A church for everyone, everywhere

In recent months, a big conversation has started in L’Arche about how everyone – Christians as well as people of other faiths or none – can really belong and express their spiritual life here.  

But from the very beginning of L’Arche, we have built special relationships with the Christian churches, connections that continue to this day. So when the Lutheran Diocese of Gothenburg got in touch to invite us to speak to their church leaders group about community, we couldn’t say no.  

This was a chance to share with the church a message about including people who are different, to meet other groups working to build relationships with people who have learning disabilities, and to travel the world after two years of Covid lockdowns.  

And so, on 12th April 2023, five members of L’Arche Manchester hopped on the 07:10 flight to Gothenburg. From there, they gave a presentation and led a workshop on discipleship and made friends with another disability community. They returned with the distinct impression that a sophisticated Swedish Fika (sharing a cup of coffee with your friends) is not so very different from a good old Manchester brew. 

Watch this short video to see who they met, and how their visit went down. 

* Want to make your church more inclusive for everyone? Building on decades of L’Arche experience, Hazel Bradley and Jim Cargin’s Creative Ideas for Worship with All Abilities (Canterbury Press: 2019) is the book for you! Purchase it online here.