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 PressWritten 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.
P. O. Box 37844
Cincinnati, OH 45222-0844
1-800-889-5733
COST: $10.95 (plus shipping)
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.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.Crossroad Publishers
370 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10017
(212) 532-3650
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 PressIn 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.
P. O. Box 5243
Arlington, VA 22205
TITLE: A Rosh Hashanah birthday
AUTHOR: Gaventa, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
The Common Thread NewsletterIn 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.
c/o UCP
4638 Centre Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
TITLE: Courage to care: Seven families touched by disability
AUTHOR: Griffith Ransom, J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1994
Upper Room BooksThis 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.
1906 Grand Ave.
P. O. Box 189
Nashville, TN 37202
1-800-972-0433
COST: $9.95
TITLE: Integrating religious and secular perspectives in the design and delivery of disability services
AUTHOR: Heifetz, L. J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1987
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
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.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.
9220 S.W. Barbur Blvd. #119-179
Portland, OR 97219-5428
(503) 244-7662
email: dsolns@teleport.com
http://www.teleport.com/~dsolns
TITLE: How religious communities can support the transition to adulthood: A parent's perspective
AUTHOR: Hornstein, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
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 PressFirst 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.
of Haworth Press, Inc.
10 Alice Street
Binghamton, NY 13904-1580
1-800-342-9678
TITLE: Disability for the religious
AUTHOR: Magik, P. J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1994 (Nov/Dec)
Disability Rag, 24-25.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.
The Disability Rag & ReSource
P. O. Box 145
Louisville, KY 40201
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 CommitteeDesigned 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.
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
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)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.
P.O. Box 29113
Washington, DC 20017-0113
(202) 529-2933 (v/TTY)
TITLE: Carrying on the crusade: Celebrating life in all its diversity
AUTHOR: National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
NCPDAlso 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.
P.O. Box 29113
Washington, DC 20017-0113
(202) 529-2933 (Voice/TDD)
TITLE: Opening doors to people with disabilities-Volume II-The resource file
AUTHOR: National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
NCPDThis 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.
PO Box 29113
Washington, DC 20017-0113
(202) 529-2933 (v/TTY)
TITLE: Celebrating differences: A leader's guide
AUTHOR: Neufeldt, A. (Ed.)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1984
Faith and Life Press & Mennonite Publishing HouseThis 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.
616 Walnut Ave.
Scottdale, PA 15683
1-800-245-7894
TITLE: Open hearts, open minds, open doors
AUTHOR: Pathways Awareness Foundation
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
Pathways Awareness FoundationThis 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.
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)
TITLE: "Who causes the blind to see": Disability and quality of religious life
AUTHOR: Rose, A.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
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
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 PressAlthough 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.
Harper Collins Publishing Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
212-207-7000
http://www.harpercollins.com/
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 YorkThe 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.
Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and the
American Ass. of Pastoral Counselors
May 13, 1992
TITLE: The status of the mentally ill in Jewish law
AUTHOR: Shapiro, Y. A.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1993
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
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 DisabilitiesLoving 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.
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)
TITLE: That all may worship: An interfaith welcome to people with disabilities
AUTHOR: Thornburgh, G.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
National Organization on DisabilitiesThat 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.
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)
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 DisabilitiesFrom 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.
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)
TITLE: Dancing with disabilities: Opening the Church to all God's children
AUTHOR: Webb-Mitchell, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1996
United Church PressWritten 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."
700 Prospect Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44115-1100
1-800-654-5129
ucpress@ucc.orc
http://www.ucpress.com
COST: $15.95
TITLE: God plays the piano, too: Spiritual lives of disabled children
AUTHOR: Webb-Mitchell, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1993
Crossroad Publishing CompanyThis 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.
370 Lexington Ave.
New York, NY 10017
1-800-395-0690
COST: $21.95
TITLE: Unexpected guests at God's banquet: Welcoming people with disabilities into the church
AUTHOR: Webb-Mitchell, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1994
Crossroad PublishersWritten 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.
Publisher Resources, Inc.
1224 Heil Quaker Blvd.
P. O. Box 7017
La Vergne, TN 37086
1-800-937-5557
COST: $17.95
TITLE: Attitudes towards disabilities found in the Talmud
AUTHOR: Wertlieb, E. C.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1988
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
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.
