Feature Issue on Faith Communities and Persons with ... - NCRTM

Overview
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(937/229-4356), and Friendship
Ministries (616/246-0842). Again,
while based in particular traditions,
their resources are used in a number
of Christian denominations.
So, how are these helpful to you?
They can connect you to resources that
are already developed and to people engaged
in similar forms of ministry or
service. Some offer a formal process for
individual congregations who want to
explore and strengthen inclusive ministries
and supports. And, the national
conferences and leadership of these organizations
can assist you in your community
by helping to sponsor or lead
workshops that bring together religious
networks and service providers.
Regional and State Resources
In a number of areas around the country,
regional and state initiatives are developing
new strategies for supporting
congregations and disability service providers.
They include:
• Interfaith coalitions and resource offices,
such as the Interfaith Disabilities
Network in Atlanta (404/881-
9777 x222, www.aadd.org), the
Center for Spirituality and Disability
(267/257-9541) in Philadelphia, and
Pathways Awareness Foundation in
Chicago (800/955-2445).
• Area-wide ministries and programs
that provide a variety of supports
and services that connect communities
and people with developmental
disabilities. One example is Bridge
Ministries in Seattle (425/828-1431,
www.bridgemin.org), which has programs
that include counseling, adaptive
equipment, circles of support,
guardianship, and more. The Bridges
to Faith committee (508/992-1848)
in Massachusetts recruits “Faith
Companions” to help include people
with developmental disabilities
within the congregations of their
choice. Metro area Jewish federations
and centers for education, and organizations
like the Council for Jews
with Special Needs (602/277-4243,
www.cjsn.org) coordinate a number
of projects that support initiatives
within individual synagogues while
also guiding collaborative projects. In
many places, chaplains who formerly
served primarily as pastors within
the world of an institution are increasingly
focused on supporting inclusive
congregational ministries.
“That’s nice, but we need money”
Sources of financial support for inclusive
congregations include religious organizations,
state offices on developmental
disabilities, Developmental
Disabilities Councils, private foundations,
the Faith in Action Program of the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and
reshaped or redirected chaplaincy services.
There may be other forms of public
funding available under new “faithbased
initiatives” at the federal and state
levels. For initiatives within individual
congregations, a new publication from
the Alban Institute and the Religion and
Disability Program of the National Organization
on Disability titled Money
and Ideas summarizes the creative initiatives
of 50 congregations.
But, do you really need money? It is
also crucial to recognize that most forms
of inclusive ministry and spiritual supports
involve the determination and will
to include, rather than a first expenditure
of funds. You don’t have to start
with a “program.”
Putting It Together
Making this work in your congregation,
agency, community, or state is certainly
not a given, and, as you know, depends
on effective planning, partnerships,
training, and organization. It may first
depend upon families, advocates, and
people with disabilities summoning the
courage, and overcoming past wounds,
to approach and ask their faith community
once again. Most creative initiatives
in this area began around individuals.
Consultation, collaboration, friendly
competition, and creative coaching are
all words that get overused but are crucial
in the development of these initiatives.
Think, for example, in creative
ways about planning: Have spiritual assessments
and supports been part of
IEP, IHP, or person-centered planning
processes? When was the last time a representative
from someone’s faith community
or tradition was invited to participate?
Think about training. To help
clergy and congregations, you are going
to have to go where they go, meet them
on their ground. To help agency staff
and professional staff, include spirituality
and spiritual supports in preservice
and inservice training. Think of how the
gifts of individual agency staff can be
used to support initiatives in this area,
no matter what their job description,
and/or how congregations can use the
skills and knowledge of professionals
and families within their congregations
to train and coach others.
Help Us All Learn!
As you work within this area, let others
know what you are doing. Connect with
national networks and their newsletters.
Write about what you are doing, and the
resources or models you develop. Consider
writing for the Journal of Religion,
Disability, and Health; we need the same
kind of intensive, systematic, and disciplined
research and writing in the area
of faith and developmental disabilities
as is happening within other areas of
health and human service. The spiritual
needs and gifts of people with developmental
disabilities have too long been
hidden. To help them help us, don’t hide
your light under a bushel!
Bill Gaventa is Coordinator of Community
and Congregational Supports, and
Assistant Professor, at The Boggs Center on
Developmental Disabilities, University of
Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New
Brunswick. He serves in volunteer roles as
the Executive Secretary for the Religion and
Spirituality Division of AAMR and as Co-
Editor of the Journal of Religion, Disability,
and Health. He may be reached at
732/235-9304 or gaventwi@umdnj.edu.
Published on the Web site of the Institute on Community Integration (http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/143/).