The Summer edition of Making A Difference Magazine from the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities features five articles about the power congregations have to be places of inclusion and opportunity for people with disabilities and their families.
Thank you to Reverend Bill Gaventa, Ginny Thornburgh, Imam Furqan Muhammad, Pastor Devin Strong, Rabbi Harvey Winokur, Reverend Denny and Varion Spear, Pat Nobbie and many others for their work in lifting the profile of this important issue.
Thank you to The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities for shining a light on religious leaders and congregations who actively engaging people with disabilities in worship, study, service and leadershi.
Episode #3 of the Interfaith Disability Connection Podcast features Mrs. Betty Hasan-Amin and Reverend Alan Roof. Mrs. Hasan-Amin is the Founder of You-Ni-Verse Greeting Cards and a member at Masjid Al-Muâ??Minun. Reverend Roof serves as a Chaplain at Shepherd Center. Alan is an Ordained Minister in the United Church of Christ.
Betty and Alan are two individuals who helped plan and deliver the 2008 That All May Worship: Beyond The Ramp Conference. They discuss the impact that attending the 2008 event has had on them and help us preview what is most exciting to them as the prepare to participate in the 2009 Interfaith Disability Connection Summit on Sunday, August 9, 2009.
They also discuss why the think YOU Should plan to attend!
You can listen to the podcast by clicking the play button below:
The congregation’s web site includes a number of wonderful resources for understanding the foundation of the congregation’s commitment to people with disabilities and their families.
Congratulations to Rabbi Kipnes and the Congregation Or Ami Family on their much deserved EP Maxwell J. Schleifer Distinguished Service Award.
I am inspired by the congregation’s efforts and I hope you are too.
Do you know about a congregation or a leader that is doing wonderful things like this?
In this first podcast of the Interfaith Disability Connection Director Mark Crenshaw interviews Ginny Thornburgh, Director of the Interfaith Initiative at the American Association of People with Disabilities in Washington, DC, Thornburgh will serve as an event facilitator at the 2nd annual IDC Summit this Sunday, August 9, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. Click the play button on the player below to listen to the podcast.
Linda Zimmerman, Executive Director of The Amit Program shared a wonderful article from Exceptional Parent Magazine. The article shares wisdom from an amazing group of leaders in Jewish Special Education.
The authors of the article go on to look at the need to provide inclusive Jewish education through the lens of the quote. The article is a wonderful resource for parents who have questions about including their children with disabilities.
The article offers the perspectives of five women who are in the forefront as leaders in the field of Jewish Special Education. The collected wisdom in the article is invaluable,
A big THANK YOU to Linda for sharing the article! I hope readers gain insight and food for the journey.
As stress increases more and more people in our congregation are likely experiencing the effects of depression. I have found that too often we have difficulty speaking the truth about depression because we feel we should be better able to control our moods. We become convinced that depression is a sign of weakness.
May faith groups have put together resources to assist congregations in talking about and responding to depression and other form of mental illness in our midsr. Here are links to a few of them:
I was reminded of these issues and the importance of providing space for this important conversation by a recent interview I saw with Quaker teacher and Scholar Parker Palmer.
Please take a few minutes minutes to view the clip below:
I would love to hear your reflections on our times and the rise of depression. I would also love to hear from readers concerning your reflections on the Parker Palmer clip.
Rabbi Rau was gracious enough to take a few minutes to share with me about the inclusive educational model he, Stacy Levy, and The Temple Education Department have worked to implement.
The commitment of The Temple to provide an inclusive religious school program for children of all abilities is commendable.
I was excited about my conversation with Rabbi Rau for 3 reasons:
1. We discussed his efforts to share the model they have developed with other congregations both inside and outside the Jewish community.
2. It is my sense that the model is replicable and scalable to the size of the congregation.
3. The Temple Education Staff uses volunteering to support children with disabilities (different learning abilities) as part of a multi-pronged approach to getting and keeping youth connected to Jewish education post Bar/Bat mitvah.
I am grateful to Rabbi Rau, Ms. Levy and the rest of the folks at the Temple for the work they do building and sustaining a community where all people can find and maintain connection in religious school and the larger community.
I am also grateful for the part that programs like this play in raising disability awareness. Children and youth educated in inclusive environments will lead the way in making the world a more just place for people with disabilities in the years to come.
Jewish Family & Career Services will host The Larry Bregman Educational Conference on February 28th & March 1st, 2009. The keynote speaker for the event is Reverend Al Mead and if you heard Al at the 2008 Interfaith Disability Connection Conference you know he will be GREAT!
I have volunteered at the Bregman Conference in the past and it is a wonderful conference. The conference offers a track for self-advocates (people with disabilities) and a track for family members. Both tracks offer education and fun to participants. The workshop lineup looks great!
I had the amazing experience of planning a retreat that Jean led here in Atlanta in the summer of 2002. I count my time at that retreat as one of the privileges of my life. I found Vanier to be one of the most grace-full people I have met.
Vanier’s work on behalf fo L’Arche and his writing are significant because they envision disability in profound ways. I am most grateful for Vanier’s insights around relationship building and peace-making. These insights are significant to me because they spring directly from his experience of befriending people with disabilities.
I am thankful to Jean Vanier for his lifetime of service to G-D, to people with disabilities and to our broken world. I am also grateful for awards like the Nation Builder of the Year because they give the world an opportunity to learn about this great servant-leader.
