Weekly round-up! {8/8/11}
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I'm off to jury duty now. I've never done this before, and I'm not quite sure what to expect! I'm planning to bring a notebook to sketch out some more Access Ministry plans, policies, and dreams, so hopefully the waiting time - which I've been warned will be plentiful! - will be productive. I'll share more on that later, but for now ... enjoy this round-up of links from last week!
Did you love Amelia Bedelia as a child like I did? If so, you'll love this post comparing her literal interpretation of idioms with the challenges some people with special needs, such as Asperger's, have understanding figurative language.
This post set off a bit of a firestorm online. The original one was an opinion piece for the Associated Baptist Press about the church's (negative) response to families with autism. I saw a couple of follow-up, first a Christian perspective Get Up and Get that Kid Out of Here! and then a secular one Autism and the Community: Looking at Church. While I was discouraged by the opinion piece because I hate hearing stories about people with disabilities being excluded from church, I was encouraged that others were unsettled by it too.
I found this article in the NY Times interesting: kids with dyslexia may also have problems processing auditory information. The takeaway for the church? If you ask a question, understand that someone with dyslexia might have difficulty processing it. As you teach a lesson, check periodically to check for understanding, especially if you're relying primarily on auditory instruction (or, better yet, involve other senses in your instruction, such as visuals, movement, touch, or smell).
My friend Barb, who is also foundress of Snappin' Ministry (Special Needs Parent Network), discusses in this post her tough summer and ponders how people who don't know Christ can handle life as a caretaker to children with special needs and an elderly parent with health needs.
This post from The Gospel Coalition was a great reminder for me right now as I'm recruiting volunteers for Access Ministry at our church: The Sin of Insecurity
A pastor at a Christian church who considers himself an atheist, preaches about enjoying this life because it's all you have, and describing the story of Jesus as a nice myth? Yep, that describes the pastor and movement being seen in Denmark and other parts of Europe right now. What we do at church is pointless without a clear understanding of why - rather, for Whom - we do it.
And, finally, churches who are engaging in special needs ministry who showed up in my news feed this week:
I hope y'all enjoy this round-up of links each week as much as I enjoy compiling them. Have a great Monday!
(And please come back tomorrow as I begin answering the questions from Tammy that I posted last week. Feel free to add any other questions in the comments section of that post!)
Did you love Amelia Bedelia as a child like I did? If so, you'll love this post comparing her literal interpretation of idioms with the challenges some people with special needs, such as Asperger's, have understanding figurative language.
This post set off a bit of a firestorm online. The original one was an opinion piece for the Associated Baptist Press about the church's (negative) response to families with autism. I saw a couple of follow-up, first a Christian perspective Get Up and Get that Kid Out of Here! and then a secular one Autism and the Community: Looking at Church. While I was discouraged by the opinion piece because I hate hearing stories about people with disabilities being excluded from church, I was encouraged that others were unsettled by it too.
I found this article in the NY Times interesting: kids with dyslexia may also have problems processing auditory information. The takeaway for the church? If you ask a question, understand that someone with dyslexia might have difficulty processing it. As you teach a lesson, check periodically to check for understanding, especially if you're relying primarily on auditory instruction (or, better yet, involve other senses in your instruction, such as visuals, movement, touch, or smell).
My friend Barb, who is also foundress of Snappin' Ministry (Special Needs Parent Network), discusses in this post her tough summer and ponders how people who don't know Christ can handle life as a caretaker to children with special needs and an elderly parent with health needs.
This post from The Gospel Coalition was a great reminder for me right now as I'm recruiting volunteers for Access Ministry at our church: The Sin of Insecurity
A pastor at a Christian church who considers himself an atheist, preaches about enjoying this life because it's all you have, and describing the story of Jesus as a nice myth? Yep, that describes the pastor and movement being seen in Denmark and other parts of Europe right now. What we do at church is pointless without a clear understanding of why - rather, for Whom - we do it.
And, finally, churches who are engaging in special needs ministry who showed up in my news feed this week:
- a safe haven for kids with special needs at 1st Presbyterian in Yakima, WA
- the story of the start of special needs ministry at LifeBridge Christian Church in Longmont, CO
- the mention of accepting church in Fargo, ND, in a story about parents who have four adult children with disabilities
- a church, St. Margaret Mary's Church, that stepped up in a simple but helpful way to allow a child to serve others: a boy with Asperger's wanted to have a lemonade stand to raise money for Autism Speaks, but he didn't live on a busy road, so the church let him set up his stand there yesterday (see? grandiose gestures aren't always necessary; a willingness to say YES! to small things like this is a great start!)
- another church, Epiphany Lutheran Church, where The Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at the University of Central Florida is holding their summer camp (this is another low-effort way for churches to get started: make your facility available to groups like this one - if possible, at a lower cost than you generally would or at no cost if you can work that out; they run the camp, you gain a partner in the community!)
- a class for adults - currently ranging from age 19 to 72 - with disabilities at First Baptist in Phoenix
I hope y'all enjoy this round-up of links each week as much as I enjoy compiling them. Have a great Monday!
(And please come back tomorrow as I begin answering the questions from Tammy that I posted last week. Feel free to add any other questions in the comments section of that post!)