There are many reasons why agencies or institutions who serve people with disabilities may be wary of working with churches who want to provide religious services for people with disabilities. Some agencies may be nervous about strict government guidelines regarding religious institutions and funding, others may have had a bad experience with church groups wanting to work with people they support or even a bad personal experience with faith.
Mark Twain said: “The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you discover why.”
Jesus said: “You are the light of the world. Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works and give glory to your God in heaven.”
Our last newsletter gave a quick update of our plans for the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering, but we wanted to share a little bit more about where you can find us and what you can expect when you come to our learning space. Here’s a breakdown of what we have planned.
Do You See Me or My Disability? Building a Diverse Church
We know that God sees and loves all people equally, but the church and society don’t have the best track record when it comes to embracing and loving people who seem different.
This July marks the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.
One of our goals this month is to start scheduling short phone conferences between host sites and the Rejoicing Spirits support team. We hope these 45-60 minutecalls will give host site leaders the opportunity to gather together, share ideas, struggles and victories and much more. Host site leaders, please watch your email for invitations to set up phone conferences. Congregations who are unable to participate in phone conferences will be required to fill out the annual survey. Please email carrie.gubsch@mosaicinfo.org with questions.
Written by Terry Chaney, member at First Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Mich.
On Aug. 3 our Rejoicing Spirits team tried the experiment using the Rejoicing Spirits service as our Sunday morning worship service. Tracing the ripples has been both more interesting and thought provoking than I had initially anticipated. We did the service, including an older skit, at both of our services. The first, our 8:30 a.m. service, is attended mostly by older members but it also includes some of the strongest backers of Rejoicing Spirits. Although I personally was a bit concerned at how they would react, I greatly underestimated their collective imagination and willingness to embrace something different.
In 1913, the American philosopher Josiah Royce wrote, “My life means nothing, either theoretically or practically, unless I am a member of a community.” Royce observed that, besides the actual communities we experience on a daily basis, there was also an ideal “beloved community” made up of all those who would be dedicated fully to the cause of loyalty, truth and reality itself. Royce founded the Fellowship of Reconciliation, a movement that was later joined by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
March was declared Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month by President Ronald Reagan in 1987. The proclamation urged all Americans to join the President “in according our fellow citizens with such disabilities both encouragement and the opportunities they need to live productive lives and achieve their full potential.”
Representatives from Mosaic and Rejoicing Spirits will host a portion of the proclaim community space at the 2015 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Detroit, Mich. Our booth will provide students and adults who attend with the opportunity to experience some of the daily activities of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Participants will also have the opportunity to advocate for full inclusion of people with disabilities by becoming a part of a social media mosaic of awareness.
After more than six months of work, we’re pleased to announce a new version of rejoicingspirits.org. The website has been updated to reflect Rejoicing Spirits' new identity as a ministry of Mosaic and our goal of expanding the ministry to more host sites. Even though the website has changed, our vision of ensuring that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have the opportunity to explore and express their faith remains the same.
This July marks the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.
