disability ministry weekly round-up {3-19-12}
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Let me start with a head's up: I'll probably be quiet over here this week. We have a huge adoption fundraising night this Thursday (if you're in Raleigh, come on out!), and I'm prepping the silent auction and other details. I'll be back in full force next week, though!
The Includers: "It can be easy to get caught up in a group of peers and be comfortable without even noticing those on the outside." {How can we help kids and adults - with and without special needs - include their peers at church?}
What I'd like you to say to my kid with special needs: "I want you both to treat my son with special needs the same you you treat his sister, or any kid." {How can we do that well in ministry settings?}
Tending the Weeds in Your Ministry Relationships: "You don't have to be afraid of examining your ministry community, no matter how weedy it may be, because God meets you in your difficulty with his amazing grace." {When's the last time you examined your ministry area or your life to determine where weeds need to be pulled so that healthy growth can occur?}
Perhaps you should sue God: I'm not going to quote from this post, a letter from a mom of a beautiful child with Down syndrome directed to the parents who sued medical professionals for the "wrongful birth" of their daughter with the same diagnosis. Just go read it.
Special treatment for kids with special needs (and the fine line we walk as their parents): "I want my child to be treated like every other child. I want my child to get special accommodations for his disabilities. These two things may seem contradictory. Actually, they're not." {Do you struggle with figuring out where to modify and where not to for kids with special needs at your church? In those struggles, do you engage parents as allies in figuring that out?}
Young Life hosts day camp for special-needs children and adults: "A lot of folks just assume that because our friends have mental disabilities, they can't grasp the Gospel, but that's not true. I think our friends grasp it better sometimes than we do." {What are you doing to not just open the doors of your church to people with disabilities but to share the Gospel with them?}
Joni Eareckson Tada on Wilberforce Award, "Better Off Dead Than Disabled" Mentality: "Most of all, it's been my heart's desire to see the church carry out the mandate from the Gospel of Luke, the 14th chapter where Jesus says to go out and find the disabled and bring them in. My life goal is to see the world's one billion people with disabilities embraced and encouraged by the church." {Is this your heart's desire? Is your church helping to reach Joni's goal or not?}
The Includers: "It can be easy to get caught up in a group of peers and be comfortable without even noticing those on the outside." {How can we help kids and adults - with and without special needs - include their peers at church?}
What I'd like you to say to my kid with special needs: "I want you both to treat my son with special needs the same you you treat his sister, or any kid." {How can we do that well in ministry settings?}
Tending the Weeds in Your Ministry Relationships: "You don't have to be afraid of examining your ministry community, no matter how weedy it may be, because God meets you in your difficulty with his amazing grace." {When's the last time you examined your ministry area or your life to determine where weeds need to be pulled so that healthy growth can occur?}
Perhaps you should sue God: I'm not going to quote from this post, a letter from a mom of a beautiful child with Down syndrome directed to the parents who sued medical professionals for the "wrongful birth" of their daughter with the same diagnosis. Just go read it.
Special treatment for kids with special needs (and the fine line we walk as their parents): "I want my child to be treated like every other child. I want my child to get special accommodations for his disabilities. These two things may seem contradictory. Actually, they're not." {Do you struggle with figuring out where to modify and where not to for kids with special needs at your church? In those struggles, do you engage parents as allies in figuring that out?}
Young Life hosts day camp for special-needs children and adults: "A lot of folks just assume that because our friends have mental disabilities, they can't grasp the Gospel, but that's not true. I think our friends grasp it better sometimes than we do." {What are you doing to not just open the doors of your church to people with disabilities but to share the Gospel with them?}
Joni Eareckson Tada on Wilberforce Award, "Better Off Dead Than Disabled" Mentality: "Most of all, it's been my heart's desire to see the church carry out the mandate from the Gospel of Luke, the 14th chapter where Jesus says to go out and find the disabled and bring them in. My life goal is to see the world's one billion people with disabilities embraced and encouraged by the church." {Is this your heart's desire? Is your church helping to reach Joni's goal or not?}