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represents a dream come true:“Since Rob’s birth, we havealways been concerned about hisfuture, especially housing. He hasfar fewer options than our otherchildren have had. He requires aunique environment so he canlive semi-independently, and weare confident the FriendshipHouse can provide this. We seeliving at the Friendship House as aterrific opportunity for Rob thatwill enable him to take his rightfulplace in God’s Kingdom. Thefuture looks bright for Rob, and

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FRIENDSHIP HOUSEBREAKS NEW GROUND

Throughout the planning process,designers kept in mind theproject’s goal of being “a safe,affordable, independentenvironment where individualsvalue and support each other.” Anessential contribution to thisenvironment will be a weeklyFriendship Bible Study groupwhich will meet at the house.

DREAMS COMING TRUE

For Bob and Deb Sterken, thisopportunity for their son, Rob,

On the Road p. 2Friendship

Family News p. 2Art Idea p. 3Try This! p. 4Poetry p. 4From the Director p. 5

...and more!

When a ceremonialshovelful of dirt wasdug from the site for

Friendship House on September12, ground was broken in moreways than one. The WesternTheological Seminary (Holland,MI) project, named in honor ofFriendship Ministries, is aninnovative new Christian livingcommunity that provides inclusivehousing for seminary students andadults with cognitive impairments.

Eighteen seminary students andsix adults with cognitiveimpairments will live together inFriendship House, with the spacedivided into six apartment units,each housing four residents andincluding common living, dining,and patio areas. The facility willalso include space for a ResidentDirector and an apartment forvisiting guests.

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE Sharing God’sLove with People who have Cognitive Impairments

Friendship House at Western Theological Seminary

O AAIDDed its nameciation ono “Americanctual and

bilities,” orons on this

con t inued on page 2 . . .

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NellaNovember 4: Catholic Life CongressConference Day, Philadelphia, PAJanuary 31-February 3: Association ofPresbyterian Church Educators,Philadelphia, PA

Ralph & CarolOctober 19-November 16: OH, VA,WV, NC, SC, GA, FL, TN

Tony & DianaNovember 4: Circle of Support, Arcof Greater Prince William,Woodbridge, VA

Elizabeth (Amistad)October 20-24: Expo Cristiana,Mexico City, MexicoDecember 2-6: Red Viva (DisabilitiesMinistries of Latin America), Bogotá,Colombia

Will one of us be in yourneighborhood? Give us acall or send us an email ifyou’d like to meet!

FRIENDSHIPFAMILY

Sharing God’s love with people who have cognitive impairments and ena

Notas

this is both a comfort and relief for everyone in ourfamily.”

The urban location of Friendship House on thegrounds of Western Seminary is ideal. Not onlywill residents have easy access to seminaryfacilities, but an easy walk will bring them todowntown services as well.

SOMETHING LIKE GRACE

Says Matt Floding, Dean of Students at WesternSeminary, “Friendship House is something likegrace—completely unexpected and amazing. Outof two sets of needs, additional student housing forWestern and safe and community-oriented housingfor persons with special needs, has come oneincredible opportunity. The inclusion of these newfriends in WTS housing will impact everyone in theseminary community. And every pastor graduatingfrom Western will carry in their heart a heightenedawareness, sense of compassion for all persons withdisabilities and basic ability to minister to them andtheir families. That’s good news for the Church andits ministries.”

Friendship Ministries is honored that this excitingnew venture bears our name. It is the hope ofeveryone involved in the project that the FriendshipHouse model will be duplicated to benefit othercommunities. Perhaps one day the only newground that will be broken by a project like thiswill be the literal dirt beneath our feet!

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY

Join us in welcoming the following groups:•Christ Church of Fairfax Station, VA•First United Methodist Church of Newton, IA•Hope Presbyterian Church of Clearwater, FL•Korean United Church of Philadelphia, PA•Lynhurst Baptist Church of Indianapolis, IN•Mountain View Assembly of God of

Las Vegas, NM•WoodsEdge Community Church of

The Woodlands, TX

Know of a group new to Friendship that’s noton this list? Contact Renee at 888.866.8966(ext. 3) or [email protected]

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cont inued f rom page 1 . . .


Then we would love to know. If you’ve usedExpressing Faith in Jesus (Friendship Ministries’resource on church membership) to help your

friends become members of your church, please shareyour momentous journey with us. When appropriate,we’ll share your story not only with the FriendshipFamily but also with a wider audience.

Don’t miss out on this chance to brag (with a humbleheart, of course) about how proud you are of yourfriends and your church.

We’ll be keeping our ears wide open.

Contact John at 888.866.8966 (ext. 4)or [email protected]

Have Your Friends Expressed Their

FAITH IN JESUS?

ve impairments and enabling them to become an active part of family. God’s

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Please join us in welcoming the following new Amistad groups:

• Argentina: Asamblea de Dios Church(city: Provincia Mendoza)

• Argentina: Evangelical Baptist Church(city: Misiones)

• Argentina: Ivana Jaquelina Sulca, Special Education teacher (city: Jujuy)

• Chile: Reñaca Christian Church, APEN (city: Viña del Mar)

• Chile: Nueva Aurora Baptist Church(city: Viña del Mar)

• Colombia: Christian Evangelical Church (city: Ibague)

• Colombia: Christian Evangelical Church (city: Armero)

• Peru: Paqui Cordova Celi, Special Education teacher (city: Piura)

DE A M I S TA DNotas

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A RT I D E A :PAINTED BANNERS

What does your group’sworship space look

like? Is it a church basementwith cinderblock walls? Or ameeting room with harshfluorescent lights? If so,you’re not alone. Whilethese spaces makeconvenient meeting places,they often do not contain anyvisual clues that they areplaces of worship.

But no need to despair: youcan introduce visuals thatwill not only beautify yourspace but will also remindfriends and mentors whatthey are there to do. Checkout our website for photos offour banners on the themespraise, pray, listen, andserve, along with complete

directions for how your group can create thesebeautiful banners: www.friendship.org/ArtIdeasStudents at Escuela la Araucana, Chile


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MINISTER TO PARENTS/CAREGIVERS

Does your ministry include a support group forparents and caregivers? If so, ask theparticipants what sort of speakers they would

like to hear. The group at First United MethodistChurch in Saline, MI recently brought in a yogainstructor to share relaxation and stretchingtechniques and a grief recovery counselor to exploreissues related to grieving.

SERVE YOUR NEIGHBORSThe group at Trinity Baptist Church in Lexington, KYdecided to bring their shoe box service project closerto home this year. They connected with a local centerfor people who are homeless, asking them what theyneeded. The answer was socks, washcloths, andtoiletries, as well as Bibles, which the friends andmentors worked together to collect. And don’t forgetabout the neighbors in your own congregation. Mightthere be someone who could use help with yardwork? Or who would appreciate cards and prayerfrom your group?

The Friendship groupat Prairie FlowerBaptist Church inWashington, IA wenton a summer outingto a local farm, whereamong other thingsthey enjoyed ahayride. Friends inwheelchairs wereable to participatethanks to theingenuity of thefarmer who used ahog trailer with a liftto load thewheelchairs.

MAKE NEW FRIENDSFor many years the Friendship groups at GraceCommunity Christian Reformed Church in EvergreenPark, IL and Palos Heights Christian ReformedChurch in Palos Heights, IL have held an annual jointmeeting, alternating the planning responsibilities eachyear. They begin with a meet and greet, remembering

T RY T H I S !

Carole, Dan, and Jim make friends with three little pigs

A black and yellow spider hangs motionless in its web,and my son, who is eleven and doesn’t talk, sitson a patch of grass by the perennial border, watching.What does he see in his world, where geometryis more beautiful than a human face?Given chalk, he draws shapes on the driveway:pentagons, hexagons, rectangles, squares.The spider’s web is a grid,transecting the garden in equal parts.

Sometimes he stares through the mesh on a screen.He loves things that are perforated:toilet paper, graham crackers, couponsin magazines, loves the order of the tiny holes,the way the boundaries are defined. And in real lifeis messy and vague. He shrinks back to a stare,switches off his hearing. And my heart, not cleanly cut like a valentine, but irregular and many-chambered, expands and contracts,contracts and expands.

“Autism Poem: The Grid” by Barbara Crooker, from Radiance,©2005 Word Press, Cincinnati, Ohio. Used by permission.

Autism Poem: The Gridby Barbara Crooker

Share Your Ideas! Every Friendship group is uniqueand has creative ideas to share. Send yours to Reneeat [email protected] or call 888.866.8966 ext.3(mail works, too—see the back page for details).

to include nametags, and then enter the fellowship hallto sing familiar songs together. Next they listen to aBible lesson and do a craft or play a game. Beforesaying goodbye until next year, they take some time toshare a snack. Members of both groups look forwardto this special event each year!


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Sharing God’s love with people who have cognitive impairments and ena

FROM THE D I R E C TO R

Have you ever wondered why theFriendship Bible Study lessons are

written as they are? Why there are somany suggested activities? Or what thepurpose of the various steps is? Well,here are some answers to these burningquestions.

LESSON LENGTHWe write the lessons as long as they are because someleaders really want or need this much information. Weexpect you to use only what you personally need to fityour program. For example: some programs meet forforty-five minutes, others for an hour and a half, and stillothers for two hours. This means we need to write thematerials so they are useful in a wide variety of groups.Some leaders are special ed teachers; others are not.Depending on your comfort level and experience, wewant to provide enough material for all of you.

WHICH STEPS?Step 1 contains welcoming activities. Some groups usethese, while others either do not have the time or havewelcoming traditions of their own. Steps 5&6 are thecritical parts for mentors to read. We hope everyone willread the lesson background and devotion as well for theirpersonal growth and understanding of the story. For thoseof you who don’t recall this section, it is at the verybeginning of each session.

OOPS!Do we make mistakes? Yes! (although we try our best notto). And you have been very gracious in letting us knowso that when we reprint we can correct them.

VISUALSWe have also been asked about the group leader visuals.The art is original to Friendship Ministries and was createdwith strict guidelines for clarity and color. In fact, our

Biblical art is admired bySunday school teachers whowish they had it for theirmaterials (so feel free to show itoff to others).

The reason we put it on postersis to get friends involved byholding the posters or puttingthem up on a board. If theposters are too small for yourgroup, you can order a secondset. But I would like to encourage all of you to seriouslythink about dividing your program when it becomes toolarge. The importance of small groups has beenrecognized both by churches and by those in the specialeducation field.

Some large programs begin their evenings with singingand praying together. They then divide up and have twoor three Bible study sessions going on at the same time.In the smaller setting they have found that mentors andfriends are more comfortable leading. Have you thoughtof this as enabling someone else to develop giftsotherwise unused?

About 15 years ago I took over the program in my church.I was absolutely terrified, with sweaty palms, butterflies inmy stomach, and a shaky voice. Through gainingexperience in front of a group I have grown into givingworkshops around the country. This never would havehappened if I hadn’t been encouraged to take on theleadership role. Is there someone like this in yourprogram?

If you have other questions about our materials,check out the FAQ section of our website, or send usan email!


We would love to hear from you:

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ive impairments and enabling them to become an active part of family. God’sG R E AT G I F T S

Nella Uitvlugt Executive Director tel: 888.866.8966 ext. 2 email: [email protected]

Renee Buist Administrative Assistant tel: 888.866.8966 ext. 3 email: [email protected]

John Kim Marketing Communications Directortel: 888.866.8966 ext. 4 email: [email protected]

FRIENDSHIP MINISTRIES 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue SE Grand Rapids, MI 49560 www.friendship.org

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EXPERT ASSISTANCE Don’t miss out on Friendship’s new consulting services!

For help creating individual profiles, contact:Barb Newman, Friendship Consultanttel: 888.866.8966 ext.5email: [email protected]

For help developing support systems (GLUE Teams), contact:Judi Warner, Friendship Consultanttel: 888.866.8966 ext.5email: [email protected]

FROM AAMR TO AAIDDThe AAMR has changed its namefrom “American Association onMental Retardation” to “AmericanAssociation on Intellectual andDevelopmental Disabilities,” orAAIDD. Congratulations on thiswelcome change!

Looking for a special gift to sharethis holiday season? Well, lookno further: Friendship Art Cardsare unique, beautiful, frameable,and sure to be appreciated bythe people on your list. Not onlythat, but they’re designed by ourfriends!

Order a set for $14.95 by callingus at 888.866.8966. To see themin full color, check out ourwebsite:www.friendship.org/artcontest


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