Community of Christ International Peace Award

2003 Recipient - Dr. Jean Vanier

Promoting communities of joy, hope, love, and peace, building Zion, creating diverse communities--these concepts are at the heart of the Community of Christ faith. There are numerous ways to build and promote communities that are signs of the kingdom of God. The 2003 Community of Christ International Peace Award recipient, Jean Vanier, is the founder of an international movement that creates communities based on covenant relationships that promote the worth of all people.

Vanier is a French Canadian who served in the British and Canadian Royal Navies before earning a doctorate in philosophy from a Catholic institute in Paris. Vanier felt called by God to do something about the plight of people who were institutionalized with developmental disabilities. L’Arche was born in 1964 when Vanier invited two men with intellectual disabilities to leave the institution where they resided to live in a home with him in Trosly-Breuil, France.

In his book An Ark for the Poor: The Story of L’Arche (Novalis, 1995) Vanier wrote, “I knew that my welcoming Raphaël and Philippe was a point of no return. I was conscious of a covenant between us. All I wanted was to create a community of which they would be the centre and give them a family, a place of belonging where all aspects of their beings could grow and discover the good news of Jesus.”

The name “L’Arche” refers to the ark of Noah, “remind[ing] us of the first covenant between God and humanity.” These communities are centered on relationships among developmentally challenged people and the assistants who live and work with them-a setting that promotes dignity in a way that is not possible in an institution. There are now approximately 120 L’Arche communities in more than 30 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central, North, and South America.

Although Vanier is a devout Catholic, L’Arche communities are ecumenical and in some cases interfaith. Vanier describes the two pillars of all L’Arche communities as “the poor, with whom we want to share our lives, and God, who alone can transform and heal our hearts.” He explains that the gospel message, which often speaks of the “poor,” is about more than those in economic poverty. “The poor person is one in need who recognizes the need and cries out for help,” says Vanier.

In Becoming Human (Paulist, 1998) Vanier asserts that “those with intellectual disabilities are among the most oppressed and excluded people in the world.” It is these excluded people whom Vanier considers his teachers. “Community life with men and women who have intellectual disabilities,” he says, “has taught me a great deal about what it means to be human.” Vanier spent years developing himself intellectually, but it was after living with intellectually disabled people whom he describes as “gifted in relationships,” that he learned “how to become more open and vulnerable to others, especially those who are different.”

In the foreword to Vanier’s book From Brokenness to Community (Paulist, 1992), the late Henri J. M. Nouwen described Vanier as someone who “call[s] people to radical discipleship wherever he is invited.” Nouwen was a Catholic priest teaching at Harvard Divinity School when Vanier lectured in one of Nouwen’s classes. “Underneath all his simple and seemingly unthreatening words,” wrote Nouwen, “the question lay hidden: ‘To whom are you called?’” Nouwen eventually left academia and became pastor of the L’Arche Daybreak community in Toronto, Canada.

Jean Vanier is the tenth recipient of the Community of Christ International Peace Award. The award was presented during a worship service on Wednesday, June 11, at 6:45 p.m. Vanier addressed the gathering of 1,200 people. This service was part of “Mission 2003: Launch Out!” an intensive discipleship-building event held June 9-13 at Community of Christ world headquarters. The service was broadcast live via satellite across North America and on the Web (archived clips). A book signing followed the service.

During his time in the Kansas City area, Vanier met with a group of more than 100 professionals, such as social workers and nurses, to lecture on and discuss “Becoming Human: The Deeper Side of Developmental Disabilities.” He also took the opportunity to dialogue with approximately 65 young adults from the surrounding community about “Discerning Your Calling” at a gathering at Stone Church. 

Peace and Justice Ministries coordinator Andrew Bolton said, “For Community of Christ-people with a heritage of Zion-to learn about being community, Jean Vanier may be one of the most significant voices to help us find our way.” To learn more about L’Arche communities, visit one of several national Web sites available in French or English, including www.larcheusa.org.

-Kendra Friend reporting