November 2011 Connections

This month of Thanksgiving feasting brings you an issue of Connections that is a veritable feast of stories, photos, and resources. Savor the rich spread of articles below. Bookmark this page so you can come back and enjoy second helpings! And finish off with coffee--"Created in Your Image We Spill Coffee," a litany by Rev. Jeanne Tyler reflecting on the wonder of God's image in vulnerable humanity. We are thankful for all the contributors who shared their stories and photos.

Friends Lighten the Load
Committed to Mutual Support
Introducing Jason Greig
ADNet Board: Looking to the Future
Letter from Jim Smith, ADNet's Board Chair
ADNet news and new resources
Mennonite Convention
Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injury
Love is a Beautiful Thing
Little Things
Book Reviews: Crying for the Light
                      Autism and Your Church
Hospitality: Removing Barriers
Created in Your Image We Spill Coffee

Friends Lighten the Load
by Gary Long, Leola, Pa.

Gary Long woke up one February morning six years with the left side of his face numb. It turned out to be not a dental problem, but the beginning of his struggle with multiple sclerosis. Read Gary's personal account of the ups and downs of learning to live with an acquired physical disability.

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Committed to Mutual Support
by Christine Guth and Cheryl Hollinger

To members of Forest Hills Mennonite Church, supporting one another during tough times is a matter of course. Friends and church members who purchased a wheelchair accessible van for Gary Long have helped Gary stay connected with the congregation and exercise his spiritual gifts. Read more about Forest Hills' relationship with Gary.

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Introducing Jason Greig

Jason Greig comes to ADNet from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary as a ministry intern and Student Associate. He brings eleven years' experience living and working alongside adults with developmental disabilities in L'Arche communities in Canada. Read more about Jason and his theological insights.

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ADNet Board: Looking to the Future

The mood at ADNet's October Board meeting was remarkably buoyant after the previous year’s somber budget-cutting decisions. Read about outcomes of this lively strategic planning session.

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Letter from Jim Smith, ADNet's Board Chair

Because of your prayers and financial help, we continue to serve, resource, and empower those challenged with different abilities and special needs. Your generosity made the difference in our first nine years of mission. Will you continue to be faithful in your help for ADNet? Read the rest of Jim's letter. Use the links in the left column to share your support with ADNet.

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ADNet Updates

• You may subscribe to this newsletter in either email or hard copy editions.

• Volunteer! ADNet invites volunteers with a passion for including people with disabilities to give us a call to explore ways you can contribute. Current needs: office assistant (in Goshen), bilingual volunteer to translate resources into Spanish, social media coordinator. toll free at 877-214-9838.

• As a signer of the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition Statement of Solidarity Around Employment of People with Disabilities, ADNet urges our readers to seek out opportunities to hire qualified people with disabilities and to offer support to members and attenders with disabilities who are out of work. Learn more about the statement of solidarity.

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  See some of the ways ADNet's program director is connecting with others nearby and around the world.
  
  

• ADNet recommends these new resources for faith communities on autism (in English and Spanish), inclusion, worship, learning differences.

• 
  Making an impact an ocean away, an article by ADNet Field Associate Kathy Dickson was published online by Methodist Theological School in Ohio.

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MCUSA Convention

At the Pittsburgh Convention of Mennonite Church USA this past July, ADNet connected with hundreds of youth and adults. See more ADNet convention photos and stories.

Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injury
by Jeri Lake, Urbana, IL

Jeri Lake landed on her head after the bike she was riding was struck by a car in 2005. The resulting traumatic brain injury was severely disabling until she was admitted to clinical trials for an experimental device. "The God-given minds that figured out this science are miraculous in their own right," she writes. Read Jeri's story with more photos.

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Love is a Beautiful Thing
A Story of Anita Chapman and Columbus Mennonite, by Nancy Franke, Columbus, OH

Columbus Mennonite Church entered into a brotherly agreement to look after Anita after her parents' death. There have been bumps in the road and lessons learned along the way, but having Anita as a part of the church family, has been a real blessing for the whole congregation. Read Anita's story.

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Little Things
by Wilfred Martens, ADNet board, Fresno, CA

"Those who have observed and worked with persons with disabilities know how important little things are – a sound, a movement, a twitch, a breath." Read about the unexpected gift of a surprising encounter in a small community in Nova Scotia. 

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Book Reviews

Crying for the Light: Bible Readings and Reflections for Living with Depression , by Veronica Zundel. Review by Beverly Buller Keck, author of Just One More Day: Meditations for Those Who Struggle with Anxiety and Depression.

Autism and Your Church:  Nurturing the Spiritual Growth of People with Autism Spectrum Disorders (2011 edition) , by Barbara J. Newman. Review by Sue Cassel, ADNet Field Associate. A revised edition of an excellent resource for faith communities.

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Hospitality: Removing Barriers
By Christine Guth, with contributions from many others

Accessibility may seem a relative newcomer to our nation’s agenda, but we at ADNet urge people of faith to think of accessibility as a new name for the very old practice of hospitality. Read about congregations and agencies that have taken new steps of hospitality.

View photos and stories contributed by:

Indiana Michigan Conference
Mennonite Health Services Alliance
Grand Marais Mennonite Church
Michigan Avenue Mennonite Church
Benton Mennonite Church
Freeport Mennonite Church
Crest Hill Community Church
College Mennonite Church

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Created in Your Image We Spill Coffee

A litany by Rev. Jeanne Tyler reflecting on the wonder of God's image present in our vulnerable humanity.

Connections is published quarterly by Anabaptist Disabilities Network, PO Box 959, Goshen, IN, 46527, Christine J. Guth, Editor and Program Director. The mission of the Anabaptist Disabilities Network (ADNet) is to provide encouragement and resources to congregations, families, and persons with disabilities as they identify and embrace their God-given gifts and abilities in ministry to each other and to the larger church. (Note: Following the example set by the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADNet definition of "disability" is broad-based and includes, among others, physical, learning, sensory, and cognitive disabilities and mental illnesses.)

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