distance!
Marilyn was featured in a front-page article in the June 18 Catholic Sentinel, about the recent ceremony welcoming her as an Honorary Associate of the Society of the Holy Names. Susan was also interviewed for the article as both a member of L’Arche and a Holy Names sister.
Dan and Ben spoke about their lives in L’Arche Nehalem to a middle school Sunday school class at the Imago Dei Church on June 13 . The class and others from Imago Dei have been taking the opportunity to develop closer relationships with our community.
Core members and assistants turned out for a good time and a festive lunch at the Hand-In-Hand Festival at St. Andrew’s Parish on June 19. Co-sponsored by the Office for People with Disabilities of the Archdiocese of Portland, the annual event brings together people with disabilities and their families and friends for a festive celebration.

Prayer Night

Wed., July 21, 7:00 p.m.

Neahkahnie House

Join us at Nehalem House, Saturday, July 10, at 10:30 a.m. for our second Coffee Morning. This informal get-together is a chance to drop in and visit and connect with the community over delicious donated Stumptown Coffee and Noah's Bagels.

LIFE IN THE HOMES

Adam Richards has been busy with activities this summer. He attended Kiwanis Camp June 20-25 near Mt. Hood, and the very next day traveled to Eugene for a big Special Olympics baseball game. A van-ful of assistants and core members were on hand in Eugene to root for him and admire his medals on the way home.

Thanks to Max Carpet Care, for some professional cleaning in both houses at a reduced rate. Thanks, too, to Mike McLain, a professional painter and friend of the community through Ascension Church, who is donating much of his labor for painting the exterior trim, ramp, garage, and back deck at Nehalem House.

JOURNEYS

Mary Ann Ramey was one of two U.S. representatives at L’Arche’s International Reflection Group in Wepion, Belgium, June 25 to 28. The meeting considered and synthesized information from all over the world from the second year of L’Arche’s Identity and Mission process. Before the meeting, Mary Ann carried greetings from the members of L’Arche Nehalem to L’Arche Antwerp.
Ben, Jerry Deas, Mary Ann, Dan and Amy Barcia will travel to Spokane as Nehalem’s delegates to the L’Arche Regional Assembly July 9-11. The Region will be gathering to complete the discernment for Joan Mahler’s renewal of her mandate as Western U.S. Regional Coordinator. The new Mandate for the Western Region will also be approved at this gathering.
The month of July will feature several vacations. Ben and Lisa Ciranny will be traveling to the Oregon Coast July 15-18 for the Micah Retreat, an annual gathering of former Jesuit Volunteers and their families. Nehalem House and a delegation from Neahkahnie including Justin Wilcox, Robyn Dowell, and Cindy Leonard will travel to Tacoma from July 15-18. They will be staying in one of the L’Arche homes in Tacoma and taking day trips to Seattle and surrounding areas. We will host a group of core members and assistants from Tacoma for a couple of those nights on their way back from a community vacation.

BIRTHDAYS	ANNIVERSARIES
July 16: Adam Richards (1973) July 27: Rodney Gabriel (1930)	July 1: Marilyn Petruzzelli (2002)

CELEBRATIONS

Wednesday, July 7, 7:00 p.m., Neahkahnie House: Marilyn’s 2nd Anniversary.

Saturday, July 10, 10:30 a.m., Nehalem House: Coffee Morning. (See box, above.)

Sunday, July 11, 2:00 p.m.: Adam’s Birthday. Bowling at 2:00 at Cascade Lanes, 2700 NE 82nd Ave. near Madison High School, followed by cake and gifts at Nehalem House at 3:30 p.m. Call Nehalem House (254-4558) to hook up.

Wednesday, July 21, 7:00 p.m., Neahkahnie House: Prayer Night.

Wednesday, July 28, 7:00 p.m., Neahkahnie House: Thank You and Blessing for Tam Ha, our University of Portland summer volunteer.

Saturday, July 31, 5:00 p.m.: Birthday Barbecue for Rodney Gabriel and Don Tucker.

It is not surprising that Jesus comes under the guise of a stranger…The stranger is a person who is different, from another culture or another faith; the stranger disturbs because he or she cannot enter into our patterns of thought or our ways of doing things. To welcome is to make the stranger feel at home, at ease, and that means not exercising any judgement or any preconceived ideas, but rather giving space to be.

Jean Vanier, Community and Growth

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