Our Story
What was the inspiration for the La Sala community?
Primarily, it is response to the Christian call to authentic and holistic community. Yet, "community" is a term often said and idealized, but difficultly lived.
"He who loves his dream of community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter ...."
— Life Together, Bonhoeffer.
For those of us who have decided to join a networking group, attend a conference or volunteer to serve in an industry or church group, this may resonate with us. As a lawyer of faith, we may find that a part of us is not fully able to be present at the table. Whether it's our legal craft when interacting in our faith community or our faith and family when interacting in our daily legal work life.
With this challenge and disconnect we were inspired by various Christian communities and non faith based communities. One thing we noticed was the importance of being intentionally relational and creating spaces and time for rhythms of reflection and engagement.
One such example were the Parisian salons in the 17th and 18th centuries. They were an important place for the exchange of ideas and building of community. The word salon first appeared in France in 1664 (from the Italian salone, the large reception hall of Italian mansions; salone is actually the augmentative form of sala, room). In Spanish, the sala is the living room.
Using the terminology of the living room is a reflection of the way in which the La Sala community seeks to live this out. Whereas lawyer events and conferences are often professional, full of speakers and information, and held in corporate settings, we seek to provide a next step into deeper community by welcoming you into our homes. This could be literal and also figuratively by providing gatherings that are intentionally relational.
In our home, we have an oak bench by the front door where guests can sit down and remove their shoes before entering. A friend from South Africa who was visiting recently remarked how much he liked the custom. It wasn't about cleanliness he noted, it was about lingering and authentic presence. He shared that by removing our shoes before entering the home, we are allowing ourselves to be a bit more vulnerable and stay present--no need to rush out. That allows for real conversation and community.
With that inspiration, “La Sala” aims to be an intentional community that hosts intimate retreats and dinner gatherings for deep thinking and big-hearted professionals to engage holistically on matters of faith, personal development, family, business and law.