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Reflections, Implications, and Personal Stories Across Various Topics
On Monday, December 3rd 2018, the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Church Network for Disability Support will be offering a webinar on ‘Universal Design for Ministry: A Three-part Whole-community Strategy to Ministering with Families with Disabilities.’
Everybody finds fulfillment in using the unique gifts that God has given her or him. All people find value in meaningful paid or volunteer work that serves their community.
In the act of writing White Picket Fences, Amy Julia points with humility and gentleness to a kind of confession that refuses to only be part of the problem. It is possible to both acknowledge complicity and privilege and to work towards a better, more truthful, future.
In his honest wrestling with God along a journey of surprise, despair, faith, and aching joy, Jason leads his readers through key Biblical truths, important psychological reflections, and deeply personal insights.
We must "help [faith communities] understand that we are focusing on participation, inclusion, and belonging as a way to empower, not pity. That we want people to develop roles that make them important and valuable to communities. So we're looking for connections, not avoidance, for support, not stigma"
For many families who experience disabilities, getting away for rest and relaxation might seem like an inconceivable goal - especially if parents are hoping to take a break without the kids. At the Inclusion Fusion Live! conference in Cleveland this spring, Jonathan McGuire from Hope Anew shared 5 simple ways to take "Five-minute vacations" to help refresh your care.
(In short, you should come and serve at Christian Horizons Family Camp with people who experience disabilities! You can learn more and apply here: www.christian-horizons.org/familycamp) A Christian Horizons Family Camp Poem By […]
Christian ministries may have more impact if they focus on holistic care and ministry than on a "specialist" approach to faith or spirituality. It is too easy to fragment intellectual, physical, and emotional needs as aspects of flourishing spirituality.
In the winter of 1999, I found myself on a Greyhound bus travelling from Three Rivers, Michigan to Richmond Hill, Ontario. I was moving to L’Arche Daybreak, one of the many communities of people considered intellectually disabled and nondisabled who share life and faith together. A little excited and a little frightened, I went looking for Christian community and a way to live the Gospel. I wound up finding both those things – and a whole lot more.
You can foster the growth and development of others, particularly people who experience disabilities, in your church or community by recognizing their gifts and talents, presenting opportunities for them to utilize their gifts, and encouraging them to develop their skills.