This event is part of St. Jerome's University's lectures in Catholic experience series.
Description:聽Just twelve years after Jean Vanier founded the first L鈥橝rche community with adults with intellectual disabilities, there were more than 40 L鈥橝rche communities in 11 countries. What can explain this incredible growth? Carolyn Whitney-Brown looks for answers in a letter that Vanier wrote to the French feminist philosopher Julia Kristeva in 2009. Vanier says that the secret behind L鈥橝rche鈥檚 success is, paradoxically, 鈥減leasure.鈥 As L鈥橝rche in Canada turns 50, Dr. Whitney-Brown will explore the often-surprising stories of the founding of L鈥橝rche communities around the world. She will discuss how Vanier鈥檚 surprising observation about pleasure offers an insight into the success of this amazing movement.
Speaker:聽Dr. Carolyn Whitney-Brown is the author of Jean Vanier: Essential Writings (2008, revised 2019), Sharing Life: Stories of L鈥橝rche Founders (2019), and Tender to the World: Jean Vanier, L鈥橝rche and the United Church of Canada (2019). After completing her doctorate at Brown University, Dr. Whitney-Brown lived at L鈥橝rche Daybreak from 1990 to 1997. She has frequently taught in the Department of Religious Studies at St. Jerome鈥檚 University and is a fellow at the University of Victoria鈥檚 Centre for Studies in Religion and Society. Carolyn鈥檚 new books will be available at the lecture!
