DisAbility Ministries Presentation

Saturday, June 21, 2014, 9:35 – 10:35 am

(Slide 1)

Sharon McCart

Thank you, Bishop, and thank you to Steve Hundley and James Kang. Greetings to all of you from the Cal-Pac DisAbility Ministries Task Force. I am Sharon McCart, the facilitator. I am also the chair of the DisAbility Ministries Committee of the United Methodist Church, working at the denominational level as well as the conference level to provide resources, education, and support to congregations so that they can become more accessible to and accepting of people with all types of disabilities. I am very grateful that my team and I have an opportunity to share our passion for this way of being in ministry with all of you today.

I would like to introduce the task force members to you.

(Slide 2)

Up on stage with me are Dr. Peggy Gott, Heather Kinkennon, the Rev. Erin McPhee, and the Rev. Lupita Alonso. Nicole Aragon, please raise a hand or stand where you are. And Sharon Orth as well, if you are here. Steve Poteete-Marshall, Diane Mettam, Fran Mattera and Kathy Meier cannot be here today, but they are valued members. I would also like to thank the many others who support this work.

(SLIDE 3)

The presenters this morning begin with Dr. Peggy Gott, who is a retired professor of Neurology at USC. Her PhD is in Physiology and Biophysics and she spent time working with Dr. Roger Sperry, who won a Nobel Prize for his work in left-brain/right-brain research.

Following Peggy will be the Rev. Lupita Alonso, who is serving a congregation at La Puente UMC, the Rev. Erika Gara, who is at Hope, Torrance and is the mother of child with autism. Emily Callahan, also from Hope in Torrance, will share her experience as a Sunday School teacher teaching children with disabilities. Then we will hear from Heather

Kinkennon, who is a member of Lancaster UMC, then the Rev. Erin McPhee, serving at Pioneer UMC in Independence, and then myself.

Before we begin, I know your minds are all spinning with the work of the conference, with who to vote for on the next round of ballots, with all the other work there is left to do today, and even how you will meet up with the people you want to eat lunch with.

Please, just take a moment now to put away your papers and your agendas, both paper and mental, and slow down your breathing, your pulse, and most especially your thoughts. I ask you, I invite you to be fully focused on what all of these people have to say. You will learn, you will discover another way of understanding disability---from the inside out. Your ministry may well be changed forever. Take a deep breath in, slow it down. Exhale. Once more----in------out. And be in the moment.

Let us pray---

Amen.

(Slide 4)

There once were four friends who were concerned about another friend who was paralyzed. They heard that Jesus was coming to town and that he was a great healer. So they decided to take their friend to be healed. How great would it be if he could be part of everything---walk and dance and come to work with them!

So they picked him up and brought him to the place where Jesus was teaching, but it was a small house and a big crowd and they couldn’t get him anywhere near the door, much less through it!

The first case of a place where Jesus is being inaccessible.

So what did they do? They didn’t just give up! They made a way where there was no way! They broke in through the roof!

And sometimes breaking in is just what we, with the power of the Holy Spirit, need to do.

This is the call and the passion of the members of the DisAbility Ministries Task Force.

The Book of Discipline mandates that each conference have a disability concerns committee and we are the current version of that. We began to form about a year and a half ago and we are still in what I consider to be our beginning phase.

But we have a mission.

(Slide 5)

It is To open hearts, minds and doors wider

so that more people may become disciples of Jesus Christ

for the transformation of the world!

That sounds somewhat familiar, I know, but this addresses the barriers that people with disabilities often face---the barrier of architecture---the doors---the lack of awareness---the minds---and the resistant attitude----the hearts.

If people with disabilities can’t get into our churches, can’t participate, can’t answer God’s call to be part of the Body of Christ, then transformation is restricted just as much as access is.

Our purpose fleshes out our mission a bit more

(Slide 6)

Our purpose is To achieve access for all (“universal access”) by overcoming architectural, attitudinal and awareness barriers so that people with all types of disabilities will be welcome at the Table of Jesus Christ in all ways!

When the four friends lowered their friend down through the roof, I’m sure there were some people who grumbled and complained, especially the

trustees---I mean the homeowner! ---who now had a major repair to make!

But Jesus did not reject or scold for being interrupted. Jesus did not send anyone away for being different or not being part of the congregation’s expectations.

There was Universal Access to Jesus then. So our purpose is to ensure universal access to Jesus now, by knocking down the barriers!

The prophet Isaiah told us that a voice cried out---“every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low. The uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all people shall see it together!”

We are here this morning to make a little progress in leveling out the ground and smoothing out the rough places so that all people will see the glory of the Lord together.

We are here to help congregations become more welcoming and accessible to people with disabilities.

And so we begin. Peggy?

(Slide 7 )

Peggy Gott, PhD

Please show the song slides (8, 9, 10, 11) as the song is sung.

LUPITA ALONSO

(Slide # 12---Lupita’s name) “God is gooder than good”, I learned this phrase from one of my constituents in Bible Study this year and I have come to believe that indeed God is gooder than good.

I started coming to Annual Conference in 1989- first as a visitor, then as a lay person, and finally as a clergy- advocating for the inclusion of all persons in the life of our churches, trying to create disability awareness and acceptance among us, and I have to say: just being here is “gooder than good”.

(Slide 13)

I encountered the United Methodist Church on both sides of the border while I was living in Calexico and remained as part of our denomination because at ‘my church’- all people with disabilities were fully accepted and immediately put to work. I stayed because I was seen as a person first and valued as someone who could bring lots of gifts to the Table – and not someone who needed to be cared for.

I have visible disabilities and un-visible ones, but I also have gifts and talents God has given me to share with you, with my church and with the people in every community that I have been called to serve.

(Slide 14)

This year I had the privilege of being asked to teach at Mission U- an event that is hosted by our UMW- and lead a Study in Spanish to welcome persons with disabilities in our churches, and at our Training in Portland Oregon, the ladies in charge asked me to answer the following things: What new insights did you acquire from your group study and what do we need to celebrate so far? – not exactly those words, but it got me to think…

This is more or less what I said and it is what I want you to hear:

I have lived with this condition all my life and really thought I had a good grasp of all issues concerning disabilities, but God gave me a new understanding and new love in Portland… you see, I was able to see myself in the shoes of the ‘able body’ persons in our churches – so many accommodations, so many details to consider, so many changes in our sanctuaries, so many ramps to build, and so much money we need to ‘put in’ to make things accessible and welcoming.

If I was in your shoes, I would be overwhelmed and scared…but I am here to tell you that: yes, it seems overwhelming, but at least for me- and for some of the people I know

who live daily with a disability, the most important change that needs to happen- and is happening-Praise be to God- has to do with attitude.

(Slide 15)

I don’t think anyone likes to be seen as a ‘burden’ or as a ‘problem’- We all want to be seen as persons first, persons with God given gifts and talents that are needed at the Table, not be fixed, not to be cared for, but as productive people that can actively participate in worship, in prayer, in service, in mission. That- doesn’t take much money – changing our mindset, our way of seeing persons with different abilities, our way of making it possible. It’s a matter of moving our chairs just a little to give everyone a place at the Table.

Indeed “God is gooder than good”; things are happening -we have much to celebrate- and I thank God for those people in our Conference who are taking risks and are willing to be a voice for the voiceless. God is gooder than good – you say: all the time; I say: all the time, you say: God is gooder than good.Amen.

ERIKA GARA

(Slide # 16 --- Erika’s name)

When I became pastor of Hope UMC in Torrance, I thought it was kind of cool that our website was, www.noisychildrenwelcome.com. It seemed inviting to families with children in a creative and open way. The previous pastor, Nicole Reilley shared with me that the website seemed to draw a group of families with special needs children to the church—families looking for a safe and welcoming place for their special children and families. Again, I thought to myself, “this is pretty cool.” And it was wonderful to see how the congregation, leadership and staff worked to understand what “noisy children welcome” meant and how best to support these new families and also make sure people could hear the sermon!

(Slide #17---Erika and daughter Kat and friend)

I developed a whole new level of appreciation for what this meant when my oldest daughter, Kat, named for her grandmother, Rev. Katherine Gara, was diagnosed with autism around age 3. She started early intervention programs when she was 18 months. She had to learn to chew her food and use her tongue, she didn’t start talking until she was 3, she struggled (and still struggles) with certain sensory input, and she craves some sensory input. I whisked her to see Occupational Therapists, and speech therapists, searching for the right recipe that might help Kat.

You know, I think a lot of us don’t realize everything a special needs family goes through unless you have walked with a family for whom this is their reality. Things that parents of neuro-typical or “normal” kids take for granted, are not a part of regular, every day life for a family with a special needs child. This is not meant to ask for pity, but meant to speak an important truth: special needs families and children need the Church—not to expect us to fit into that box that the rest of society expects us to fit into—but to see us and to care for us right where we are.

As I sat with other parents like me in pediatric clinics I heard story after story about churches asking families to leave when they thought that parents couldn’t control their children, never giving thought to the fact that perhaps they were doing the best they could—and that it is really hard at times with all the sensory input one can experience in church to process everything. My heart was broken. You know, time and again Jesus sought out persons in society who were like these children and their families, like my family. He saw them. He listened to them and he offered them healing and welcome and grace.

When I think, then, of what universal access means-- to special needs families, to my family, I look back to the church I serve and the ways we have learned together to embrace my daughter, to listen to her, and to encourage her as she grows in faith and life. Because that is what is happening! They loved Kat before they, like my husband and I, completely

understood who she was and what she was about. They’ve cheered her (and us) on as they continue to watch her make great strides and progress.

And you know, Kat feels right at home at Hope. It is her church as much as it is anyone else’s church. Since before she could talk she would go up with me to give the benediction at our 11AM service. Now, she practically gives the benediction and whatever announcements she wants to share all by herself! In January, Kat decided that she wanted to greet people at the door after our 9AM service—which would challenge her to greet people, shake hands, maybe even give or receive a hug. People expect to see Kat at the door with me. She knows everyone’s name. She’s gaining confidence to do things that stretch her and challenge her. This is possible only because we are a part of a church that is committed to universal access, to having a big open door, to breaking down stigmas and stereotypes that tend to dehumanize those we don’t understand or who make us uncomfortable.

(Slide # 18—Emily’s name)

EMILY CALLAHAN

I’ve always had a heart for people with special needs. Perhaps it’s because I was born to a mother with cerebral palsy, or perhaps it’s just because that’s the way God made me. I remember spending my study period in junior high helping out in the special education classes – helping my classmates with their homework or assisting with some of their learning exercises as the teachers would allow. I loved watching my classmates light up with joy when they got a correct answer and celebrate when they learned a new skill. Their compassion for one another and love for their teachers and families was awe-inspiring. I’ve also always had a passion for working with small children. Maybe because I’m an only child and always wished my parents would give me a younger sister? I don’t really know, but I’ve always found that I connect well with small children.

(Slide # 19---kids on beanbag chairs)About 19 years ago, my family’s life was touched by autism when my youngest cousin Charlie was diagnosed at about 18 months old. Now usually people think of cousins as not being particularly close, but that’s not the case in my family. My two younger cousins are like the brothers I never had and I spent a lot of time with them during their childhood years, helping with homework, going to school concerts and Halloween parades, being that older-relative-but–

not-quite-a-parent who would listen when they wanted to vent about life and the harsh realities of being a teenager.

As Charlie grew up into a young boy and now a young man, his needs and challenges changed – particularly as he began to lose his eyesight to a disease called Choroideremia. And as a family, we needed to learn how to grow with him and his changing needs, now accommodating for both the autism and the blindness.

About a year after Charlie was diagnosed with autism, I became involved with the children’s ministry at the church I was attending at the time. Being a very young Sunday School teacher (I was 15!) presented its own set of challenges and growth opportunities for me as I worked with new children every year. I quickly learned that every child is different and experiences God in their own way and that it’s important that we as teachers embrace those differences and learn to work with them within the Sunday School classroom.

When I first joined the congregation at Hope, I knew we were the “Noisy Children Welcome” church, but I wasn’t quite sure what that meant. As I became involved with children’s ministry here, I discovered that much of that meant giving all of our kids a space to be safe and free to be themselves and allowed to worship and learn in a way that connects with them.

As a Sunday School teacher, I have a tendency to become very invested in each of my students’ lives. I like to spend some of my fellowship time getting to know their families and listening when they talk about their kids. Parents LOVE to talk about their kids! Often, that will lead to conversations about challenges they may be having at school or behavior issues they may be working on at home. Many times, these conversations give me a glimpse into each child’s personality, which will help me to know how that child relates to others. Do they connect best by talking in a group setting? Or do they prefer to be quieter and maybe a craft activity would connect them with the lesson better? Are they really active and need some time to run around the room in a safe way before they’re ready to sit down and listen for a few minutes? Some children need very specific boundaries and these conversations can shed light for me on boundaries that might be helpful for me in the classroom and also allow for continuity between school, home and Sunday School.

Once I know, for example, that one of my kids is challenged when he has to sit still for a while, I know that I need to build some active time into my lessons. And when he has a good day and I can tell he’s worked very hard to pay attention without losing control of his wiggly body? I make sure I let his parents know after church so we can all celebrate that accomplishment together!

As a church family and the Body of Christ, it’s important to realize that we’re all on this journey together. And when we work together to help ALL of our kids learn how to participate as part of the same Body, we get to watch them grow into amazing people!

(Slide #20---Heather’s name)

HEATHER KINKENNON

My brothers and sisters in Christ, I am happy to talk to you today, and I’d like to give you an idea as to how I came up with my presentation.

(Slide # 21--- Heather directing) You see, half my presentation was written when Sharon approached us with a new format, and I panicked. Explanations of what were needed weren’t exactly resonating with me, or cutting through my panic. If I couldn’t follow the script, and fit in, would I really be welcome up here at all? I got very depressed, and considered pulling out of the presentation. But then I finally found a way to navigate, and got most of it done. Then it got changed again. Back to square one. It should be easy, right? After all, I’m an educated person. I talk for a living, as I teach at a community college. But this was off my usual script. I was putting on a different kind of performance here, so to speak. And then I realized that this is what I needed to talk about. This scenario, of getting ready for today, was just an example of what is experienced by many adults, including myself, who have an Autism Spectrum Condition.  You see, as my friend, author Rudy Simone might put it, many of us don’t consider ourselves so much disabled as just different. We have a different way of perceiving the world, a different set of references and priorities, and speak (in essence) a different language. Even if we are high-functioning (or able to fly under the radar in the “normal” world) it can be very exhausting, and we get depleted easily. Combine that with such factors as our sensory challenges, and you can see why what seems like even the simplest task can get complicated rather quickly.  My personal journey mirrors what many have gone through – a childhood where I was considered precocious and quirky. A difficult social life, especially in the dating world – and a period which I will simply refer to as Adventures with Alcohol, where I wasn’t physically addicted, but clung to it as a social tool. (I’ve always said that if I hadn’t met my husband on the Internet, I’d still be single). Years of darting in and out of churches, never feeling completely welcome. An incomplete diagnosis of depression, involving 3 or 4 different psychiatric medications. Periods of difficulty finding a good job match in the working world. Finally, as I was in the midst of grief therapy a few years ago, a

series of events and discoveries led to an intricate session with the DSM-IV, and (at the age of 45) I was finally diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Condition.called Asperger’s Syndrome.  I know what you’re thinking – “She can’t be almost 50, she looks fabulous!”. (thank you) But I bet you’re also saying, “Wow, she’s so articulate, and high functioning!”. Yeah, like I’m “Almost Normal”. Well, that’s the results of years of hard work, much of that done before I was diagnosed. But if you know me well, odds are you’ve seen me in the throes of depression, or in sensory meltdown, or even in an episode of selective mutism. And no, I don’t have a gun, or an interest in them. With all the focus on the shooters at Sandy Hook and Isla Vista having Asperger’s, and not focusing on the co-morbids, I felt even more compelled to share my journey, and reiterate that those on the Autism Spectrum are far more likely to be the victims of violence, rather than the perpetrators. Personally I am thankful for my faith home at Lancaster UMC. They loved me before my diagnosis, and (as far as I know) they love me still. I’ve been able to get involved with my passion, which is music, as well as in other ministries. There will be sensory challenges that I may never overcome (such as being in the building when the praise team has the speakers cranked up to 11), and periods of depression and panic, but I can contribute in many ways. Sometimes I still feel like fleeing, but then realize that I have a safe place to which I can return. So, in closing, when I look forward to all of us being at the table, I simply envision a gathering where “normal” is a setting on the dryer. Thank you.

(Slide # 22 ---Erin’s name)

ERIN McPHEE

We live in a country that does not understand or acknowledge mental illness.

(Slide 23—woman walking in fog)

The only choice for many people struggling with these issues, if their families are unable to provide care, is either jail or homelessness. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t see those as very good options. We live in a world that demonizes the sick and blames the broken for not having access to the care that they so desperately need.

But the reality is that real life is not perfect. Real life can be messy. Real life can be complicated. Real life can be scary. Real life can be painful. And my experience has been that “We are only as sick as the secrets we keep.” So, I believe that it’s time that we, as a church, have an honest conversation about mental illness and addiction and abuse and all of the hurt that we have allowed to go unchecked, undiagnosed, and untreated. I think it’s time that we and our congregations finally admit that we are not the perfect, happy people that we sometimes pretend to be, and affirm that it is normal and healthy to be sad sometimes. I think it is time that we, as people, stand up and name

our brokenness and pain, so that we can walk alongside one another and help one another grow in the whole and healthy people that God made us to be, recognizing that some of us need counseling, support groups, and even medication in order to do that.

(Slide 24---Praying Hands Photo)

As so, two and a half years ago, with all of this in mind, I came out publicly as a person with a mental illness. I began by posting to my Facebook account, and later sharing in a sermon on the Longest Night of the year, these words: “My name is Erin, and I have a mental illness. Two actually - Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I am lucky enough to have mental illnesses that are relatively easily treated by medication, with limited manageable side effects. I am lucky enough to have a support system of people who love me and help me be healthy. I am lucky enough to have health insurance and the means to pay for my meds. I am lucky enough to have a family that acknowledges my condition and does not scapegoat or blame me for it, but instead loves me and holds me accountable and helps me manage it well. Unfortunately, many are not as lucky as I am ... without medication and counseling, I would have either been dead or lost to unhealthy self-medicating behavior a long time ago. I am one of the lucky ones. But what can we do for those who are not so lucky, who end up hurting themselves and others because they don't have the resources to manage their mental illnesses?”

With these words, I stepped out of anonymity and became a public example of a person with a mental illness. One of the most disturbing responses that I heard after sharing this revelation is the comment, “But I never would have guessed that you have a mental illness - you seem so normal!” And that is exactly the point. I am normal – so normal, in fact, that 1 in 4 Americans live with a serious mental illness. But only part of those seek treatment and even less speak publicly about their diseases. Why? Because mental illness has such a stigma attached to it that many are afraid to go public. To have a mental illness is to have something wrong with you, to be crazy or a nut job, to be only partially human, to be an outsider. We live in a society that holds perfection as the ideal, anything less than perfection is something that we should be ashamed of. So, we must have the perfect body, the perfect family, the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect life … and if we don’t, then it is because there is something wrong with us.

But the fact of the matter is that none of us are flawless – and all of us are going on toward perfection. Which brings me to the other common response that I receive, which is – “Thank you so much for sharing – I thought I was the only one!” Brothers and sisters, we all have things that we wish were different in our lives – and I have to admit that I spent years wishing that God would take away my mental illness, wondering why God would have “done” this to me. But what I realized, after a lot of prayer and a lot of struggle, is that we all have something. Some of us take medication for high blood pressure. Some of us need glasses. Some of us need hearing aids. Some of us struggle with addiction. Some of us need a wheelchair or another form of assistance to get around. All of us have something going on.

And about two years ago, for the first time, I found myself thanking God for my “something.” The fog of depression had been transformed into something beautiful,

(Slide 25 sun rising above the clouds)because in the space of about six months, I had had the opportunity to share my

story with three different parishioners, who were able to find the strength to seek help for their own mental health concerns. Today, I am proud of who I am. I no longer think of myself as a pastor DESPITE my mental illness. I am thankful for the treatment options that I have, certainly, but I am even more thankful for the ways that God has used me – ALL of me – to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

(Slide# 26---Sharon’s name)

SHARON McCART

Thank you, all of you, for being willing to share!Powerful words, honest and open. You make me so grateful to know you and hear you!

One of my favorite parables is the Parable of the Great Feast.You know the one! The master of the house invites people to a huge banquet and at the last minute everyone sends regrets. You know, one just bought a choice piece of property on the coast and has to go check it out. Another has just bought a brand-new BMW and has to take it on a test-run to Vegas. Another just got married and isn’t quite ready to end the honeymoon. One after another, they all say “I cannot come!”

But the food is all prepared so the Master orders the servant to go out into the streets and highways to bring in the poor and people with disabilities so that they can all sit and eat at his table!

The servant obeys and there is STILL room at the table.

So the Master sends him out again, using the word “COMPEL”---COMPEL them to come and join him at the table UNTIL THE TABLE IS FILLED!! There is still room at the table----still---and always!

And we sit and fret about our membership numbers going down!

1 in 5 people have a disability of some kind. 1 in 4 of us experience mental illness at some point in our lives.

That’s a lot of people, many of whom are not in our churches. Some can’t get in. Others don’t feel welcome once they get in. Some have been asked to leave church. And still we fret about numbers. Not PEOPLE, numbers!

As I worked on this presentation, I thought about our conference theme, Journey Toward Wholeness. Last week, I saw on one of the blogs that I follow, the title “Do People with Disabilities need to be Healed to be Whole?”

Without even reading it, I thought about the answer and I thought about this conference’s theme and I knew I wanted to address it.

The answer is not in individualistic, self-centered healing or one-soul-at-a-time healing.

The answer is this-----TOGETHER we are on a Journey toward Wholeness!

TOGETHER we can be whole.

When anyone is missing, we, as the Church, we, as the Body of Christ, are not whole! The Body of Christ is indeed broken! In effect, we, as the Church, are missing parts! The Church itself has limitations, you might say it has a disability!

Our journey toward wholeness is a corporate journey. We cannot find wholeness on our own. We find it TOGETHER!

We don’t need to pray for one person’s healing and then blame their lack of faith when we don’t see results.

We need to pray for OUR healing and wholeness and then if it doesn’t happen, we need to find the ones who are missing and COMPEL them to come and join us---to dine at the Lord’s table with us.

So how is it that we can walk on this Journey toward Wholeness? How can we compel those who are still outside the doors to come inside to the feast?

We interlace it with prayer, yes, but what do we do to be part of the answer to that prayer?

In architecture there is now a term----Universal Access. This term signifies that ramps and curb cuts and other features first designed for people in wheelchairs are also good for people pushing strollers and heavy loads, for people riding bikes and people trying to get a ton of food to the church kitchen for the weekly soup night.

(Slide 27)

Universal Access has many benefits to many people, not just people with disabilities. I have expanded this thinking to include participation, acceptance, gifts and call to serve. What works for those of us with disabilities will also work for all of us!

Because only together are we whole.

(Slide 28)

So our plan for universal access is a plan for ALL to be able to come into community, to participate so that we can grow in our faith, to be accepted and belong, and to answer our call to serve God and neighbor.  So how do we COMPEL people to come in to the table?

How do we, as Lupita says, pull the chairs so that there is more room?

One barrier is architecture----stairs and narrow doors, small bathrooms and no room for wheelchairs among the pews.

I know that finances are often the stumbling block here.

(Slide 29---Congregational loan)

There are Conditional Gifts available from the Congregational Loan office for improving accessibility. Hollypark UMC recently took advantage of this.

(Slide 30---Hollypark parking lot)

There are also grants available through the DisAbility Ministries Committee of the UMC, as part of the General Board of Global Ministries. Temecula UMC received one last fall!

There are also grants for program development and implementation through the DisAbility Ministries Committee through our UMCOR Advance Special!

And this Cal-Pac Task Force hopes to be able to offer grants in the near future as well.

(Slide 31)

Another barrier is awareness. Events like Disability Awareness Sunday or workshops help. So does conducting your annual accessibility audit. Sending members to UMW’s Mission u would be a great way to raise awareness. Having this same study at your church would be even better!

The third barrier is attitude. This is hardest barrier to remove. Changing “we don’t have anyone with disabilities so we don’t need to change anything” to “how can we compel people to come in” is difficult.

I want to lift up Hope in Torrance as a role model here.

What they are doing at Hope is what the Church should be all about.

Instead of expecting people with autism to fit in, to “be normal” as Heather was talking about, the good people of Hope have changed their expectations. Instead of demanding that others fit in to their routines and rituals, instead of expecting Kat to be “seen and not heard,” they have brought her and others with disabilities in to the middle of their lpives. They do their best to see AND hear her and all of the other children who do not fit into the range that experts have defined as “Normal.”

The transformation of the world begins with allowing the Holy Spirit to change us! The transformation of the world begins with expanding our definition of what it means to be created in the image of God.

There is always room at God’s table! And we are commanded to go out and compel people with disabilities to come and feast with us!

God has made a place for everyone! We need to take down the barriers and allow everyone to come in!

Please rise in body or in spirit and sing with us, “For Everyone Born”

(Slide 32)

Please show the song slides as the song progresses. I have put in slides for the refrain every time, so just go in order. No need to skip back and forth.

(Slide 49---At the last line of the song)