Everybody belongs. Everybody serves.
Disability
Daryl
Sandy
lynn
Staci
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In an episode of North Woods Law, Fish and Game wardens and volunteers carried a girl who had broken her ankle down a mountain in the rain. My roommate commented on the danger of hiking in the rain.
Disability Concerns believes that everyone should have the opportunity to participate, contribute and belong to our community. This is an overview of our theological perspective as a ministry.
Here's my story of navigating an urban theology through the lens of disability.
I am so thankful for the discipleship of Jean Vanier, and I remain thankful for the people carrying on his ministry, those who are simply the latest to arrive.
I recently participated in a webinar about theologies of disabilities led by Tom Reynolds. Through his experiences with his son who lives with autism, as well as living with his own depression, theologies of disabilities has become an academic passion for him.
I had the privilege of taking a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services. At the conclusion of our time together, each of us students wrote a "final evaluation". Here are some excerpts from mine.
Every time a rampage killing happens, like the recent horror in Las Vegas, people ask “Why?” For an answer, we need to look at ourselves and the kind of society we have created.
As we held Dylan, we saw his face fully for the first time as he took his final breath. Our private drama has been repeated in hospitals around the world. So why has Charlie’s case caught the attention of the world?
Living with disability throughout her life, Andrea Godwin-Stremler has discovered God’s faithfulness indeed is great, and so is the mystery of God.
But just what is “independence”? How much would I eat if I only ate the food I produce myself? Probably very little. Would I drive a car if I had to build it from scratch?
Frequently I’ve heard people evaluate the benefit of ramps and hearing loops based on how many people with disabilities would use them. Now I understand why that kind of analysis misses the point.
What’s going on here? Surely marketing and sales, yet something else is afoot.
Seeing Ralph in the Intensive Care Unit, I was astounded by the peace with which he faces life, death, and the severe limitations his pain and poor lung condition have imposed on him.
"What gives consistency to people is to know that they are loved. To love is not to do things for people, it’s not to tell people what to do, it’s to reveal. What do we reveal?"
It’s a daily feat to look past all the questions, fears, and disappointments that come with earthly life. Our Lord wants, rather, he commands us to trust in him, just like I trusted my earthly papa to scoop me up that day.
Many of our congregation members these days must deal with health issues. Your church too may be struggling with ailments of various kinds. How might our being in Advent speak to all this?
One time, I gave my elevator speech of what Disability Concerns is about to a fellow Christian Reformed pastor. He responded, “Well, if any of those people come to my church, I’ll send them to you.”
I am the mother of a special needs child with a cognitive impairment. This presents various blessings and challenges for our family. One of the things that we have wrestled with for years, is whether or not our child would ever partake in communion.
This entry in the Gospel of Weakness blog wonders what our eyes say about our acceptance or rejection of people with disabilities.