Everybody belongs. Everybody serves.
Eric
Marian
Bonnie
becky
Disability
I'm excited to step into my new role assisting the ministries of Disability Concerns and Safe Church. Find out some of my story below. Looking forward to connecting!
The Friendship Festival is a day of fun, faith and fellowship! It's organized for individuals with developmental challenges, but everyone is invited.
For Mental Health Awareness Week (Oct 6-12) we encourage your church to develop greater awareness of the one in five people among us who have mental health issues and to consider ways to minister with them.
The following questions were asked by youth in our church several years ago. My husband's answers helped them understand what it’s like to be blind, and how they might help others with visual loss.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing—Authors who are hard of hearing or live with family members with hearing loss describe personal challenges and how hearing loss impacts their experience in the church.
From the title to the final, frightening story with which the book concludes, Shar Boerema clings to hope in God and God’s faithful plan for the lives of everyone she loves.
Owen Wigger and his family sent a letter to his first-grade teacher and classmates. Because he does not speak, this letter will help pave the way for their relationships with him.
In spite of facts, the president of the United States has been using his bully pulpit in recent days to finger mental illness as a cause of mass shootings. This assertion is foolish and dangerous.
I have been disabled and mostly house bound for 25 years! I was a type A person before and in some ways, I still am.
I am trying to locate CRC materials for Bible studies and/or catechetical instruction for people with special needs. Any suggestions?
I have this unusual sensitivity to all electronic devices. For example, I can't form a decent sentence if a cell phone is in the pocket of someone I'm near.
Faith communities in the US and Canada are invited to join in the National Weekend of Prayer for Faith, Hope, & Life during the second weekend of September.
Disability Concerns shares resources to help your congregation mark Disability Awareness Sunday (October 20, 2019 or whenever works best for your church).
Here’s something I’m learning way too late in life: All the accommodations we make so people can enter a physical space make no difference if we can’t make accommodations in our hearts.
This journey started over thirty years ago when we received a call from a mom who asked us if her son could come to our church. Today, twenty five percent of our congregation is persons with developmental disabilities.
There is one article specific to the Canadian context, but the remainder of the pieces are must-reads all over North America.
As in all other things, we need sanctification. To sanctify our spaces, our communications, and our attitudes, new ideas can help. Here are five ideas for belonging and an example for each.
When Sharon McQueary shared her journey with depression at a women’s conference, many of the women felt permission to share their own experiences with mental health challenges.
What keeps many people with a disability from being considered for a leadership position? I've included a video that raises awareness about how pastoral search teams can discriminate against leaders with a disability.
Often we are changed in and by our relationships with people with disabilities and their families. Consider these videos a glimpse into their lives and an invitation to deepen relationships in your congregation and community.
Topics include children and youth with disabilities, mental health issues, ways of showing welcome that go beyond physical accessibility, and more. Here they are in one post for your convenience.
Recently a church member asked, “How long have you suffered with your disability?” I immediately replied, “I have lived with my Cerebral Palsy since birth.”
La enfermedad mental y la práctica espiritual: Los autores describen de qué manera la enfermedad mental de un ser querido o la suya propia han formado su fe y practica espiritual en la que se entrecruzan los ritmos del bienestar mental, la vida devocional y el discipulado personal.
Down syndrome—Authors describe some of the joys and challenges they and their church have experienced in loving and living with someone with Down syndrome.
A Day in the Life by Bev Roozeboom gives a glimpse into the chaos and hope of families with children living in the grip of chronic mental health disorders.