Our church has done many things right in creating a safe and accommodating place for children, including a Plan to Protect® policy, offering to provide workers and they have even offered seminars on children with disabilities. Outside of the children’s programming, though, I know of nothing specifically in place for adults with disabilities except general acceptance.

On the Joni and Friends Web Site I listened to an MP3 by Will and Arlyn Kantz and they really understand our needs. Our family can relate to almost every behavioral situation they spoke about, the challenges families face and even the fears of future challenges like puberty, programming, the workers, the sensory issues, congregational reactions, etc.

Our Children's pastor lovingly and consistently tried to accommodate Michael year after year. She said to us at one point that not only was she concerned about Michael but believed that others would benefit from him being there as well.

I think for anything to be successful in fostering ‘belonging’ in a church setting, someone who has a child with a disability needs to be involved. They have ‘been there’ and really understand the needs of the family with a child with a disability. I haven't heard of any other support group quite like this one.

How will you respond? Will you sit down with them and go over the ontological argument for God’s existence or the intricacies of the Trinity? Will you even try to explain issues related to the logical problem of evil? If not, do you have anything for them? ...But instead of just requiring a rational response, it requires a compassionate response.

Our church has supported us through prayer, financial aid and food or food vouchers and occasional visits. We also have a deaconess who is totally amazing, and she is the first person we'd call for anything! But do we feel like we belong?

The Globe and Mail reported a recent Danish headline that reads “Plans to Make Denmark a Down syndrome-free perfect society”. In Denmark the discussion is taking place regarding aborting fetuses with Down Syndrome so their society will be “free of” such people around 2030.

One of the reasons for this site is to draw together some of the resources available on theology and disability. You can find past posts in the resources category. Recently our [Read More]

Utilitarianism forms the backbone of Singer’s theories. For him, ethics and the question of personhood should be rooted in ‘quality of life’ rather than in hypothetical ideas about ‘sanctity’. Much of his thinking revolves around the question “can they suffer?” As such, animals and humans are placed on equal terms. For him the question is not between human and animal, but between ‘person’ and ‘non-person’.

One cannot think about theology of disability without soon wrestling with the notion that each human being is created in the image of God (Gen 1:27-28). Found in all “religions of [Read More]