The Cal-Pac DisAbility Ministries Task Force’s mission is:
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to invite, empower, encourage and support people with disabilities,
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to advocate for and open the door for self-advocacy,
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to increase awareness of the gifts for ministry of people with disabilities, including people with mental illnesses, and
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to work for changes throughout the conference to allow for full participation of people with disabilities in the church.
THE LATEST
RESOURCES
01. CURRENT RESOURCES
- Resource for Disability Awareness Sunday (required by the Book of Discipline to be held annually by each congregation)
- UM DisAbility Blog
- Poem: “Them vs. Us” Litany (download .docx)
- Video: The Least Evangelized
- Video: AC2014 DisAbility Presentation
For Local Churches:
- Access to Worship Actions (.docx)
- Accessible COVID-19 Resources (.docx)
- Advocacy Actions with References (.docx)
- Outreach Resource Sheet (.docx)
- Resources for Praying without Words (.docx)
- 2019 Disability Awareness Sunday Resources (download .docx)
- Accessibility Audit, revised Mar 2019 (download .docx)
- 50+ Ways to Make Church More Accessible
- That All May Worship
Funding:
- 2020 DisAbility Grant Application (.docx) (Deadline: Oct. 15, 2020)
Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing:
- Raising Deaf Awareness Means Opening Church Hearts
- Deaf Friendly Christmas Service Resources
- UM Committee on Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Ministries
- DHH Ministries Newsletters
For Teens and Adults with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities:
Mental Health:
- Mental Health Ministries
- NAMI (providing training and support for churches)
- Pathways to Promise (providing training and support for churches)
- Local Government Resources:
Other Denominations:
02. RECOMMENDED BOOKS
on Ministry:
- Special Needs Parenting: From Coping to Thriving (by the Rev. Lorna Bradley) – can be used for starting a support group
on Awareness:
- Adam: God’s Beloved (by Henri J. M. Nouwen) – Living with a man with severe disabilities is a much more rewarding relationship than most people would expect.
- Amazing Gifts: Stories of Faith, Disability, and Inclusion (by Mark I. Pinsky) – First-hand accounts that inspire and empower work for inclusion. A rare treat!
- Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome (by Rudy Simone) – A first-hand, well-informed account of life as a woman with Asperger’s Syndrome. Includes tips for girls and young women and their parents as well.
- The Bible, Disability, and the Church: A New Vision of the People of God (by Amos Yong) – A readable work on disability theology that is meaningful for the work of the church today.
- The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability (by Nancy Eiesland) – The foundational work on disability theology. Shows that Christ saved us not from a position of power but from a position of weakness. Opens minds and hearts.
- A Healing Homiletic: Preaching and Disability (by Kathy Black) – Helps preachers and laypeople understand another way of looking at the healing passages of the Gospels. Gives a more complete understanding.
- Riding the Bus with My Sister (by Rachel Simon) – An honest story of what a young woman learned about her sister’s gifts and compassionate heart. Profound and moving.
- Searching for Normalcy (by Steven G. Chance) – A young man with cerebral palsy tells his own story of trying to understand where God was on the day he was born.
- Speaking Out: Gifts of Ministering Undeterred by Disabilities (Robert L. Walker, ed.) – A collection of true stories written by members of the United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities.
- Unexpected Guests at God’s Banquet: Welcoming People with Disabilities in the Church (by Brett Webb-Mitchell)
on Advocacy:
- Autism and Your Church: Nurturing the Spiritual Growth of People with Autism Spectrum Disorders (by Barbara J. Newman) – For those who want to be more inclusive of people who are autistic.
- Disability Awareness—Do It Right! Your All-in-one How-to Guide (Mary Johnson, ed.) – Ways to help people without disabilities become more aware of the challenges and the strengths of people with disabilities.
- Same Lake, Different Boat: Coming Alongside People Touched by Disability (by Stephanie O. Hubach) – Insights into the ways that parenting a child with disabilities is the same as raising any child, and how it is different. A very honest and open book.
04. CONTACT
Sharon McCart
Chair, DisAbility Ministries Task Force
949.233.7685 | disability@calpacumc.org