belonging


	One is the Loneliest Number Posted on May 20, 2013, 9:01 am \| 1 comment Topics: Culture The latest Utne Reader has an article entitled, “Me, Myself, and I: Why is it so hard to admit when we are lonely?” The author, Olivia Laing, talks about the pain of loneliness in her own life as she lived in New York City, surrounded by people but still terribly alone. In the article she points out not only her own pain of loneliness but also the research on loneliness, Read more »
	Grant for Training to Become Inclusive Ministry Posted on January 17, 2013, 2:01 pm Topics: Accessibility CLC Network offers their DVD series featuring Barbara J. Newman, Making Room: Creating Communities of Inclusion and the accompanying training manual, G.L.U.E. Training Manual for free. Read more »
	Five Marks of an Ideal Church Posted on January 6, 2013, 8:47 pm Topics: Advocacy Shaio Chong suggests that five marks of an ideal church would be these: everybody belongs; everybody serves; everybody discerns; everybody leads; everybody witnesses. What would be marks of your ideal church? Read more »
	New Church A Special Journey with Extraordinary People Posted on October 3, 2012, 8:09 am \| 1 comment Topics: Worship We are a community where people with special needs—along with those whose needs are not so obvious—work together in leading worship and Bible studies, providing pastoral care, etc. We never “dumb down,” but instead find concrete ways to bring the words of Christ alive and apply them to our various life situations. Read more »
	What Disability Concerns is All About Posted on September 24, 2012, 9:26 pm \| 2 comments Topics: Disability Concerns On September 23 Alberta television stations featured a news item about a young lady who 'climbed' to the top of an 8000-foot mountain in Camrose, Alberta. What made Kuen Yang newsworthy is that she is a quadriplegic. Although she has enough movement in her hands to operate a joystick (to control e.g. a computer) and self-propel her wheelchair, she is totally dependent on others for personal care. Read more »
	The Mercy Of Hospitality Posted on May 15, 2012, 1:05 am \| 2 comments Topics: Community, Roles Showing hospitality can take many different forms as it's expressed through different people and in a variety of situations. Lately I've been thinking about hospitality as an act of mercy. Mercy for the person who is alone. Mercy for the person who feels uncomfortable in a social setting. Mercy for the person who needs assistance. Read more »
	Lift High the Cross Posted on March 26, 2012, 10:15 am \| 1 comment Topics: Nurturing Faith Every week in our morning worship service, the children in 3rd and 4th grade bring in the Bible and light a candle in the front of church. At the end of the service the kids come and carry out the Bible and the light from the candle out of church. During Lent, a third child is added to the procession who carries in a cross, holding it up high as the congregation sings “Lift High the Cross” Read more »
	A Lecture on Being Human by a Man who Cannot Speak Posted on March 20, 2012, 8:01 am Topics: Accessibility Chris said that when his parents gave him his first voice synthesizer, he went from not speaking to talking in complete sentences in one day. I praise God for Christian leaders like Chris who can speak so articulately. He talks about disability, of course, but more importantly, he talks about what it means to be human. Read more »
	One Question Posted on February 29, 2012, 9:14 am Topics: Caring In this seven and one-half minute video, 35 people with intellectual disabilities answer the same one question: If you can change one thing about yourself, what would you change? Their answers will surprise you. Read more »
	The How-To's of Accessibility Posted on December 22, 2011, 11:58 am Topics: Accessibility In this article, Mark Pinsky, author of the forthcoming book Amazing Gifts: Stories of Faith, Disability, and Inclusion, tells stories of several people with disabilities who not only became involved but also became indispensable members of their congregations. Read more »
	Understanding Disability and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Posted on December 19, 2011, 11:34 am Topics: Accessibility In 1993 the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in North America went on record to heartily recommend full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Compliance is still incomplete in or outside churches. What is the ADA really about? Read more »
	The Church's Response to Families with Autism Posted on August 16, 2011, 9:38 am Topics: Hospitality I have been asked to leave church more than once because my son is autistic and can be disruptive. It is painful for our family to miss church, but we have spent more years outside of the church than inside. Read more »
	Do You Belong in Bethlehem? Posted on December 14, 2010, 8:42 am \| 1 comment Topics: Worship What happens when our own fears, preoccupations, and self-pity get in the way of our worship of the new born King? Read more »
	Consider the B's Posted on August 10, 2010, 2:03 pm Topics: Small Group Leaders, Why Small Groups? As I observe community life around me, I see that over time groups can tend to be more “exclusive” rather than “inclusive.” There seems to be a tendency to gradually build up walls around our group when deciding who fits and who doesn’t. Rather than reflecting Jesus’ inclusive love toward those around us, we find reasons to be exclusive. Read more »
	Things I Learned from my Mother Posted on May 25, 2010, 2:02 pm Topics: Why Small Groups? Relationships began to be built and conversations were broadened. Because these strangers were included, they began to feel a sense of belonging and experienced a bit of “the communion of the saints.” Read more »