Disability Concerns
Disability Concerns seeks to bring about the full participation of all people with disabilities in the life of the church and the full participation of the church in the lives of people with disabilities. The Disability Concerns ministries of the Christian Reformed Church in North America and the Reformed Church in America collaborate on the resources in these pages, as well volunteer engagement, training events, resource creation, and other means to support churches in their ministry.
Posted in: Some Thoughts on My Value as a Regional Advocate
Michele, I'm so grateful for your leadership within Disability Concerns. Your honesty and truth telling are a gift to us. I appreciate your naming what doesn't feel like a good fit about the Regional Advocate role. It's helped us think more broadly about how we can help match people's gifting and passions with the needs of the ministry. We shouldn't expect a one size fits all approach. I'm excited you'll be helping us with editing in the future!
Posted in: Breaking Barriers Fall 2021
Hi! All pdf's and audio are updated!
Posted in: Breaking Barriers Fall 2021
PDF and Large Print are both available now. Spanish and Korean and audio should be available any day! Thanks for reaching out!
Posted in: Breaking Barriers Fall 2021
PDF and Large print are both available now. Spanish, Korean and audio will be available soon.
Posted in: Resources for Disability Week and Disability Sunday 2021
Hilda,
oh, I am so sorry. That is so hurtful when your son is made in God's image and deserves a space in any church! Unfortunately I do hear this often from families connected to our ministry. However, I also here stories of how some churches do understand that everybody belongs! We are in the middle of a series for the month of October. Our first session was this past Thursday and the conversation on belonging came up and our guest speaker, Cara, told a wonderful story of inclusion in her church. Her story might give you a bit of hope on your journey to find a space where your son is valued for exactly how God made him. Here is the link to listen: https://youtu.be/4ygaeQi-WV8. Check back each week for another session. I hope they encourage you.
Posted in: Resources on Aspergers?
Hi Emily, a good place to start is to go to 211ontario.ca, then enter your search term - Asperger - and location - Toronto, and it will give you a long list of suggested resources and organizations.
Posted in: New Resource! Everybody Belongs, Serving Together
Hi Deb. Thanks for reaching out.
To clarify, to register for the series in October, there will be a $20 fee, which includes the book as part of the cost of the event.
If you are interested in purchasing the book separately from the event, the cost is $8 here: https://www.faithaliveresources.org/Products/810516/everybody-belongs-serving-together.aspx
(If you are a church or regional advocate, there is a promo code for the event that was sent out earlier. Happy to resend!)
Please feel free to reach out to me for further support anytime: [email protected]
Posted in: Classis by Video: Technical Edition
Awesome advice Al. Thanks!
Posted in: Advance Directives and 5 Wishes: Now Is the Time to Make Your Wishes Known
Michele, thanks for this reminder of how poverty affects every aspect of life, and lingers even after death. I pray that your mom (and all of you) will remain healthy.
Posted in: If You Don't Caption Videos, You're Missing Out Big Time
Christina, yes, this is another aspect of universal design. Captioning videos benefits everyone. Thanks!
Posted in: The Pastor's Marriage and the Satanist's Prayer
Syd, Thanks for these wise words. Marriages of pastor and spouse also face severe stress when the pastor experiences a mental health crisis. Unlike a physical illness, this form of illness often brings fear, stigma, and a potential for severe misunderstanding not only between spouses, but with the entire congregation. Disability Concerns created a resource to assist pastors, their families, and congregations in this difficult situation: Guide for Clergy Leave of Absence for Mental Health Reasons. We hope and pray it will be helpful for clergy marriages as well as for their congregations.
Posted in: CRC Resources for Disability Week
Thanks Ken. Yes, like Barb Newman likes to say, we're all like green and pink puzzle pieces. Every one of us has things we're good at and things we are not good at, and those things differ with each of us. So we all need each other.