As the program was ending I sent this email message to my daughters: "I am listening to the radio to an interview with Jean Vanier, founder of L'Arche. A challenging and enriching experience to hear him." As the interview finished I thought the thought that comes to me increasingly: "no group of people,no nation, no race, no religion, no living individual is superior to any other -- we are all God's children."

Thank you for sharing the wisdom and faith of Jean Vanier and reminding us that we are all God's children, even though we miss the mark daily.
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Comments above the line may be used, if you wish. I, a white,Protestant,idealist,and committed Christian, left the U.S. in 1944 as a short-term missionary teacher to work in the international mission school in Teheran. The Community School had children from many nations and at least five religions. Later I lived and worked in Lebanon, Shanghai, and Europe for many years. I am still learning more than I am teaching, receiving more than I am giving.

I also appreciated his comments about aging. I am 7+ years older than he.

Thank you.

Listening to Jean Vanier, I realized that I was suddenly feeling heartbroken. I have worked with the severely mentally ill for over a decade and much like the l'arche communities he has developed, the state hospital where I work is its own community. This rich, life affirming and bustling community will be closing in 3 months due to budget cuts and I am so sad to see its passing. It is a community built on trust and collaboration and that undefinable quality-hope. The clients I work with are wounded and by no fault of their own. It is by helping to heal their suffering that I am healed. We are family to some and I see vulnerable souls everyday in my work. I have been so fortunate to have found this community and would like to think that its core goodness could be recreated in the greater community. Jean Vanier gives me hope that this is possible. Our society so often wants to hide the members that we are ashamed of or scared of. I know that humans are the same no matter their upbringing, mental state or disability and the less we fear them the more love we encounter. I have worked with individuals who have given me so much more than I deserve. Their honesty, joy and fortitude have been lessons for me.

I really appreciated your story on the wisdom of tenderness and Jean Vanier's work. I have a learning disability which often makes connecting with others difficult. It was inspirational to hear Mr. Vanier talk about valuing people simply for their presence, rather than what they can do for us. Thank you. ~R

The program overwhelmed me, past and present experiences. I'm in the hospital now, one more surgery to go, then 6 weeks flat on back in assisted living. All goes well in March I'll be back in my power wheel chair. C-6,C-7 injuries. I'm recieving the unconditional love I so much need and others need to give. At ages 14 thru 16 I worked at a summer camp for mentally and phsically challenged kids. What a great help they were to me! Once I can roll better I will find some volunter work so I can return the compassion. Thank you all at SOF

L'Arche communities though challenging are profoundly transformative. They require a slower, gentler way of life that focus more on being and walking with rather than the faster more precarious way of living demanded by the frenetic US style of living.

His Words are so moving,so true about the way U.S. is heading,our citizens are treated badly if wealth Isn"t part of their life.More and more that I feel so uneasy,but I do not know who is doing what nor why bad guys are not being punished.