SharePoint
Sign In
Help
ADN logo

True Prayer
 

  • Home
NavigationSearch
  • Home
    • About
      • Our Mission and Vision
      • Our History
      • Who Are Anabaptists?
      • Our Staff
      • Field Associates
      • Board of Directors
      • Annual Reports
      • Staff Openings
    • Get Involved
      • Congregational Advocates
      • Partner Congregations
      • Accessibility in all aspects of church life
      • Barrier-Free Grant
    • Newsletter
      • Latest issue
      • Previous issues
      • Subscribe
    • BlogCurrently selected
      • Latest Posts
      • Subscribe
      • All Posts
    • Resources
      • Accessibility and Awareness
        • Accessibility
        • Accessibility Audits
        • Awareness
        • Changing Attitudes
        • Emotional Support Animals (ESAs)
      • MC USA Accessibility Resolution and Study Guide
      • ADN Books
      • ADN Disability Language Guide
      • Barrier-Free Grant
      • Book and Media Recommendations
      • Caregivers
        • Circles of Care
        • Families
        • Support Groups
      • Congregational Assessment Survey
      • COVID-19 Resources
      • Disability Topics
        • ADHD
        • Autism spectrum
        • Disabilities of Aging
        • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
        • For the Deaf
        • Hearing Loss
        • Hidden disabilities
        • Intellectual disabilities
        • Mobility Impairment
        • Vision Disabilities
      • Faith Formation & Worship
        • Children
        • Classroom Accessibility
        • For Church leaders
        • Book Reviews
        • Our Speakers
        • Youth
      • From Other Faith Traditions
      • On Mental Health
        • Children and Youth
        • Depression and Anxiety
        • Healthy Boundaries
        • Mental Health Education
        • Mental Health Resource for Congregations
        • Mental Illnesses
        • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
        • Suicide
      • Speakers and Trainers
      • Webinars
      • All Resources
    • Donate
      • Support ADN: Donate Now
      • Legacy Giving
      • Honor And Memorial Gifts
      • Building the Future Partners
    • Contact Us
Left Menu
  • Pictures
  • Lists
  • Libraries
  • Recent
  • Blog
    • Latest PostsCurrently selected
    • Subscribe
    • All Posts

True Prayer
Learning L'Arche Values

Posted by Deborah-Ruth Ferber / Edinburgh, Scotland
10/7/2013
Page Image
Image Caption
Opening paragraph
​Mennonites like to do things in community partly because we desire to invest into the lives of others, but mostly because God calls us to care for each other from the deepest parts of our souls. Of all the experiences that one can have in community, though, I still maintain that prayer is the greatest tradition that anyone can seek to be part of.

Page Content

In every Christian group that I have been involved in, I have noticed a very distinct praying culture. At AMBS this culture took on the form of weekly Psalm readings and using the Anabaptist Prayer Book, in my undergrad years it took on the form of Monday night prayer groups in the dorm, and now at L’Arche (an intentional community for people with developmental disabilities) our praying tradition has come to be something completely different.

At L’Arche we have a practice of gathering together every evening around the supper table, lighting a candle, and sharing prayer requests with one another. Often this time is one of deep sincerity where true emotions are brought to light.

To an onlooker this practice may appear to not go beyond surface level. After all, we are not engaged in the type of “deep” prayer that the Charismatics and Evangelicals feel is necessary, yet, it is in the simple act of being together as a family that creates meaning for us. Prayer is meant to be a safe space both for those who have prior beliefs and those who do not feel they are spiritual. It is primarily a time for reflection and the sharing of much laughter and occasionally tears.

Following the sharing of requests, one of our core members (people with developmental disabilities) leads us into the Lord’s prayer as we hold hands around the table. This practice is one that brings healing, restores trust, and bonds us together as a community that freely shares with each other both the blessings and the challenges that take place in our daily lives together.

Today I experienced a real God moment while praying with our core members at L’Arche. Over the past month a certain person has been on my heart because I am aware of his brokenness and the difficulties he is facing. Although I do not feel it is right to share specifics with members of my L’Arche house, I began to pray for him today in community.

As I was praying, one of our core members who has Down syndrome became so empathetic that he began rubbing my back. After he started this gesture, another core member began to hug me and tell me that everything would be okay. Through observing my friends with developmental disabilities, I have come to appreciate the healing value that takes place in a community that prays together.

This is but one example of how the core members in my house have helped me to deepen my own prayer life and spirituality. Every day I face such examples of love and courage from people in my community who have often been overlooked by the church and society as somehow having less of a spiritual life. Yet, being with them reminds me of what prayer is really all about.

Prayer is not simply telling someone that you are thinking of them when they are going through a difficult time, but it is doing what Mary Anne (a member of our community) does every evening when she goes around the dinner table praying for each one of us by name and then goes to her room and prays for us some more until she falls asleep. That is what true community and caring for one another looks like!

Yes, community breeds tradition, but it breeds it in such a way that it includes all people as we seek to walk with Christ and practice rituals that bring glory to God.


​Deborah Ferber wrote this post in October 2013, when she was a live-in assistant at L'Arche Daybreak in Toronto.

 Related Posts

  • Friendship
    Naomi Epp recounts the ways her friendship with Chantel has been a blessing for both of them.
  • Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
  • SEEDS: Socialize, Encourage, Engage, Disciple, Serve
  • Weathering the Pandemic for Families with Special Needs
    Denise Reesor offers tips for supporting families affected by disabilities during a global pandemic.
  • Why I Went to a Funeral for Someone I Never Knew
    Contributions made by a person with an intellectual disability often aren't recognized. L’Arche has taught me that God also uses those whom society deems unfit to teach us what humanity, love, laughter, and life are really and truly all about.
Subscribe to Opening Doors Subscribe to Opening Doors

 Related posts

  • Enabled to pray the Lord's prayer
    God’s kingdom on earth as in heaven calls for peace and justice for all, not for only those who are able in body and mind.
  • Friendship's Worship Team
    A worship team from Friendship Community involves persons with intellectual disabilities in leading worship in Pennsylvania congregations.
  • A Church for All People
    Some congregations are finding that when they talk openly about mental health, it becomes natural to include mental health problems in the care and support they offer.
  • Worship
    All posts about worship from ADN's blog Opening Doors

 Latest posts

  • Loneliness: It Affects us All
    M.Div. student Michelle Robichaud offers a few ways churches can support lonely youth who lack a feeling of connection.
  • 2023
  • Epiphany: See Our Guide!
    Brandon Grady draws a connection between navigating life as a blind man and searching for Jesus as a magi.
  • Immanuel: God with Us
    God is with us in our pain, suffering, and isolation. Jesus's incarnation brings us hope.
  • The Kin-dom of Heaven
    Sarah Werner provides an eloquent imagining of what it feels like to be wholly welcomed into God's Community
  • Wounded and Whole
    Why does the Resurrected Jesus have wounds? Laura Stone muses in her sermon on disability and wholeness. Plus a sneak peek of Laura and Peggy Gilbert's performance poetry.

 Read more about

  • Worship

Contact us

P: 877-214-9838 (Toll Free)
P: 574-343-1362
3145 Benham Avenue
Suite 5
Elkhart, IN 46517-1970
Visit the Anabaptist Disabilities Network on Facebook!

Support ADN

Use your credit card to contribute online:

Donate Now Through Network for Good

Donate Now Through PayPal

    Resources

  • Staff
  • About
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Donate
  • Employment
  • Sign In
  • © Anabaptist Disabilities Network 2019