Walking on a Rolling Deck: Life on the Ark

by Kathleen Berken

Overview

In 1999 Kathy Berken left Green Bay, Wisconsin, for her new home as a live-in assistant in a L'Arche community in Clinton, Iowa. Although the life she left was not necessarily one of balmy beaches, she could never have predicted the storms that lay ahead. She found that her new home was not an ark of refuge. However, she also found that God was with her and the members of her house, shaping and guiding them. The story of her journey is told here with verve and honesty. It is a story of breast cancer, of forging relationships, of violence and the struggle to forgive. It is the story of a heart turned to God and changed by love of others. It is ultimately the story of all of our Christian lives, no matter where or with whom we live.

Jesus is truly living in the hearts of those who have been pushed aside. He is not just in gentle and prayerful liturgies but also in the mess of dailiness and of difficult relationships. The crucified Jesus leads to crucified people. The resurrection of Jesus leads us to discover the seeds of resurrection in all the pain of our world and in all the hidden pain in each of us. It leads us to celebration and to laughter. It is a place of healing for us all. Yes, you have well described life in L'Arche home.

To learn more about Kathy Berken and L'Arche Books, please visit the website: www.faithjourneyhope.com

Kathleen Berken is house coordinator for one of three homes in L 'Arche community in Clinton, Iowa, where she lives with five men with developmental disabilities. She was a high school and college math teacher prior to joining the staff of The Compass, the newspaper of the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay. Berken joined the L 'Arche community in 1999. Her roles of mother, teacher, caregiver, and friend all give dimension to her role as L 'Arche assistant.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814618615
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	07/01/2008
Pages:	136
Product dimensions:	4.80(w) x 6.80(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Kathleen Berken was house coordinator for one of three homes in a L'Arche community in Clinton, Iowa, where she lived with five men with developmental disabilities. She was a high school and college math teacher prior to joining the staff of The Compass, the newspaper of the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay. Berken joined the L'Arche community in 1999. Her roles of mother, teacher, caregiver, and friend all give dimension to her role as a L'Arche assistant.

Editorial Reviews

The stories are sometimes heart-warming and at times heart-wrenching, but it gives the reader a unique window into this ministry of presence and love.
Emmanuel


The author is clearly a woman who is paying attention to the subtle ways God is working in her life. She has grown from feeling alienated and bewildered among God’s little ones with disabilities to learning how to accept love and compassion from them whenever it comes.
Liguorian


Walking on a Rolling Deck is highly recommended for Christian readers and anyone seeking to quietly contemplate the mystery of God that permeates even the most mundane aspects of daily life.
Midwest Book Review


Walking on a Rolling Deck is a fascinating account of one person’s efforts at living the Beatitudes. . . . It’s a story not to be missed.
The Compass


Kathy Berken writes movingly and candidly about living in community with adults with cognitive disabilities . . . Walking on a Rolling Deck is a memorable read. I, for one, am grateful that God called Berken to serve on his Ark.
The Catholic Messenger


A powerful story of eventually looking for love at all the right places! L’Arche is a community of simplicity, faith, and happiness embedded inside a world growing ever more falsely-sophisticated, unable to find its God, and incapable of experiencing the simple joys of living. Kathy Berken, a journalist now living inside the community, takes us inside an alternative world, but without false sentiment or naïve romanticism. If your search for love has come up empty too many times, you need to read this book. This is a story of being found.
Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, President, Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas


Upon reading Kathleen Berken’s Walking on a Rolling Deck, the word realistic comes to mind. Here are real people in mutual relationships struggling to find meaning and to experience hope. In a world of crass consumerism and blatant individualism, it is important to hear another story of compassionate service.
Bishop Robert Morneau, Auxiliary Bishop of Green Bay, Pastor of Resurrection Parish


Kathy puts us right on the deck with her by letting us experience life in a L’Arche community. She shows us both the ways she has grown and the lessons she has learned from the core group at The Arch. She frankly reveals her own shortcomings and challenges while serving not simple folks who are continually grateful, but real people dealing with their own problems, concerns, and challenges. She draws from her experiences important spiritual lessons and insights about what it means to be a Christian. We can be grateful that Kathy chose to share her life with a L’Arche community and with us.
Anton Staley, Former editor of The Compass

From the Publisher