L'Arche Daybreak
11339 Yonge Street L4S 1L1 Richmond Hill, ON, Canada

Jason Clinker, a member of the L’Arche Daybreak community, was chosen to participate in the Leading Change project, a collaboration between L’Arche Canada and King’s University College Disability Studies at Western University to develop best practice tools and resources for young persons with disabilities, those who support them, and the organizations where they belong. Jason is excited to be part of the project’s leadership development course and we are grateful for all the ways Jason offers his leadership in our community. We look forward to more! #larchecanada #leadingchangeproject #youthleadershipdevelopment

During the liturgical season of Epiphany, we are reflecting on the theme of LIGHT. This week, Keith Reynolds, Pastor of Avondale United Church in Stratford, reflects on the passage, You are the light of the world in Matthew’s gospel. Thank you to Matthew Chan for his art. Remember to pause the video to read, pray & take silence at your own pace. #larcheprayer #epiphany2022

Caroline, Ellen & Patricia at Stephenson House are finding many ways to creatively have fun these days. #larchelife #pandemiccreativity

We honour the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr today for recognizing the interconnectedness of all people and for his prophetic claim that Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.#MLKday2022

Michael at New House

During the liturgical season of Epiphany, we are reflecting on the theme of LIGHT. This week, community director, Trish Glennon, reflects on the journey of the Magi. We also bless our Orientation members of our community. Thank you to Gordon Mills of L’Arche Cape Breton for his art. Remember to pause the video to read, pray & take silence at your own pace. #larcheprayer #epiphany2022

Nancy would like to honour her mom, Dorothy Murtha, who died in December of 2021 at the age of 90. Dorothy was a nurse and according to Nancy, a beautiful lady with a great sense of humour. Nancy has been drawing and writing prayers of gratitude for Dorothy this week with her Red House friends. #honouringmothers #larchelife

Joey & Helen Shulist were guest speakers as a Mother & Son team at our virtual Orientation retreat this week. They shared the story of Joey’s journey to L’Arche, initially as an artist in our Craft Studio, and eventually his move to the Green House. The Assistants were touched by Helen sharing her experience of being a parent in L’Arche and what it takes to entrust the support of a beloved family member to others. #larchefamily

May we be inspired by the Magi to choose courage and generosity these days with one another. #epiphany2022 #giving2022 #courage2022 #MayaAngelou

You are invited to pray with us from different places in our Taizé-style Prayer for Peace as we begin a new year. Thank you to Jacquie Boughner, Associate community member and faithful companion to our community, for reflecting on our gospel reading and to Kim Lageer and Amanda Winnington-Ingram for their insightful art. Let us continue to pray for peace as we enter 2022. #prayerforpeace2022 #NewYearsDay2022 #larcheprayer

I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness - it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude. - Brene Brown We are grateful for all that has been lived in 2021. In the face of a challenging year, we are grateful for all the big and little ways that community life has been fostered in the daily life of our homes, virtual programs and ongoing friendships. This is our one small way of witnessing to the power of love in our world. HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all as we begin again in 2022. #larchelife #newyearseve

Today we honour the life of Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, spiritual leader and social activist, whose deep faith championed racial equality and universal human rights. May the world continue to hear his prophetic call to justice and reconciliation. Deep gratitude for a life well lived. #desmondtututribute

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,... Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaish 9:6 See more

We gathered virtually to collectively tell the Christmas story, to pray and to sing some of our favourite carols. If you didn’t get a chance to join us, we have posted a recording on our YouTube channel - the link is below. Merry Christmas to all our friends, families and supporters!

We want to send a big shout-out to all our volunteers at L'Arche Daybreak as we celebrate National Volunteer Appreciation Week. We are grateful for all of your passion, dedication, time and skills that you so generously give, and we are incredibly thankful for all that you do to help our community thrive. THANK YOU! We look forward to the day when we can all get together again. #larchelife #nationalvolunteerappreciationweek2021

Amanda is enjoying all that is blooming on the Daybreak property during her walk. #larchelife #earthday2021

NANCY MURTHA celebrated her 50th birthday with her beloved Red House today. Her secret to being such a youthful 50? BOO!!

Spring has arrived at the Green House, where Helen and Therese have created delicious focaccia art.

We invite you to join us in prayer as we mark the 2nd week of the Easter season. Our theme, GROWING IN THE LIGHT OF GOD, celebrates the new life emerging all around us. Thank you to Liska Stefko for reflecting on how we experience God through our senses and to Maggie Power for leading our music. Remember to pause the video to read, pray & take silence at your own pace.

Join us (virtually) for the Virtual Walk WITH Hope Fundraiser on Saturday, May 8th, 2021, along with a Zoom Celebration Kick-Off at 10 am. To register, join a team or make a donation, visit www.larchedaybreak.rallybound.org/walkwithhope.

Ramadan is the holiest month for Muslims. Healthy adult Muslims fast in Ramadan from dawn until dusk. Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims fast as an act of worship, a chance to get closer to God, and a way to become more compassionate to those in need. Fasting is also seen as a way to learn patience and break bad habits. Let us be attentive to our sisters & brothers who are fasting at this time.

We invite you to join us in prayer as we move into the Easter season. Our theme, Growing in the Light of God, celebrates the new life emerging all around us. Thank you to Amanda Winnington-Ingram for this week’s art and to Jacquie Boughner who reflected on the gospel. Remember to pause the video to read, pray & take silence at your own pace.

Centre Street housemates surprised their house leader Youjin and her husband-to-be Kiwook with a small wedding shower on Sunday afternoon. Together in spirit, we celebrate the new beginnings of this lovely couple! #larchelife #weddingshower

Dave received birdseed in our community Secret Santa gift exchange. He's making good use of it by refilling his bird feeders in the Red House backyard. The birds will have lots to eat this winter, thanks to Dave. #larchelife #feedthebirds

There is no better way to start this year off than with a soothing and relaxing yoga session. Kim from the Corner House has been busy practicing all her moves. She'll soon be ready to teach the rest of us.

Happy Easter from all of us at Daybreak! You are invited to the link for our Easter Vigil service. Thank you to Taize & Iona communities for prayers and music. Also thank you to L’Arche artists from around the world and Liska Stefko for helping us to reflect on God’s promise to breathe new life into the most unexpected places. Alleluia!

We invite you to continue the Holy Week journey with us today on Good Friday. We journey in solidarity with all those who live with pain, loneliness, poverty and violence. Thank you to the L’Arche artists from around the world who have helped us to hold this suffering in our reflection today. Our gratitude to the Iona and Taize communities for their music. Please pause the video to read, pray and take silence at your own pace.

We invite you to join us in our weekly prayer from different places. Today we continue with the liturgical season of Epiphany. These next few weeks we are exploring the theme of LIGHT. What are sources of light as we head into these winter months of social distancing? Thank you to Lisa Nackan, our community art therapist, who reflects with us on images of light in Judaism. Remember to pause the video to read, pray & take silence at your own pace.

We wish all our families and friends a very Merry Christmas! May you find peace and love in this joyous season!

Mike and Kara decorated the tree this year! The time is drawing near!

Thank you to Lisa Nackan who helped us to connect with the tradition of the Passover meal where Jesus had his last supper with his friends. Pause the video to read, pray and take silence at your own pace.

Thank you! Thank You! Thank You! We can't say it enough! YOU DID IT! To all our L'ARCHE DAYBREAK FANS - we are so overwhelmed by the love and support you shared with us over the last month in the Battle of the Fans Lip Sync Competition. Your participation was through the roof, and because of that, you got us to the FINALS. We made it this far because of you. And now the WINNER of the Battle of the Fans! Also, I want to thank all our core members and assistants who came out ...each week to make the videos - your enthusiasm was contagious. And, a big shout out to John and Debbie, who were our Team Captains. We couldn't have done it without them leading the way! Finally, I would like to thank all the other L'Arche communities that joined in the Battle of the Fans, along with L'Arche Canada, who came up with the initiative. And thank you to Nick and Lucie for your marvellous hosting every week! It was a close competition overall and at times, very competitive, but I must say it was always friendly. Thanks, L'Arche Atlanta, for a very close competition! We had a ton of fun, and we hope to be back again next year to compete.

As we hunker down these days, this video becomes a lovely reminder of life before the pandemic. We are hopeful that times like these will come again one day soon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEt35uWvrKY

The winner of the Battle of the Fans Lip Sync Competition will be announced at NOON today! Get ready for the results!

Easter preparations are well underway today at Centre Street. John is busy making beautiful cards while Kara is putting together presents for everyone. #larchelife

Hi L'Arche Daybreak Fans! Here is the last update for the Finals. We have until mid-night to gain points. Remember to check back in the morning to see who will win the first-ever Battle of the Fans Lip Sync Competition hosted by People with Disabilities!

Join us live online today at 5 pm on YouTube as we ring in the New Year with fireworks! It's going to be a fantastic display as we all say goodbye to 2020 and hello to 2021! Just click on this link at 5 pm, and you'll be able to join us online: https://youtu.be/kCLyrVwbZCs Happy New Year!

Hi L'Arche Daybreak Fans! Whoever wins the "Total Individual Donors" may win this game...we are so close. See if you can rally your friends - we still have time. This competition isn't over until MID-NIGHT. Three more hours to rally the FANS!

We began our Holy Week journey today at our Zoomspring service this morning. We told the story of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem where he was greeted with palms & shouts of Hosanna. Thank you to Mary Bastedo who shared a reflection and to artists from L’Arche International who helped us tell the visual story. Pause the video to read, pray and listen at your own pace.

David Harmon came to Daybreak 51 years ago. He joined our virtual Silver Anniversary Tea celebration smartly dressed for the occasion with rum n’ coke in hand. More than tea is in order when celebrating over 50 years of community life!

L'Arche Daybreak Lip Syncs ‘Rock n’ Roll All Nite’ in #BattleOfTheFans The World’s First International Lip Synching Competition Hosted by People With Inte...llectual Disabilities! Here’s how to help Daybreak win: 1 Dollar Donated = 1 point 1 Facebook Like = 2 points 1 Facebook Share = 3 points Support L’Arche Daybreak by donating here: https://www.canadahelps.org//battle-/team/larche-daybreak/ WE ROCK DISABILITY!!! #BOTF #LarcheCanada #LipSync #GivingTuesday #LarcheDaybreak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ1mJeGIWkA

Dear Friends of L'Arche Daybreak, "Battle of the Fans" is an online video Lip Sync competition and fundraiser created by L'Arche Canada that will happen between November 24 and December 22 to coincide with Giving Tuesday and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. L'Arche Daybreak will be battling with other L'Arche communities in a bracketed, single-elimination tournament. We are excited to invite you to join us in this musical competition with a donation to the... mission of L'Arche, and sharing the videos online with your network. Every dollar you donate counts towards reaching our goal of becoming the finalist for this friendly competition, and every "Share" and "Like" on Facebook gets us even more points! We appreciate your contribution. The L'Arche community with the most gifts and shares on Facebook will become the final winner. Remember to visit our page on November 24, so you can experience our awesome lip sync video and like, share and donate to help us get through to the next round! Thank you for helping us get there! You Rock!

Hi Fans! Here are the latest results! Keep liking, sharing and donating. Our efforts are paying off. Thanks everyone.

Mike Arnett and the Red House celebrated Rex’s 96th birthday this week! Rex Arnett is dad to Mike and Adam, who also lived at Daybreak in the 80’s & 90’s. Rex is a Royal Canadian Air Force veteran. He generously shared stories of his service in WWII during our community zoom gathering on Remembrance Day.

THE ENERGY OF #BattleOfTheFans! Here's an update on the teams (excluding dollars donated) as of today, November 24th at 12pm EST! L'ENERGIE de #Bat...tleOfTheFans ! Voici une mise à jour sur les équipes (à l'exclusion des dons de dollars) d'aujourd'hui, le 24 novembre à 12h EST! See more

We had our first virtual Silver Anniversary Tea, an event where we annually celebrate community members who have been in L’Arche for 25 years or more. This year, John McClean and Liska Stefko have reached their 25-year mark! John originally came to L’Arche through Jacksonville, Florida and Liska through Il Chicco in Italy. John celebrated with his housemates at the Red House and Liska with her beloved Corner house. We are grateful to both of you for your years of faithfulness and for your openness to these relationships that have been central to your own growth.

We had our very first virtual Community Day. This is the day we traditionally come together as a community to launch the year and make our individual and collective commitments to build the body of our community. As always, we ended our virtual gathering with a slideshow that documents the big & little moments that mark our life together. Credit to Coco Love Alcorn for her music.

L'Arche Daybreak fans, keep it up - you are doing fantastic! Until midnight on Wednesday, we have to keep liking, sharing and donating to win points and move us into round two! Find our video on Facebook, and let's do this together!

We invite you to join us in our weekly prayer from different places. This month our theme is TRUST IN GOD. Community members and friends have been asked to reflect on how TRUST IN GOD is nurtured and how it anchors community life. This week, we have included live video of Wendy Lywood & Mary Anne Larcina from Brookwood house as they shared on our theme. Remember to pause the video to read, pray & take silence at your own pace.