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