A Journey Home

February 1, 2018

by Robin Benedict, assistant

Nearly every day, someone from one of L’Arche Portland’s homes or the extended community drives to Redwood, a specialized elder care home, to visit Rodney Gabriel. Rodney joined our community in 1993 and lived in the Neahkahnie home until the end of this past November. But just because Rodney moved out of Neahkahnie does not make him any less a part of our community. Rather, Rodney’s transition to Redwood is an opportunity for us to grow as a community into our commitment of sacred pilgrimage with one another. This commitment is not defined by the physical space of two houses. 

Living well with Rodney has always been centered around honoring his presence as a unique individual. Rodney would never allow himself to be ‘lost in the crowd’. With joy, rage, and everything in between, he would make sure that his thoughts and feelings were sufficiently acknowledged as his thoughts and feelings. For me, the best images I carry with me of Rodney’s desire to be known and honored as a unique individual are the paintings that he has created and freely given (or made available for a small fee) to hundreds, maybe thousands of people over the years. 

In the last year of his time at Neahkahnie, Rodney’s mobility and awareness declined significantly, but he was still painting. He is still painting. Rodney remains on a journey to be understood on his own terms and still shares the representations of that journey freely with others (or for a small fee). Our community’s 25-year pilgramage with Rodney continues with daily visits to Redwood, which some- times feature lively conversation but increasing don’t involve many words at all. Whether words are exchanged or not, affirming his presence and bearing witness to his gifts is a sacred privilege. 

On behalf of those of us who love Rodney, thank you for your visits, prayers, and support!