Mair Hall & Philip Lambert
Center on Human Policy
Syracuse University
805 South Crouse Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13244-2280
April 1998
This information package includes several reprints that we are unable to produce here on our web site. We have indicated contact information for each resource, or you can obtain a complete copy of this information package by contacting Center on Human Policy.
NOTE: This information package was developed in 1998. Although it has not been updated, it contains information that continues to be extremely useful to people who are concerned about supports and services for people with disabilities.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction
- Articles, Books, Curricula, and Videos
- Resources on L’arche
- Newsletters
- Mission & Pastoral Statements
- Organizations
- Information on Reprints
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge the following persons for their help in the preparation of this package. We thank Mary Jane Owens, who is the executive director of the National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities and co-editor of the NCPD National Update newsletter; Tom Cunningham, who is director of the Ministry with Persons with Disabilities Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, NY; Bill Gaventa co-editor of the NJ Coalition for Inclusive Ministries newsletter; and Becca Hornstein, who is Executive Director at the Council for Jews with Special Needs, Inc., all for helping gather the resources we included in this package. Finally, we thank Rachael Zubal at the Center on Human Policy for helping us gather resources and especially for keeping an eye out for resources that had gotten buried in our library or that had newly arrived.
The preparation of this information package was supported in part by the National Resource Center on Community Integration, Center on Human Policy, School of Education, Syracuse University, through the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), through Contract No. H133D50037. No endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education should be inferred.
Introduction
People with disabilities have a long relationship with faith communities. Take for example the following passage from the book of Deuteronomy on people who are blind: “And you shall grope at noonday as the blind gropes in the darkness” (28:29). How do we interpret this passage? Jewish and Christian traditions tell a very similar story to interpret it. The Jewish telling of the story goes like this:
Now what difference does it make to a blind man whether it is dark or light? I didn’t find out until the following incident occurred. I was walking on a pitch black night when I saw a blind man walking in the road with a torch in his hand. I said to him, “My son, why are you carrying a torch?” He replied, “As long as I have this torch in my hand, people see me and save me from the hole and the thorns and briars.” (Megillah 24b in Astor, 1985, p. 76-77)
People who are blind “grope,” not because of their blindness, but because of their community’s blindness toward them-that is, their community’s lack of support to them. To take this interpretation one step further, using an example from the Christian tradition, the blind person is said to carry the torch to light the way for others who might also be out in the pitch black. Both of these interpretations show that including people with disabilities in faith communities is deeply rooted in the philosophies of both of these religious traditions.
Not withstanding the exclusion and rejection that members of faith communities have practiced toward people with disabilities, throughout history there have always been members of these communities who loved, supported, and respected their fellow human beings with disabilities. They did this mostly through charity work toward people with disabilities: caring, feeding, housing, and protecting them. Take, for example, the Catholic and Protestant Bishops in Germany during the time of Hitler who carried out letter-writing initiatives, to the risk of their own lives, against Hitler’s murder campaign against German people with disabilities. One of our favorite stories from this time goes as follows:
In the little village of Absberg, in southern Germany there was the Abbey of Ottilienheim. The Abbey which was across from the parish of St. George had been home for people with disabilities for many, many years. The nuns of the Abbey cared for their residents, most of whom were from the town itself, members of the local Catholic families of farmers and trades persons.
One day in the fall of 1940 a gray bus came into the courtyard of the Abbey. While the villagers watched, a number of the residents of the Abbey were put on the bus and taken away. Never seen again, the villagers and the nuns were told by the local constable that the residents all died of influenza. However, the villagers did not believe this story. These were members of their own families, and known to most of the villagers. In this small Catholic village, the nuns and the people with disabilities had always been a part of St. George’s services.In the winter of the following year, the Mother Superior was informed by the Nazi’s that another bus was coming. She was told not to tell anyone. However, Mother was very upset by this news and told the local priest. The next morning, before sunrise, the nuns woke their residents and despite the risk, took them to mass for a special service at St. George’s. After mass, the priest told the residents that 75 of them were about the be taken away on one of the gray buses. The residents knew what this meant. When the bus came later that day, the entire village followed the bus to the Abbey, in protest. The residents refused to get on the buses and many of the nuns and residents hung to each other. It was no use, the Nazis used force to drag them apart and onto the buses …
(retold from Gallager, 1995)
Today, stories such as the these two have inspired members of faith communities to work with people with disabilities to develop inclusive faith communities.
This information package includes examples and resources of how these people think about, and work toward, building faith communities where all people are welcome. The package is divided into four sections. The first section contains articles, books, curricula, and videos that discuss both philosophical and pragmatic ways in which faith communities and their congregents, with and without disabilities, can work together for the building of inclusive faith communities. Within this section we have included a subsection on writings about L’Arche. We separated out these writings because L’Arche faith communities are a unique example of full-time, life-sharing, intentional religious participation. They are not meant to represent the only way by which people with disabilities can be included in faith communities. The second section lists newsletters, the majority of which are free-of-charge. In the third section we have listed several mission and pastoral statements. These statements lay out how different faith communities support and work for the inclusion of people with disabilities. For example, Rabbi Schneerson of the Lubavitch Hassidic Jewish community makes it very clear that Jewish children with disabilities have the full right to be included in Jewish life. Similarly, the pastoral statement of the U.S. Catholic bishops makes its clear that Catholics with disabilities have every right to be included in all aspects of church life. The fourth section lists organizations who work and publish information on how to make faith communities inclusive. In the final section we have included several reprints of articles and mission and pastoral statements that we feel best detail the meaningfulness, the complexities, and the challenges of working toward this inclusion.
We realize that this is not a comprehensive package, and we are continually working to find new resources especially from those faith communities which admittedly are underrecognized here. There is a dearth of information available on this topic. Some of this information recognizes that people with disabilities have spiritual lives and needs, yet addresses this life and need within the contexts of separate, “special” services and programs. What we are interested in is faith communities that are thinking about the complexities of, and working toward, including people with disabilities within mainstream faith settings and practice. For this reason, we chose resources that we feel best represent this inclusive philosophy.
References
Astor, C. (1985). Who makes people different?: Jewish perspectives on the disabled. New York: United Synagogues of America.
Gallager, H. G. (1995). By trust betrayed: Patients, physicians, and the license to kill in the Third Reich (Rev. ed.). Arlington, VA: Vadamere Press.
Articles, Books, Curricula, & Videos
TITLE: We don’t have any here: Planning for ministries with people with disabilities in our communities
AUTHOR: Anderson, W., Gould, T. & Paul, J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1986
Discipleship Resources
P. O. Box 840
Nashville, TN 37202
Written by people well known for their work and writing in the disability area, specifically regarding disability concerns for the United Methodist tradition, this 42 page booklet is concerned with ministering to people with developmental and other types of disabilities. Containing 3 chapters, the first chapter looks at different types of ministries including an inclusive preschool, respite care, summer camps, young adults groups, congregational awareness about disability, congregational support and advocacy, and making group home residents part of your faith community. The second and third chapters examine the Resurrection Preschool, an inclusive church preschool program, and the needs and resources in the community for planning inclusion of people with disabilities in faith communities.
TITLE: “Who make the disabled different?” Jewish perspectives on the disabled
AUTHOR: Astor, C.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1985
S. Garfinkel (Ed.)
United Synagogues of America
Department of Youth Activities
155 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10010
This book is an excellent introduction into multiple ways of understanding disability within the Jewish tradition. Astor organizes the book into several chapters which address references to disability in biblical sources, rabbinical sources, and connections to Jewish philosophies and core values. Throughout the book, the reader is challenged to question and interpret the material and relate it to issues about disability within their own community or congregation. The book offers concrete advise to help individuals and congregations become more accommodating and inclusive. It is particularly oriented to youth groups and schools and would be a valuable educational guide.
TITLE: A bill of rights for persons with mental retardation in relation to congregations
AUTHOR: Bethseda Lutheran Homes
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1992
Bethseda Lutheran Homes and Services, Inc.
700 Hoffmann Dr.
Watertown, WI 53094
This flyer lays out the rights of people with labels of mental retardation in relation to congregations with regard to respect, accessibility, acceptance, inclusion, service, education, compassion, understanding, advocacy, and friendship.
TITLE: Do’s and don’ts: Welcoming people with disabilities
AUTHOR: Bishop, M. E.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1994
CHURCH Magazine
The National Pastoral Life Center
299 Elizabeth St.
New York, NY 10012-2806
(212) 431-7825
This pamphlet is designed to give parishioners and clergy a quick first-step guide as to what to do, and not to do, in welcoming and worshipping with parishioners with disabilities. Author Marilyn Bishop, who is involved with Disability Ministry at the University of Dayton, Ohio, covers the do’s and don’ts in welcoming people with the impairments of: visual, physical or mobility, speech, comprehension, deafness and hearing, and mental illness impairments. She also provides very practical tips on language that is or is not welcoming of people with disabilities.
TITLE: Dimensions of faith and congregational ministries with persons with developmental disabilities and their families-Updated and expanded
AUTHORS: Building Community Supports Project, University Affiliated Program of NJ & The Religion Division of the AAMR
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1996
Building Community Supports Project, University Affiliated
Program of NJ & The Religion Division of the AAMR
31 Alexander St.
Princeton, NJ 08540
(908) 235-4408
COST: $10.00
Compiled by the religion division of the AAMR, this excellent bibliography and address listing was produced for clergy, lay persons, families, and service providers, to help them in the inclusion of people with disabilities in faith communities. Sections covered are: Worship and Sacraments; The Arts; Architectural and Attitudinal Accessibility; Scriptural, Theological, and Ethical Issues; Religious Education Guides and Curricula; Jewish Resources and Organizations; and National Faith Group Resource and Consulting Offices.
TITLE: Dimensions of faith and congregational ministries with persons with developmental disabilities and their families-1998 edition
AUTHOR: Community Building Partners & The Religion Division AAMR
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1998
Community Building Partners
c/o 45 Knightsbridge Rd.
PO Box 6810
Piscataway, NJ 08855-6810
(732) 235-4078
TDD: (732) 235-4407
An updated and expanded edition of the 1996 edition, Dimensions of faith is a bibliography and address listing of resources for clergy, laypersons, families, and service providers. Included this time, among other areas of interest, is information on worship and sacraments, music and arts, architectural accessibility, outreach, ethics and theology, pastoral care around death, grieving, and sexuality, children, for parents and families for persons with disabilities, Jewish resources, audio visual resources, journal, articles, and magazines, and the addresses of national faith organizations.
TITLE: Sharing the journey: Active reflections on the Church’s presence with mentally retarded persons
AUTHOR: Cook, E.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1986
W. C. Brown Co. Publishers
now distributed through:
National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities
P. O. Box 29113
Washington, DC 20017
(202) 529-2933
This book is a collection of 14 articles written by members of the National Apostolate for Persons with Mental Retardation (NAPMR). Articles discuss: roles of the church, parent advocacy, sexuality, residential services, the medical profession, education, and finances. Two chapters that are key for those interested in the inclusion of people with disabilities in faith communities are “A Church’s Presence to Families with Members Who are Mentally Retarded” and “The Role of the Church in Providing Comprehensive Services and Ministries for Families.”
TITLE: The Disability Rag resource on religion and disability
AUTHOR: The Disability Rag
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1993 (Sept/Oct)
The Disability Rag & ReSource
P. O. Box 145
Louisville, KY 40201
A special issue of this disability rights magazine dedicated to religion and disability, this issue is excellent. We can read of discussions on the Pope, the Bible and disabilities, a world view on religion and disability, religion and the ADA, faith healing, and communion to name a few topics. Also included, is a reading list and some lovely poetry.
TITLE: Open hearts: A youth ministry resource on inclusivity
AUTHOR: Division for Congregational Ministries
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1992
Division for Congregational Ministries
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Distribution Services
426 South 5th St., Box 1209
Minneapolis, MN 55440
1-800-328-4648
Although this publication does not focus on disability alone-it also looks at gender, age, and culture-it does look at issues of inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in faith communities.
TITLE: The disabled God: Toward a liberation theology of disability
AUTHOR: Eiesland, N.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
Abingdon Press
201 Eight Ave. South
P. O. Box 801
Nashville, TN 37202-0801
1-800-251-3320
Through this book Eiesland, who became disabled as a child when she had polio, helps the reader to see how the “hidden history” of conventional bodies living ordinary lives with grace and dignity, disgust and illusion, can make for both a theological and pastoral contribution. Arguing for a liberation theology, she calls on us to move away from our defining of people with disabilities as people who need to adjust to a minority group that is subject to social stigmatization. While her examples tend to be based on the experiences of people with physical disabilities, what she has to say is also insightful for those working to include people with developmental disabilities in faith communities.
TITLE: Opening our community to Jews with disabilities
AUTHORS: Elbaum, E., Cohen, E., Thomas, N. & Steer, M.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1993
Australia Disability Review, 1(93), 42-47
This article was a collaboration, written by a group of community advocates consisting of self advocates with disabilities, parents, and other community members. It outlines their collective effort to raise community awareness about disability issues within the Jewish community and empower those involved in the process. Throughout, they emphasize a strong sense of inclusion to create a diverse but close community. The article details the variety of innovative strategies they continually need to employ to reach unreceptive audiences.
TITLE: What it’s like to be me
AUTHOR: Exley, H. (Ed.)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION:
Friendship Press
P. O. Box 37844
Cincinnati, OH 45222-0844
1-800-889-5733
COST: $10.95 (plus shipping)
Written and illustrated entirely by children with disabilities, What It’s Like to Be Me, talks about what it is like to be a child with a disability who wishes to participate in life without being subjected to pity or prejudice. What the children say in this book will be helpful for those who wish to include children with disabilities in their faith communities. For example, one of the child authors writes, “apart from the annoying factor of breaking things, one of the worst things for me is being treated like a baby.” Friendship Press has been publishing Christian books on religion and faith since 1902. A free catalogue is available by calling their 1-800 number.
TITLE: Health and medicine in the Jewish tradition
AUTHOR: Feldman, D. M.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1986
In Mental as well as physical health (pp. 49-53). New York: Crossroad Publishers.
Crossroad Publishers
370 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10017
(212) 532-3650
This chapter addresses many of the same themes which were discussed in the articles by Shapiro and Wertlieb. However, Feldman relates them to ideas about health and illness, mind and body within the Jewish tradition. The reader can, therefore, connect many issues pertaining to disability to other Jewish principles.
TITLE: By trust betrayed: Patients, physicians, and the license to kill in the Third Reich (Rev. ed.)
AUTHOR: Gallager, H. G.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1995
Vadamere Press
P. O. Box 5243
Arlington, VA 22205
In By trust betrayed, Gallager looks at the Nazi euthanasia program that led to the murder of more than 200,000 people with disabilities. However, not all people in Nazi Germany approved of this supposed mercy killing and ethnic cleansing. Rather, members of various religious communities rose to oppose Hitler’s Aktion T-4 systematic program of killing people with disabilities. While this book does not focus specifically on the religious communities’ opposition to Aktion T-4, it does contain several stories of practicing clergy, nuns, lay persons, parishioners, and whole villages who actively, and openly, opposed the program through letter writing campaigns, sermons from the pulpit, and trying to physically stop people with disabilities from being sent to death often at the risk of their own lives.
TITLE: A Rosh Hashanah birthday
AUTHOR: Gaventa, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
The Common Thread Newsletter
c/o UCP
4638 Centre Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
In this real life account Reverend Gaventa tells of the spiritual experiences of three adults with disabilities. There is Harry, who is 75, and who asks to kiss the Torah. Then, there is Sally who is always the first one to come to a service. She cannot speak, but she can murmur her prayers. And then, there are Naomi and Mark and Bill and the Rabbi. This delightful slice reminds us that it is a lot easier to include people with disabilities in our faith communities than we often lead ourselves to believe.
TITLE: Courage to care: Seven families touched by disability
AUTHOR: Griffith Ransom, J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1994
Upper Room Books
1906 Grand Ave.
P. O. Box 189
Nashville, TN 37202
1-800-972-0433
COST: $9.95
This book tells the stories of seven families, each with a family member with a disability. These families tell how their lives were changed considerably by ordinary congregations, friends, and neighbors who cared. With regard to people with developmental disabilities, we read about the life of Jason, who has Down syndrome, Christina and Natalie, who have Rett syndrome, and Jim, who has cerebral palsy. Included also are three Appendices which: (1) offer advice on guidelines for helping, appropriate language, caring skills, do’s and don’t’s list for persons visiting families with children with disabilities, and practical suggestions from a parents; (2) a list of print resources; and (3) a brief list of disability organizations.
TITLE: Integrating religious and secular perspectives in the design and delivery of disability services
AUTHOR: Heifetz, L. J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1987
Mental Retardation, 25(3), 127-131.
Often religious and secular services are seen as polarized, or at best, in conflict. Heifetz examines the roots of each, and the roots of the perceived tension. His conclusions are that these are not two philosophical approaches. In many ways, he believes that they are hybrids, with similar histories, based on similar principles and continually influencing each other. By opening up dialogues, Heifetz believes that we can achieve more tolerance in individual practice and choice.
TITLE: Supporting the free exercise of religion in the group home context
AUTHOR: Hoeksema, T. B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1995
Mental Retardation, 33(5), 289-294
This article describes ways in which group home employees can support people with disabilities in the active expression of faith, both inside and outside of the home, while at the same time protecting the rights of others in the home who choose not to participate in religious expression. For example, religious practices can be allowed in a group home as long as no one is coerced to participate, consider past practices of residents, such as, praying at meal time, and using natural support to meet people’s religious needs.
TITLE: Jewish life cycle events: Including children with developmental disabilities
AUTHOR: Hornstein, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1996
Disability Solutions, 1(4) 9-11.
9220 S.W. Barbur Blvd. #119-179
Portland, OR 97219-5428
(503) 244-7662
email: dsolns@teleport.com
http://www.teleport.com/~dsolns
Becca Hornstein, the Executive Director of the Council for Jews with Special Needs, recounts some personal experiences she had in helping to include individuals with disabilities in synagogue activities and rituals. She offers several strategies to help make accommodations for people with mental and physical disabilities to participate in services; but further, she believes that full inclusion of people with disabilities will change the service in positive ways.
TITLE: How religious communities can support the transition to adulthood: A parent’s perspective
AUTHOR: Hornstein, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
Mental Retardation, 35(6), 485-487
Using the personal experiences of herself and her son as he approached the age of 21, Hornstein reflects on how religious communities can help young adults with disabilities as they make the transition from school to adult life. She reminds us that part of growing up is about making your own mistakes and learning from them. It’s also about learning how to keep yourself safe in potentially dangerous situations. That is, it is also about giving people they time they need to learn. Religious communities can provide support during this time of transition by providing loving environments, by challenging social discrimination against people with disabilities, and by allowing people with disabilities to advocate for themselves in youth groups, camps, and so on.
TITLE: Journal of Religion in Disability & Rehabilitation
PUBLICATION INFORMATION:
Haworth Pastoral Press
of Haworth Press, Inc.
10 Alice Street
Binghamton, NY 13904-1580
1-800-342-9678
First published in 1994, this journal publishes quarterly articles that pertain to the inclusion of people with disabilities in faith communities. Topics from past articles have included ministry to people with disabilities, parental and theologian reflections, marginalization, the deinstitutionalization of specialized ministries, spiritual responses to disability, and adaptive equipment.
TITLE: Disability for the religious
AUTHOR: Magik, P. J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1994 (Nov/Dec)
Disability Rag, 24-25.
The Disability Rag & ReSource
P. O. Box 145
Louisville, KY 40201
This article serves as a poignant reminder to non-disabled members of faith communities of the arguments they have used in the past, and in some cases still do, to exclude people with disabilities from actively participating in faith communities. Magik talks about how disabilities have been seen by the religious communities as signs of punishment and the sins of the fathers visited upon the children, tests of faith, acts of God, and in need of curing.
TITLE: A drama of love: A Christian educator’s guide to creating classes where everybody belongs
AUTHORS: Mullet, J. & Snyder, P.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1993
Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Mutual Aid
Advocacy & Education Resource Department
P. O. Box 483
Goshen, IN 46527
1-800-348-7468
COST: free to members of Mennonite congregations, $3.00 to nonmembers
Designed for religious education teachers, this booklet provides a practical step-by-step guide for including children with disabilities in inclusive religious education programs. Included are ways to use drama in inclusive classrooms. Cautions described include falling into the trap of inadvertently ascribing hero or heroine status to people with disabilities. Included also is a resource list of books, videos, films, and puppets that can be used in an inclusive religious education classroom.
TITLE: A loving justice: The moral and legal responsibilities of the U.S. Catholic church under the Americans with Disabilities Act
AUTHOR: National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities
PUBLICATION INFORMATION:
National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD)
P.O. Box 29113
Washington, DC 20017-0113
(202) 529-2933 (v/TTY)
Dedicated to “the ten million of our brothers and sisters with disabilities,” this book offers guidance for Catholic parishes and clergy as to how they can use the regulations under the ADA to make their parishes more inclusive, and serves as a reminder of the continuing obligation to work for the full participation of people with disabilities in our faith communities.
TITLE: Carrying on the crusade: Celebrating life in all its diversity
AUTHOR: National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
NCPD
P.O. Box 29113
Washington, DC 20017-0113
(202) 529-2933 (Voice/TDD)
Also available from Opening Doors to People with Disabilities-Volume II-The resource file, this piece advocates for the celebration of diversity in the culture of life in the face of physician-assisted suicide and selective abortion of so-called “defective” fetuses. Discussed are ways in which faith communities can work with, and in the protection of, people with disabilities against a “culture of death.” All in all, a down to earth piece on how to celebrate life in all its diversity in face of those who see people with disabilities as burdensome to society.
TITLE: Opening doors to people with disabilities-Volume II-The resource file
AUTHOR: National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
NCPD
PO Box 29113
Washington, DC 20017-0113
(202) 529-2933 (v/TTY)
This resource file is an extensive, 1,350 page encyclopedia of information on including people with disabilities in ministry. The resource file centers on the inclusion of people with assorted disabilities and includes descriptions of ways in which to include people with disabilities in religious education, ethical considerations, and family ministries. It also includes disability fact sheets and statistics, eminent Church documents, original essays and resources lists. Essay topics include: curricula, theological interpretations of disability, position statements on mercy killing, to name a few examples.
TITLE: Celebrating differences: A leader’s guide
AUTHOR: Neufeldt, A. (Ed.)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1984
Faith and Life Press & Mennonite Publishing House
616 Walnut Ave.
Scottdale, PA 15683
1-800-245-7894
This guide is designed for teachers and Clergy in adult Sunday school classes who wish to learn how to better respond to people with disabilities. The guide challenges us to accept and also to celebrate people with disabilities in their faith communities. Topics include: attitudinal barriers, experiences of rejection by parents and children with disabilities, education, faith development, life-planning, and quotations from people with developmental disabilities. All in all, this guide highlights the potentials of people with disabilities to understand faith.
TITLE: Open hearts, open minds, open doors
AUTHOR: Pathways Awareness Foundation
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
Pathways Awareness Foundation
123 N. Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606-1700
1-800-955-2445
TDD: (312) 236-7411
http://www.archdiocese-chgo.org
COST: $21.95 (including shipping)
This video was produced from the Inclusion Conference held in Chicago that was led by the late Cardinal Bernardin and Father Henri Nouwen. In Open hearts, open minds, open doors, these men, who are well known within the Catholic faith community for their work toward the creation of inclusive faith communities, provide insights into and guidance for the inclusion of people with disabilities in liturgy and church life. Specific topics they discuss are affirmation, communication-sign interpretation, large print, Braille, people first language, TDD, cassettes, animation, accessibility, keeping inclusion alive, and examples of inclusive prayers and petitions. Also included are practical bulletin inserts, which can be duplicated, on how to make your faith community more inclusive.
TITLE: “Who causes the blind to see”: Disability and quality of religious life
AUTHOR: Rose, A.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
Disability & Society, 12(3), 395-405.
In this article, Rose looks critically at how ancient beliefs in the Christian and Jewish traditions, and their resulting practices have often led to exclusion from churches and synagogues and societal oppression of people with disabilities. That is, although people with disabilities “often turn to religious institutions for comfort and belonging,” ancient beliefs-which result in religious definitions of disability as “signs of punishment or evil incarnation,” “challenges to divine perfection,” “objects of pity and charity,” and “incompetence and exemption from religious practice”-prevent them from being welcomed, openly, into faith communities. Rose helps the reader challenge the sources of his or her own beliefs about disability and the place of people with disabilities in churches and synagogues, to help the reader move toward the building of faith communities where “all may find fulfillment and inclusion….”
TITLE: Mental disorders: A chapter from the work of Preuss
AUTHOR: Rosner, F.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1978
Journal of Psychology & Judaism, 3(2), 126-140.
This article looks at the work of Julius Preuss who wrote a classic book on Biblical and Talmudic medicine. Preuss was one of the first writers to look at scriptural writings on medicine and illness-which at the time included mental disorders-to look at how their authors described these disabilities. Rosen looks at the implications for Preuss’ ideas in modern day Judaic interpretations of mental disorders.
TITLE: Who cares? Rediscovering community
AUTHOR: Schwartz, D.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
Westview Press
Harper Collins Publishing Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
212-207-7000
http://www.harpercollins.com/
Although this book does not relate specifically to the inclusion of people with disabilities in faith communities, it does look at the nature of communities that find humane responses to caring for and including people with disabilities. Schwartz talks about how communities can supplement social service systems to help provide richer and better lives for people with disabilities. The role of religious traditions of hospitality and care are discussed in view of how communities can be made stronger and more welcoming to all people.
TITLE: Pastoral care of the mentally disabled: Advancing care of the whole person
AUTHORS: Severino, S. K., & Liew, R (Eds.)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1994
Papers presented at the New York
Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and the
American Ass. of Pastoral Counselors
May 13, 1992
The collection of symposium papers includes topics such as, role of faith in mental healing, the role of mental health in spiritual growth, madness, mental health and the ministry, rage at God, having a parent who dies of AIDS, and mending the mind and mending the soul.
TITLE: The status of the mentally ill in Jewish law
AUTHOR: Shapiro, Y. A.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1993
Medicine & Law, 12, 317-324
This is another comprehensive and valuable reference for those who wish to reflect current ideologies to religious, legal, and philosophical sources. For example, should persons labeled with mental illness (the Talmudic term Shoteh) be expected to perform religious responsibilities, or should they be permitted to marry? Talmudic concepts about mental illness lead to certain categorizations and decisions. Shapiro discusses the implications of these for modern practice and understanding.
TITLE: The masks of God
AUTHOR: Sobolewska, A.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
In A. Gustavsson & E. Zakrzewska-Manterys (Eds.), Social definitions of disability (286-303). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Zak.
This chapter is from a Swedish and Polish edited book on social definitions of disability. The author, Sobolewska, who is the mother of Cecylia, a little girl with Down syndrome, looks at different theories of disability within both the Jewish and the Christian faith traditions. She tells us what it was like to give birth to a child with a disability among “Job’s friends” who hold to these different faith theories of disability; theories that associate disability with acts of a higher power, punishment, a cross to which parents never really become accustomed to, or “Christmas which lasts all year.” Sobolewska then reflects on her feelings about her daughter and what she sees as her daughter’s place within their faith community, saying “God does not have His own face. Every human face is the face of God” (p. 301). She suggests we stop hiding behind our own masks of fear in relation to people with disabilities, instead, looking beyond the external mask of disability to the person beneath.
TITLE: Leonard’s legacy: Innovative ventures in serving Jews with disabilities
AUTHORS: Solomon, S., Howard, R., Lazerus, L., & Spraetz, W.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
Jewish Journal of Communal Service, 181-187.
This article describes several innovative agencies and projects throughout the U.S. and Canada that emphasize “choice” and “inclusion.” It relates the challenges that these organizations face as they promote such initiatives as personal supports, creative living arrangements, self-determination, in respect to Jewish heritage.
TITLE: Loving justice: The ADA and the religious community
AUTHOR: Thornburgh, G.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1996
National Organization on Disabilities
910 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Suite 600
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 293-5960
TDD: (202) 293-5968
http://www.nod.org
COST: $10.00 (bulk discounts available)
Loving justice is a 32 page, question-and-answer format book that aims to clarify the relationship between the Americans with Disabilities Act, other relevant disability laws, and the religious community. Both legal and moral mandates are described.
TITLE: That all may worship: An interfaith welcome to people with disabilities
AUTHOR: Thornburgh, G.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
National Organization on Disabilities
910 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Suite 600
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 293-5960
TDD: (202) 293-5968
http://www.nod.org
COST: $10.00 (bulk discounts available)
That all may worship was designed to assist congregations, denominational groups and seminaries in welcoming people with disabilities. This award-winning 52-page handbook is now in its fifth printing, is inter-faith, and is concerned with people with all types of disabilities.
TITLE: From barriers to bridges: A community action guide for congregations and people with disabilities
AUTHOR: Thornburgh, G. & Rife, J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1996
National Organization on Disabilities
910 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Suite 600
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 293-5960
TDD: (202) 293-5968
http://www.nod.org
COST: $10.00 (bulk discounts available)
From barriers to bridges is a 62 page community action guide for congregations with congregents with disabilities. This guide focuses on the elimination of obstacles that hinder access to a full life of faith for people with disabilities through suggestions, such as to how to foster dialogue between people with disabilities, their family members, religious leaders, and the larger community.
TITLE: Dancing with disabilities: Opening the Church to all God’s children
AUTHOR: Webb-Mitchell, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1996
United Church Press
700 Prospect Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44115-1100
1-800-654-5129
ucpress@ucc.orc
http://www.ucpress.com
COST: $15.95
Written by Presbyterian minister Webb-Mitchell, this book is about what it would be like if those with and without disabilities understood themselves to be equal parts of the Christian community. In Dancing with disabilities, we meet several young people with developmental disabilities who are included in their faith communities. For example, we meet Rachel, a young girl with multiple disabilities, who is inspired by the dancing in her church’s worship services. June, a young woman with Down syndrome, carried the cross in her Episcopal church. An adult with the label of mental retardation enjoys watching baptisms in his church. Little Jenny’s church has come together to raise money to help pay for her care. The author looks at how the presence of people with disabilities in churches challenges the church to adopt a more welcoming attitude towards people with disabilities-which he calls their “rightful place.”
TITLE: God plays the piano, too: Spiritual lives of disabled children
AUTHOR: Webb-Mitchell, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1993
Crossroad Publishing Company
370 Lexington Ave.
New York, NY 10017
1-800-395-0690
COST: $21.95
This collection of stories tells the spiritual lives and awareness of youths with developmental disabilities such as mental retardation, autism, and behavioral disorders. For example, young Joshua, who has autism, uses his piano playing as an expression of his faith. This book is unique in that it seeks to present first-person narratives of people with disabilities rather than presenting what non-disabled people think people with disabilities are thinking with regards to their faith. Included also are the thoughts of people with disabilities living in the L’Arche London, England community where Webb-Mitchell, a Presbyterian minister, spent several months carrying out an ethnographic study.
TITLE: Unexpected guests at God’s banquet: Welcoming people with disabilities into the church
AUTHOR: Webb-Mitchell, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1994
Crossroad Publishers
Publisher Resources, Inc.
1224 Heil Quaker Blvd.
P. O. Box 7017
La Vergne, TN 37086
1-800-937-5557
COST: $17.95
Written by a Presbyterian minister, this book talks about how people with disabilities can be included in congregational life. The book contains eight chapters which look at topics including a theological reflection of the place and the presence of people with disabilities in faith communities, Christian religious education, and inclusive congregational life.
TITLE: Attitudes towards disabilities found in the Talmud
AUTHOR: Wertlieb, E. C.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1988
Journal of Psychology and Judaism, 12(4), 192-213
This article details and analyzes Talmudic accounts of disability. It is a thorough and comprehensive source which can serve as an excellent reference, especially for those in observant communities who wish to integrate this material into modern Jewish law and practice. Wertlieb guides the reader through concepts and terms that may not translate into current definitions of disability and situates them within specific religious, political, and historical contexts.
TITLE: Judaism as a support system for Orthodox Jewish parents of mentally retarded children
AUTHOR: Woolfson, R. C.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1985
Journal of Jewish Communal Services, 61(3), 257-260.
Many parents of people with mental disabilities feel isolated from their religious community, and feel burdened with responsibility, guilt, doubt, and shame. This article re-frames the situation in a positive way for the religious Jewish families. Woolfson reframes many of the challenges that these families face to positive Jewish principles: self-acceptance, crisis as challenge, loving kindness (chesed), respect (toward all people), education (for all), participation in ritual practice, self-help skills, and prayer. In this sense, a family that felt marginalized could actually be understood positively.
Resources on L’Arche
L’Arche is an international federation of intentional faith communities where people with and without disabilities live together in life-sharing situations. Founded in 1964, in France by Jean Vanier, today over 104 L’Arche communities are found in 25 countries around the world. Also connected with L’Arche are Faith and Light communities which bring together people with disabilities, their families, and their friends for times of sharing, prayer, and celebration. L’Arche communities were the first intentional life-sharing communities to outwardly welcome people with disabilities. In this sense, the numerous writings on L’Arche which focus more so on life in a faith community, personal spirituality, and inclusion of people with disabilities in the Church can be insightful for those working toward inclusion. However, it is also important to point out that life-sharing situations within intentional faith communities are a unique and specific way in which some people can choose to enact their faith lives and are by no means ‘the’ only way in which people with disabilities should be allowed to enact their faith. Below are annotations of writings on L’Arche that relate specifically to the roles and places of people with disabilities in the church, inclusiveness in the church, and the support of people with disabilities in their own spirituality. A catalogue of a full list of resources on L’Arche can be ordered through Daybreak Publications at:
Daybreak Publications
11339 Yonge Street
Richmond Hill, ON L4S 1L1
CANADA
1-800-853-1412
More information on L’Arche can be found at the following Internet web site:
The following three books are from a new L’Arche Collection published by Novalis. This collection is designed to help readers integrate the spirituality of L’Arche into their everyday lives and to acquaint the whole church with the experience of L’Arche communities.
TITLE: An ark for the poor: The story of L’Arche
AUTHOR: Vanier, J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1995
Novalis
49 Front Street, East, 2nd Floor
Toronto, ON M5E 1B3
CANADA
(416) 363-3303
In An ark for the poor, Jean Vanier documents the history of L’Arche. Starting with the founding of L’Arche in 1964 by Vanier and two men from a local institution, Vanier traces the history of L’Arche, in five-year periods, as it grew from a single family home into what is now an international federation of over 100 communities. Specifically, he looks at: the founding, the expansion, growth of family, growth in maturity, structuring L’Arche, and questions today facing L’Arche and faith communities that support people with disabilities in their spirituality. Also included, in Appendices, are the Charter of L’Arche as written and adopted by the General Assembly of the L’Arche Federation in May of 1993 and a list of L’Arche communities around the world.
TITLE: The heart of L’Arche: A spirituality for every day
AUTHOR: Vanier, J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1995
Novalis
49 Front Street, East, 2nd Floor
Toronto, ON M5E 1B3
CANADA
(416) 363-3303
In this second book of the Novalis series on L’Arche, Vanier describes in detail, for those familiar and unfamiliar with L’Arche, the spiritual philosophy behind L’Arche. Included are discussions on the mystery of faith in the start of L’Arche over 30 years ago; what is meant when L’Arche refers to itself as being centered on a spirituality of the poor; the spirituality of, and life in, an intentional faith community of people with and without disabilities; trust, insecurity, and openness in community life; and the spiritual relationship of L’Arche to the church and the community at-large.
TITLE: Body broken, body blessed: Reflections from life in community
AUTHOR: Mosteller, S.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1996
Novalis
49 Front Street, East, 2nd Floor
Toronto, ON M5E 1B3
CANADA
(416) 363-3303
In Body broken, body blessed, Mosteller, who is pastor at the L’Arche Daybreak community in Ontario, Canada, speaks candidly about ‘real’ life in a faith community. She does this by talking about her 24 years of living at Daybreak, the joys and the sorrows she has experienced there over the years. Mosteller takes a somewhat unique approach in writing her story by relating it to the life experiences of the people with disabilities with whom she lives, thus, telling both her and their stories. She talks about L’Arche as a place: that is home, of safety, of individuality, where history is enjoyed, where fears can be confronted and beauty discovered, to hold loneliness, to surrender control, and to die.
Newsletters
TITLE: The Common Thread
AUTHOR: Community and Relationship Building Project
PUBLICATION INFORMATION:
c/o UCP
4638 Centre Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Although this newsletter does not center specifically on the inclusion of people with disabilities in faith communities, it does often includes articles related to this area and community inclusion in general. For example, recent issues have included articles on hearing Jean Vanier founder of L’Arche speak, Bill Gaventa’s Rosh Hashanah story, and the gift of a stranger. Especially nice are the quotations included, such as this one from J. R. R. Tolkien: “All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.”
TITLE: Council for Jews with Special Needs, Inc. Newsletter
AUTHOR: Council for Jews with Special Needs, Inc.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION:
Council for Jews with Special Needs, Inc.
32 West Coolidge, Suite 102
Phoenix, AZ 85013
602-277-4243
TDD 602-277-4243
This newsletter is published three times a year and places an emphasis on working as a community to ensure that all Jews have the opportunity to fully participate in the richness of Jewish religious, cultural and social life.
TITLE: Disability Solutions
AUTHOR: Enoch-Gelbard Foundation
PUBLICATION INFORMATION:
Disability Solutions
9220 S. W. Barbur Blvd. #119-179
Portland, OR 97219-5428
(503) 244-7662
email: dsolns@teleport.com
http://www.teleport.com/~dsolns
Disability Solutions is published 6 times a year, is free-of-charge, and is a resource for families and others interested in people with Down syndrome and related disabilities. This particular issue focuses on the inclusion of people with disabilities in faith communities. Issues written about include: the church coach, religious inclusion, embracing kids with disabilities in Sunday school programs, including people with disabilities in Jewish life cycle events, and a resource list. The entire issue is available to people with web access as an Acrobat reader file (you can download this reader program for free at http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/readstep.html).
TITLE: NCPD National Update
AUTHOR: National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities
PUBLICATION INFORMATION:
NCPD
P.O. BOX 29113
Washington, D. C. 20017-0113
(202) 529-2933 (Voice/TDD)
A free quarterly publication, also available in Braille, large print, and on cassette, the NCPD National Update examines current issues of spirituality, advocacy, and education (religious and school) facing faith communities and people with disabilities in the work to include people with disabilities in these communities. For example, the 1997 summer issue looked at the recent Supreme Court decision on physician-assisted suicide and the vigil held prior to the Supreme Court decision with the disability rights group Not Dead Yet. Other issues typically included in NCPD include: understanding and influencing the perceptions of people with disabilities, inclusive ministry design, advocacy in parishes, education and employment, and other issues of social justice.
TITLE: NAPMR Quarterly Journal and Newsletter
AUTHOR: NAPMR
PUBLICATION INFORMATION:
NAPMR – National Apostolate with People with Mental Retardation
4516 30th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
1-800-736-1280
Since 1968, the National Apostolate with People with Mental Retardation has produced a quarterly journal and a newsletter six times a year. Regular issues discussed are: inclusive religious education for adults and children, advocacy-including self advocacy, program development – housing options, conferences, spiritual formation, and family.
TITLE: That all may worship: Newsletter of the New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Ministries
AUTHOR: New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Ministries
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: Quarterly
New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Ministries
The University Affiliated Program of New Jersey
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
45 Knightsbridge Rd., P. O. Box 6810
Piscataway, NJ 08855-6810
(732) 235-4408
A new interdenominational newsletter produced quarterly by the New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Ministries, this newsletter looks at various topics regarding the inclusion of people with disabilities in faith communities. Recent topics have included: how Jewish group homes can be sensitive to the needs of their practicing residents, how congregations can reach out to people living in group homes to include them in their faith communities of choice, and how to remodel faith communities to make them more accessible to people with disabilities. The first issue includes the results of a survey on accessibility and inclusivity from 410 congregations in NJ. Lists of new resources-paper and Internet-are always included as is a list of upcoming events and news from different congregations.
Mission & Pastoral Statements
TITLE: Charter of the Communities of L’Arche
AUTHOR: General Assembly of the Federation of L’Arche
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1993
The Hearth
523 West 8th Street
Erie, PA 16502
(814) 452-2065
The Charter of L’Arche outlines the underlying principles and aims of L’Arche communities, the key aim of which is to “create communities which welcome people with a mental handicap,” and the key principle that whatever our gifts and limitations, “people are all bound together in a common humanity.” Also included are statements on the L’Arche communities themselves-communities called to: lives of faith; a covenant of unity; growth in love, self-giving, and wholeness; and integration into the community at-large-both religious and secular. Finally, the concern of L’Arche with social justice for and work against rejection of people with disabilities is expressed.
TITLE: Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on People with Disabilities
AUTHOR: National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1978, Reprinted with updated language, 1989
NCPD
P. O. BOX 29113
Washington, DC 20017-0113
(202) 529-2933 (Voice/TDD)
This position statement was written at the 1978 United States Catholic Conference and had its language updated in 1989. Taking a very clear stand that people with disabilities must be ensured a secure, welcoming, and full participatory place within the church, this NCPD position statement points out ways in which people with disabilities may be included at the parish, diocesan, and national level of the Catholic church. Specific issues discussed are acceptance, advocacy, dignity, education, faith, family, lay readership, legislation, prejudice, and accommodations (such as sign language interpretation and transportation). These issues are discussed within an underlying philosophy of, “it is not enough merely to affirm the rights of people with disabilities. We must actively work to make them real in the fabric of modern society.”
TITLE: NCPD Mission Statement
AUTHOR: National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1995
NCPD
P. O. BOX 29113
Washington, DC 20017-0113
(202) 529-2933 (Voice/TDD)
Approved by the NCPD Board of Directors in the Spring of 1995, this is the mission statement of the NCPD. The overriding mission of the NCPD is to realize “the unique gifts individuals with disabilities have to offer the Church (and) the need for their integration into the Christian community and their fuller participation in its life.” The NCPD aims to accomplish its mission through cooperation with other Catholic ministries for persons with disabilities (such as, the NAPMR), assisting diocesan officers and directors in ministering to people with disabilities, acting as a resource, and so on.
TITLE: NCCC policy statement on disabilities, the body of Christ, and the wholeness of society
AUTHOR: NCC Committee on Disabilities
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1995
NCCC Human Rights: The Fulfillment of Life in the Social Order
NCC Committee on Disabilities
c/o Ministries in Christian Education
National Council of Churches of Christ
475 Riverside Drive, Room 848
New York, NY 10115
This position statement on roles of people with disabilities in the Church was adopted by the General Board of the NCC Committee on Disabilities on November 17th, 1995. Based on the biblical reference 1 Corinthians 12:14, “Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many,” this policy statement rests on four theological principles: (1) all people are created in the image of God, (2) all people are called by God, (3) all people have special gifts, and (4) all people are invited to participate in God’s ministry. Implications to these theological principles are also looked at.
TITLE: The care and education of Jewish retarded children
AUTHOR: Schneerson, M. M.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1979
Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson
Lubavitch
770 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11213
Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, Rebbe of Lubavitch Hassidim Jewish community, in 1979, wrote a three page letter in response to a question by a member of his community who is also a chairman of a regional council for mental retardation. The Rebbe was asked whether a child who is considered to have a developmental disability should be fully immersed into Jewish education and full participation in community and Jewish rituals-would this not be “doubly taxing” given their limitations to succeed in even the basic education.
The Rebbe write in no uncertain terms that each child has potential as well as a right to Jewish education and full participation in community rituals. He said that it provides for either a “conscious or subconscious inner security” and a sense of “belonging and anchorage.” It is our obligation to each Jewish child “without exception.”
Rebbe Schneerson also spoke in 1978 on the idea that each Jewish child has a right to a Jewish education and that they should be entitled to full acceptance in the community. He said that all children have potential, regardless of labels placed on them by professional or developmental expectation. He said that although we have to be realistic, we can still have high expectations; realistic and ambitious.
Organizations
Aurora Ministries Bible Alliance
P.O. Box 621
Bradenton, FL 34206
(914) 748-3031
Aurora Ministries provides free copies of the Bible-Old and New testaments-on audio cassettes, to organizations who support persons with visual impairments or other disabilities. To order a copy write to the above address or call the above telephone number.
Council of Jews with Special Needs, Inc.
Becca Hornstein, Exec. Director
12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Suite 205
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
(480) 629-5343
The Council for Jews with Special Needs is a non-profit human resource agency, composed of concerned individuals working together to ensure that all Jews have the opportunity to fully participate in the richness of Jewish religious, cultural and social life. The Council serves individuals with special needs who are physically, mentally or emotionally handicapped or learning disabled and their families. The Council’s efforts shall include both integrated and specialized programming, family support groups, information and referral, community education and effective networking with other Jewish agencies to achieve full accessibility for Jews with disabilities. There is a charge of $36.00 to be placed on their mailing list.
Health and Welfare Ministries – DISC
United Methodist Church
Room 330, 475 Riverside Dr.
New York, NY 10115
1-800-UMC-GBGM
TDD: 212-870-3709
http://gbgm-umc.org/DISC/
DISC is one of the ministries under the umbrella of the United Methodist Church’s Health and Welfare Ministries that address the critical health needs of children, youth, older adults, people with disabilities, and racial/ethnic communities. It also has a computerized AIDS Ministries and Disability Concerns electronic bulletin board services and two noteworthy resource lists are: “Access and Inclusion: An Interfaith Resource List,” and “Annotated Bibliography on Developmental Disabilities and the Church” (the latter at: http://gbgm-umc.org/DISC/ddbib.html).
Institute for Pastoral Initiatives
University of Dayton
Dayton, OH 45469-0317
(937) 229-4325
TDD: (513) 229-4356
http://www.udayton.edu/~ud-mwpd
Formerly the Center for Ministry with People with Disabilities, and now under the umbrella of the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives, this group’s mission is to facilitate the acceptance of people with disabilities into church communities at the local, state, and national level. They also work to assist the University of Dayton to prepare its students to be “morally aware and committed” in relation to people with disabilities. Available by calling and asking are an excellent list of videos on faith inclusion for people with disabilities, a list entitled, “More than 50 Ways to Make your Parish Accessible With Little or No Cost Involved,” a check list to monitor accessibility of your worship building, and discussion starters for making your place of worship more inclusive.
L’Arche and Faith & Light Communities
for L’Arche:
The Hearth
523 West 8th Street
Erie, Pennsylvania 16502
(814) 452-2065
for Faith and Light:
305 Michigan Ave.
Detroit, MI 48226
(313) 237-4664
L’Arche was founded in 1964 in France by Jean Vanier and Father Thomas Phillipe, when Vanier welcomed Raphäel Simi and Phillipe Seux, two men with developmental disabilities, to come and live with him in a life sharing situation based on the Beatitudes of the Bible. With time L’Arche grew into what is now an international federation of intentional faith communities. More recently Faith and Light communities were formed for those not wishing to live in a life sharing situation, but who wished for places of worship to welcome where people with disabilities of all ages and their families and friends would be welcomed. Faith and Light communities generally meet once a month to share a meal and prayer time. Although L’Arche was founded in the Roman Catholic tradition, today other communities have developed in various cultural and religious traditions including Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, United Church, Jewish, and Hindu, while remaining united in a common vision and spirit of welcoming, sharing, and simplicity. A video on Faith and Light can be ordered from the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives.
Mental Retardation Sabbath/Sunday Project
The Arc – National Headquarters
500 E. Border Street, Suite 300
P. O. Box 1047
Arlington, TX 76004
(817) 261-6003
http://TheArc.org
The Mental Retardation Sabbath/Sunday Project has been an annual project of The Arc since 1979 to help “acquaint the general public with the needs of people with mental retardation and their families living in the community.” This is done by having congregations focus some part of their Sabbath/Sunday religious service on ministry to people with disabilities and their families, to name two examples, by inviting a person with a disability or a family member to give a sermon and encouraging people to come forth as support people for those who need support during services.
National Apostolate with People with Mental Retardation
4516 30th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
1-800-736-1280
First established in 1968, NAPMR is now a national organization under the Catholic church with people with disabilities. It publishes a quarterly journal and a newsletter six times a year. Based on a philosophy of inclusion for all, NAPMR works to ensure that people with disabilities become equal partners in the Christian community and to educate religious leaders to fully appreciate the contribution that can be made to the Church by people with disabilities. It offers various membership levels, which are open to people of all denominations. Also available for free is a booklet they put out entitled, Welcome to God’s Word, a guide for parents of children newly diagnosed with developmental disabilities.
National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD)
P.O. Box 29113
Washington, DC 20017-0113
(202) 529-2933 (Voice/TDD)
Starting as a ministry in 1978 to coincide with the release of the Pastoral Statement of US Catholic Bishops on People with Disabilities, the NCPD reaches out to support parishes and families with a member with a disability in the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Catholic church. NCPD has a mission statement and a quarterly newsletter entitled NCPD National Update (both cited in this package), responds to inquiries for information on inclusion, participates in national disability activism, and overall works for the inclusion of people with disabilities.
National Christian Resource Center (NCRC)
Bethseda Lutheran Homes and Services, Inc.
700 Hoffmann Dr.
Watertown, WI 53094
(800) 383-8743
This center provides free materials and information on residential services, advocacy, respite care, and religious programming through its computerized database. It also provides videos on religious education for people with disabilities and publishes a quarterly newsletter called Breakthrough, on these same issues.
National Jewish Council for the Disabled/Yachad
333 7th Ave
New York, NY 10001
(212) 613-8229
yachad@ou.org
Sponsored by the Orthodox Union, this national council provides social, educational, and recreational programs for Jewish youths and young adults with disabilities within mainstream programs through friendship, “yachad.” They also sponsor tours, open to people with and without disabilities, to Florida and to Israel. Tours to Israel include visiting a Kibbitz, Jerusalem, the Western Wall, and other noted Jewish sites of interest.
National Organization on Disabilities
910 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Suite 600
Washington, DC 20006
1-800-248-2253
TDD: (202) 293-5968
http://www.nod.org
This National Organization on Disability (NOD) promotes the full and equal participation of men, women, and children with disabilities in all aspects of life, including religious life. Founded in 1982 at the conclusion of the United Nations International Year of Disabled Persons, NOD is a key national disability network of organizations concerned with all disabilities, all age groups, and all disability issues. Through the support of the Scaife Family Foundation, the NOD Religion and Disability Program urges local congregations, national denominational groups and seminaries to remove architectural, communicational, and attitudinal barriers. The Religion and Disability Program can be reached at the above address or by email at religion@nod.org
National Task Force on Developmental Disabilities
United Methodist Church
503 Vine
Leavenworth, KS 66048
(913) 682-8517
This Task Force was started in 1992 to provide leadership and resources for lay persons and clergy in ministry with people with developmental disabilities. Areas of focus include models of ministry, self advocacy, educating congregations, local church inclusion, and theology of inclusion.
New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Ministries
The University Affiliated Program of New Jersey
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
45 Knightsbridge Rd., P.O. Box 6810
Piscataway, NJ 08855-6810
(732) 235-4408
The New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Ministries is an interfaith network, including Christian, Islamic, and Jewish religious groups, service and advocacy organizations, congregations, individuals, lay people, clergy, families, and people with and without disabilities who are all committed to: supporting faith communities in working to fully include all people with disabilities or special needs as valuable members. Some of the ways in which this goal is accomplished by the Coalition is by fostering dialogues, meeting for information exchange, offering workshops and conferences, celebrating people with disabilities who are already active in faith communities, and referring clergy and lay persons to appropriate resources. Membership fees per year-which provide various benefits including newsletters subscription-are $100 for organizations, $25 for congregations and $10 for individuals.
Pathways Awareness Foundation
123 N. Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606-1700
1-800-955-2445
TDD: (312) 236-7411
http://www.archdiocese-chgo.org
Established in 1988, as a not-for-profit organization, the Pathways Awareness Foundation is dedicated to education for and about children with disabilities. Although the Foundation’s mission is to raise public and professional awareness about early detection and early intervention, they also now focus on inclusion of children and youth with disabilities in houses of worship. At present, Pathways is working in partnership with the Chicago Roman Catholic Archdiocese to help promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in mainstream worship.
Religion Division
American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR)
c/o the Rev. William Gaventa
31 Alexander St.
Princeton, NJ 08540
(908) 235-4078
The Religion Division of the AAMR is an interfaith, interdisciplinary association of professionals and ordained and lay people who are concerned with people with developmental disabilities and their families. The mission of the division is to share resources which provide for opportunities for spiritual growth for people with disabilities, while respecting their religious identity. The division has a newsletter available for clergy, congregations, and others who are interested in keeping up-to-date with resources and ideas for ministry and supports for people with disabilities.
Yad B’Yad Jewish Community Inclusion Project of Greater Buffalo
2640 North Forest Rd.
Getzville, NY 14064
(716) 688-4033 x343
Yad B’Yah, the Hebrew expression for “hand-in-hand,” is a non-profit outreach and advocacy project that assists Jewish agencies and synagogues in helping Jewish people with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities achieve full participation, membership, and inclusion in Jewish activities and organizations. The purpose of these efforts is to enrich the spiritual and communal lives of Jewish people with and without disabilities by expanding friendships, sharing mutual talents and gifts, and fostering an appreciation of individual differences. The ultimate aim is to further K’lal Yisrael, which promotes a sense of belonging and community for all Jewish people.
Information on Reprints
This information package includes several reprints that we are unable to produce here on our web site. You can obtain a complete copy of this information package by contacting Center on Human Policy
The books, chapters, and/or articles listed below are not available through the Center on Human Policy, but may be obtained in several ways. Books and journal articles may be obtained through your local library, or through the Interlibrary Loan service of your library, if the library does not own the book or journal in question. Books, of course, may also be ordered through your local bookstore.
Gaventa, W. C. (1997). A Rosh Hashanah birthday. The Common Thread Newsletter (originally printed in The American Baptist, April 1991, Jewish Digest, XXVII(1), 1981, pp. 41-44, and in Telling Tales: Stories from the Eastern Region, 1996, edited by Randolph Jones).
Hornstein, B. (1997). How the religious community can support transition to adulthood: A parent’s perspective. Mental Retardation, 35(6), 485-487.
Majik, P. J. (1994, September/October). Disability for the religious. The Disability Rag and Resource, 24-25.
Owen, M. J. (1993). Frayed at the edges: The intertwined threads of life and disability. Washington, DC: The Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, NCCB.
Owen, M. J. (1992). The wisdom of human vulnerability- Disability: The tie which binds. In Opening doors to people with disabilities-Volume II: The resource file. Washington, DC: National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities.
Rose, A. (1997). “Who causes the blind to see”: Disability and quality of religious life. Disability & Society, 12(3), 395-405.