Welcome to CCDM We hope you have visited our new website by now. If not, why not do it right now? Due to some technical issues, we were not able to update this website in the manner that our readers deserve. For that reason, we now have a new website to go along with our new name.

We are now the Christian Churches Disability Ministry.

Our new website is www.ccdmonline.org.  Come on over and visit. After you look at it, leave your comments and let us know what you think. If you have any suggestions, let us know. We are in the process of moving all of our online store over to the new site. If you look under Educational Resources, you will see that you can now download some of our brochures for free!

We look forward to working with you as we work together to serve the disability community.

servant_july Click here to read the July edition of The Servant, where you will not only be able to read the latest edition of our newsletter, but you will also be able to read Jim Pierson’s new article on “Inclusion Ministry” and see pictures from Jim’s Retirement Gala.

herald_july Click here and you will be able to read the latest edition of “The Herald” and read about the residents and their day at the Special Olympics. There are several great pictures.

our-newsletters - Follow this link to our new website to see this quarter’s issues of The Servant and The Herald.

Hope you enjoy this new edition of The Servant.
vol-2-issue-2_jan-2011

Click The-Servant_Fall-2010_volume-2-issue-1 to see all of the exciting things that are happening (including our “new look”):

• Read about our new name change that is happening soon;
• Find out who has been here this year to work at Riverwood;
• Learn which of our board members is retiring after many years of devoted service; 
• This and much more is in this edition of The Servant.

Click The Servant - Summer 2010 to access this  issue in which we:

• Remember, Gib, one of our longtime residents;
• Tell how Special Olympics is indeed a SPECIAL blessing;
• Consider what’s in a name as CCFH becomes CCDM;
• Inform you about, Making the Church Inclusive for Members with Disabilities, a new resource from Jackie Mills-Fernald and Jim Pierson;
• and more.

Jackie Mills-Fernald, director of ACCESS Ministry at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia, and Jim Pierson, President Emeritus of CCFH Ministries in Knoxville, Tennessee collaborated to bring us this enlightening booklet.

Click the link to access Making The Church Inclusive For Members With Disabilities.

Visit our Online Store for additional resources.

This issue features Riverwood residents sharing their gifts with others and our president, Gary W. Spangler salutes Jim Pierson, president emeritus.

Please click to read The Servant Spring 2010.

Reading Kathleen Deyer Bolduc’s Autism & Alleluias was a wonderful experience. While I was impressed by Kathleen’s prose writing style, I was surprised by joy at the first poem. The prose relates a variety of events from Joel’s life; the poems reveal his mother’s deep emotions stirred by her son. The scripture at the beginning and prayer at the end of each chapter summarize the content. The scriptures, the stories, the poems, the prayers combine to give a loud message: every person regardless of ability is created by God and has purpose for being here. Joel has a lot to teach us about worshipping God. His mom did a good job of telling his story.

If asked for a suggestion for a book to use for a parents’ support group, I would suggest Autism & Alleluias. The range of topics would keep a group talking for a long time. Just a few ideas: dealing with the school system, developing a support system, maintaining a positive relationship with physicians, handling sexual development, keeping the marriage strong, letting go, parenting siblings, and developing faith in your child with a disability.

Autism & Alleluias will encourage parents of children with disabilities, help parents without children with disabilities know what the experience is like, and help people who work with them have better insights.

We are always glad to share news of ministry activities. The Power, Hope & Grace Bible Church, Detroit Michigan, Special Needs Ministry held its 4^th annual “Celebration Sunday on March 21, 2010. This enriching event included “Empowerment Workshops.”  Click here to see the Celebration Sunday Program Brochure and the Empowerment Workshops.

Send us news about your ministry that we may share with others.