When?
Friday, October 4th, 2024
Where?
One Zoom link for the Plenary session
ZOOM LINK
Who is invited?
Everyone from L’Arche
Time for Plenary session
2 PM (UTC)
Click on the tab to get the time for a different time zone.
Seattle / Vancouver | 07:00 |
Calgary | 08:00 |
Toronto/Montreal/Atlanta | 10:00 |
UK | 15:00 |
France/Poland/Spain | 16:00 |
Bethlehem/Kyiv/Kenya | 17:00 |
India | 19:30 |
Bangladesh | 20:00 |
Philippines | 22:00 |
Japan | 23:00 |
Australia | Saturday, 00:00 |
New Zealand | Saturday, 02:00 |
If needed, use Timezone Wizard to calculate your time zone
Timezone WizardBefore the Festival
Share your #lightuplarche picture
The week before the Festival, share a photo of you with your community or your family or friends lighting or holding a candle illustrating the theme “Celebration”.
Use the #lightuplarche when posting on Facebook or Instagram.
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Let’s share the love with the other communities during the week’s festival !
This year’s theme is Celebration, and we invite each community to join the festivities in your own way. Whether by bringing a cake with candles, dressing up, or finding other creative ways to express joy, we encourage you to share what celebration means to you!
While we know that some communities may find it difficult to attend the Zoom event due to time zone differences, we don’t want anyone to feel left out. Even if you can’t attend live, we encourage you to find your own unique way to celebrate and share the joy with your local community.
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The day of the Festival
What is needed for the Plenary session
- Bring a candle or the torch on your phone for the prayer
- Something celebratory themed to eat and drink for the time in Break out Rooms. For that time be ready if you can with your table decorated with your favorite plate, cup or glass and why not wear your favorite apron so you can welcome others into your space, and be welcomed into their space to eat and drink together!
- The PDF of the great story translated into your language. You’ll find all the translations in this folder below. Remember to print the PDF before the Festival (Coming soon!).
- Get ready to act out the story ! We will have a yoga movement moment to embody the story we will be sharing together.
Last details
For those of you gathering in large settings with a projected video it may be helpful to have a 2nd device so you can interact with the chat where you will find some translations and some opportunities to share.
There will be translations in English, French and Spanish. Do make sure someone translates for those in your community who do not speak French, English or Spanish.
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What is the L’Arche Light Festival?
Since 1993, the first Saturday in October has been a special day in L’Arche communities around the world. During that day – L’Arche Family Day – we celebrate our shared identity and mission and we also celebrate our diversity. On that day, in all communities, we might expect to see candles, people singing, and a shared meal. However, we may be surprised by the different languages and the unique local traditions across the federation.
The L’Arche Light Festival happens the day before, on October 6. This virtual gathering allows us to experience the joy of belonging to each other – beyond borders or social barriers. We reflect on our global presence and honor both our differences and similarities, knowing that these all enrich our L’Arche Family.
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Highlights of previous festival

Share a picture of youholding a candle
Use the #lightuplarche when posting on your Facebook
Post on Facebook