Connections, March 2010

Featured Stories

Including Children with Autism

“Really? You want to spend your Sunday mornings with my child so that I can sit in worship?” Melissa Jantz recounts her amazement at Michelle Shelly’s surprising offer a few years ago. Michelle, a member of Assembly Mennonite Church had offered to organize care for three-year-old Ethan, who has autism, so that Melissa and her husband Tim could participate in worship at the Goshen, Indiana , congregation. 
Read complete article . Read condensed version. 

Worship Team:  What happens when all can worship?
by Milt Stoltzfus

Several times a month a team from Friendship Community travels to churches in south central Pennsylvania to offer an answer to the question, What happens when all can worship?  Full article

• Interested in the issues of hearing and deafness?   Check out the February 2010 edition of ADNotes.  ADNet works closely with Anabaptist Deaf Ministries (ABDM) on deafness issues. 
• Summer camping opportunities for persons with disabilities and their families at Mennonite-related facilities are now listed on ADNet Online.
• ADNet Student Associates are hard at work this semester.  Watch for more information about Kathy Dickson and Vanessa Yoder by visiting the Student Associate web page.
• A big thank-you to Curt Wenger for serving as volunteer bookkeeper for ADNet since its incorporation.  As of mid-February, Curt is turning over that assignment to Rollin Handrich.  Welcome, Rollin, and thanks!
• ADNet has been assisting a local effort in Elkhart/Goshen, Indiana to begin a clubhouse.  ADNet commends the clubhouse model to other communities and encourages churches to support this type of effort to provide a “hand-up” to persons with chronic mental illness.
• An expanded and more informal Advisory Committee met on February 8th in Goshen, Indiana , and feedback is also being sought from others around the country via email.  The Advisory Committee is giving counsel on the Congregational Accessibility Network (CAN) and Supportive Care Revisited projects. Others with interest in participating are encouraged to .
• Connections is now available online and by email!  See the cover letter with this issue or go to www.adnetonline.org/GotoConnect to sign up.  Please let us hear from you if you appreciate Connections!  Thanks for your support!

ADNet Board:  New Member Appointed

ADNet welcomes Vyron L. Schmidt of Goshen, Indiana , to the ADNet Board. Schmidt, who was appointed at the Board’s January 12, 2010 meeting, will serve a three-year term beginning February 1, 2010.  Read full article  Read press release

Annual Report Highlights 2010

• Presence and display at conferences, including MC USA Convention 2009 in Columbus, Ohio
• Upgrade of Congregational Accessibility Network
• Research on Supportive Care presented at MHA
• Appointment of two new Student Associates
• Membership in MHS Alliance
• Cooperation with Anabaptist Deaf Ministries
• Income:  $43,091. Expenses: $57,351. Asset balance: $21,2632. 
• Board response to financial challenges

Download a complete copy of ADNet’s Annual Report.

Book Review: Souls in the Hands of a Tender God
Book by Craig Rennebohm with David Paul   
Review by Christine Guth

In Souls in the Hands of a Tender God, Craig Rennebohm draws on thirty years of ministry on the streets of Seattle to bring us into the world of street people who live with a mental illness. As Rennebohm introduces us to his characters with gentle respect, he enables us to look past the presenting signs of illness to see the humanity we share with them, always present and always potentially accessible. Read full review