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:

United Methodist General Board of Church & Society

Department of Jewish Family Concerns- Union For Reform Judaism-Mental Health information

Presbyterian Church (USA)- National Health Ministries- Serious Mental Illness Information

Mental Health: Ministries: To Erase The Stigma of Mental Illness

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.

Inclusion if people with disabilities in our congregational and community settings is a two way street. It opens up the possibilities that children with and without disabilities can learn together and challenge each other.

This morning I read a post from Dave Hingsburger at Chewing The Fat. Dave is one of the most observant bloggers I have encountered. He seems to be intentionally present to the lives of the people he encounters each day. This post is no exception. (Read it ready to be moved!)

I have often encountered families, unaware that I am hearing their conversations, who are not prepared to use the presence of a person with a disability as a teach-able moment. The parents in Dave’s story do an amazing job answering their son’s questions and giving him information to begin to remake his image of what it means for his neighbor to live with disability.

If we are to remake the world and our communities to include people with disabilities in powerful, life-giving ways we must begin by paying attention to the opportunities around us. We must engage those opportunities as experiences that can dispel ignorance and fear. I was moved by the simple, loving, educational interaction between the members of this family and the role that the presence of the stranger turned friend played in opening up possibilities.

Sometimes the power of inclusion is simply in the showing up! Showing up is helping to create the next generation of advocates and allies.

Have readers who live with disabilities had experiences with children that opened up possibilities?

Have family members been able to find language to help children dispell myths, fear and ignorance around the presence of people with disabilities?

Does anyone have other suggestions about speaking to children about disability?

American Jewish World Service is taking the opportunity that Jewish Disability Awareness Month provides to make the public aware of the ways their organization supports the work of people with disabilities in the developing world. Read the feature from American Jewish World Service titled: Taking Jewish Disability Awareness Month Global.

The past twenty years have witnessed much progress for people with disabilities here in the United States, so I think it is easy to overlook the life situations of people with disabilities in other parts of the world. Please take a moment to read the article and consider supporting the work of American Jewish World Service to support self/advocacy in other parts of our world.

Darcee over at Simply Catholic has written an a step by step account about the social story that she wrote for her daughter, who lives with autism to help her prepare for her First Communion.

I think the story provides a wonderful model for educating people who have developmental disabilities about the rituals and movements of our congregations.

Please read the post and offer your comments. Have any of you used social stories to help facilitate your family member’s inclusion in your congregation or other social setting?

Zoila Martinez, is a member of St. Brigid Catholic Church in Johns Creek. I witnessed a wonderful presentation given by Mrs. Martinez  about the process of helping her daughter prepare for her First Communion using a process very much like the one the writer of Simply Catholic describes.

Mrs. Martinez has accepted my invitation to be a part of a workshop on Inclusion of people with disabilities in study and service at the 2009 Interfaith Disability Connection Summit. You will be hearing more about the summit in the weeks to come.

Last Week I received the following message:

For Religious Educators and Ministers as well as Parents

I See You

As religious educators and teachers we are asked to do a lot with limited time to create a welcoming and inclusive ministry for all the children who come to our churches. Some religious educators are part time, parent/teachers are busy with the daily activities of caring for families and making a living, and ministers have an entire congregation to care for. We are not a social service agency, so how do we respond to children that need more time and attention than others?

If you have attended one of my workshops, you know that I emphasize cultivating an attitude which looks for the positive in children rather than focusing on the negatives implied by the label. Children are more apt to act in constructive ways when they feel positive, unconditional regard from the adults leading the religious education (RE) program. Instead, what often happens is that teachers expect behavior based on past inappropriate behavior or based on the deficits implied by the label. Therefore it becomes easy to fall into the trap of trying to control the behavior rather than trying to understand why children are behaving the way they do. We do not have to condone the behavior in order to embrace the child. And really it is as simple as that. Conveying to the child, “I see you, not the label, not the difficult behavior,I see you.” All the teaching techniques in the world are ineffective without the attitude of positive, unconditional regard for all the children in your RE program. Changing our minds about the children we perceive as difficult frees us to be more creative and our task becomes easier. We do not have to be a social service agency; we do not have to do it all in one hour Sunday morning and at other church events. All we have to do is affirm the worth and dignity of every child by seeing past the labels to each child’s unique gifts. The rest will follow.

This comes from Sally Patton, who is a Unitarian Universalist educator and parent.

Sally has also written a Declaration On Celebrating The Whole Child. You can see and sign it HERE. If you want more information about the work shops Sally provides   about making your congregation a welcoming place for all children you can visit her web site HERE.
If you want to read about how one IDC member congregation is welcoming children with disabilities in their religious education program you cand read a success story HERE.

I would love to know what you think?

I have just begun reading This Abled Body: Rethinking Disabilities & Biblical Studies. At this point I am impressed. If you are interested the book provides a wide range of perspectives both from scholars in disability studies and biblical studies. I think the book provides some interesting and helpful scholarship that seeks to counter some of the most prevalent nations about disability and the  biblical story.

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts?

Jewish Disability Awareness Month is being observed in Jewish communities and synagogues throughout the country during the month of February. Linda Zimmerman wrote a great post announcing the observance here.

I have started to hear about ways that synagogues and other organizations are raising awareness and lifting up the contributions of people with disabilities in their midst. Temple Sinai in Sandy Springs featured the following article in the most recent D’var Sinai.

Jewish Disability Awareness Month Article-Temple Sinai 2009

There have been a number of impressive resources for the observance of Jewish Disability Awareness month.  The Jewish Special Education International Consortium offers some solid resources on their web site here.  The Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism offers this blog post with links to resources.

I would love to know about ways your community is observing this important consciousness raising event? Was there a sermon given to lift up the issue? Did your community offer disability awareness training? Did you help serve people with disabilities in your neighborhood or community? Where there other ways you celebrated the gifts, skills and abilities of people with disabilities?

Please leave a comment or send and e-mail.

I was grateful to be included in an exciting conversation yesterday,via Facebook, about the pastoral issues that are raised when clergy present sermons and teaching related to healing stories in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament.

A fellow Candler alum was writing for a commentary on the Book of Isiah chapter 35. This passage beginning at verse 5 reads:

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like deer, and the tongue of the dumb shall shout aloud; For waters will burst forth in the desert , Streams in the wilderness.

Given this pronouncement the questioner wanted to know:

I’m trying to finish up an essay on Isaiah 35 for one of the Feasting on the Word commentaries (I’m doing the pastoral perspective, as opposed to homiletical, theological, or exegetical) and am struggling over the promise that the blind will see, deaf will hear, lame will leap, mute will sing. I realize that this is a theme that echoes throughout Scripture, including with Jesus’ own life. But I am also aware of the growing understanding of people living with disabilities being differently-abled as opposed to disabled. I know that the Deaf Culture, for instance, has a strong sense of their deafness as something to be embraced, not to be fixed.

What I’m wrestling with is how big of a pastoral concern this understanding might be for a preacher dealing with Isaiah 35 (or any other healing story). I know that my own mother, who has paraplegia, would much prefer to walk - there is no question that her paralysis is something she would wish healing for. I know that her desire is not necessarily a universal desire, as the biblical writers might assume, but I am guessing that it would be the majority view.

What I’m looking for from those of you who have tagged is a couple of things:
1 - do you think it’s a valid pastoral issue when preaching healing texts, to at least consider the fact that many of those who are differently-abled are not looking to be fixed?
2 - could you point me to any resources that might explore this further? .

I am interested to know what some of you who preach and teach on these stories think?

I will leave some of my thoughts in the comments