Friday, February 23, 2018

News and notes from AMD, 2/23/18


Here are the highlights of postings this week from the Association of Ministers with Disabilities, Disability Ministries Committee, Mental Health Ministries, Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Ministries Committee, and UM Congress of the Deaf:
-
UMCD, DHM, ELDA, ECD joint meeting in Las Vegas, July 22-29
http://www.umcd.org/download/2018registration.docx
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UMAMD Meeting and Academy, August 1-3
https://www.umdisabledministers.org/meeting/2018.html
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Northeastern Jurisdiction Deaf Ministry Conference, November 9-10
https://www.umcd.org/newsnej/1811_river.docx
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UM Disability blog: 21st Century Lepers
http://umdisability.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-21st-century-lepers-by-leo-yates-jr.html
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Anglican Church in Canada: envoy for people with disabilities
https://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/church-may-create-envoy-disabled-people-hiltz/
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The church is incomplete...
http://evangelicalfocus.com/lifetech/3220/The_church_of_the_Lord_is_incomplete_without_people_with_intellectual_disabilities
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Your hearing loss is unique
https://livingwithhearingloss.com/2018/02/13/your-hearing-loss-is-unique-and-so-is-mine/
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Parenting and disabilities
http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/1138094/motherhood-for-people-with-disabilities
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DREDF lists problems with HR620
https://dredf.org/hr620/overview-of-concerns-with-h-r-620/
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Brochures for Deaf ministry guidance
https://www.umdeaf.org/resource/cong.html
-
-
Click here for a list of events of interest to people in disability ministry.
UMAMD logo with the UM Cross and Flame and several
          disability symbols
This newsletter is generally issued weekly by the
United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities,
a caucus of the United Methodist Church.

Click here to join this e-mail list.
This newsletter is also published on the UM Disability Blog
Visit us on the web or Facebook.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

AMD meeting and academy

Leadership Academy for people with disabilities:
Taking Our Place at the Table in the UMC

August 1 - 3 2018
Kellogg Conference Hotel,
Gallaudet University,
Washington D.C.

The United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities (UMAMD) is sponsoring this event. We recognize that people with disabilities are often forgotten when it comes to leadership development and training. This conference is designed to bring us together for training, conversation and strategic thinking with leaders in the church from the General Board of Church and Society, the General Commission on Religion and Race, and the Lewis Center for Leadership Development at Wesley Theological Seminary.

Taking our place at the table as leaders with disabilities in  the local church, in our conferences, jurisdictions, and the global church is a justice issue. Our goal is to learn to work collaboratively with others who have been marginalized by the church, so that together, we can effect change.

Registration coming soon--save the date!

Monday, February 19, 2018

The 21st Century Lepers -- by Leo Yates Jr.

The 21st Century Lepers: Opioid Addicts

By Rev. Leo Yates, Jr.

The opioid epidemic is a global problem that affects individuals, families, communities, churches, and society in general. According to a Market Watch 2017 article, opioid addiction costs the U.S. $500 billion a year. Part of the problem with opioid addiction is that when these drugs are taken regularly, the body builds a tolerance in which the low dose will no longer be as effective and a higher dose is needed to receive the same effect.

Opioid addiction infiltrated the church many years ago. Once, this writer walked into the church’s men's bathroom and caught a person sniffing (inhaling) heroin. Despite the personal, family, and financial costs of using or abusing opioids, there are often reasons why individuals use or abuse opioids. One significant reason is experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Another reason is self-medication (it provides a sense of detachment from emotional pain). Not surprising, some develop mental health symptoms due to the dependence, the addiction, or the potential problems associated with it. Still another reason is it provides relief from pain, while another is lacking the needed supports.

As with other addictions, opioid abuse often occurs because the individual (mistakenly) turns to it as a way to cope with underlying problems and everyday life stressors. This is why most addiction counseling includes teaching natural and healthier coping strategies as a part of treatment.

It seems most churches and faith leaders are at a loss for what to do when confronted with addiction, let alone opioid addiction. Talking in biblical terms, opioid addicts are the 21st century lepers: they are often shunned, mistreated, and/or ignored in our communities, including our faith communities. This mostly comes from stigma, our attitudes, and our values. While most of us see them as lepers, some addicts see themselves as lepers due to internalizing societal biases and shame, which often compounds the social isolation they face. From a Christian ethics perspective, it is our Christian responsibility to provide care and mercy to these individuals and their families while not mistakenly enabling the problem. However, not knowing what to do does not absolve us from our Christian responsibility.

In a former church appointment, I had a parishioner who was on methadone medication temporarily until she was stabilized, had therapy, and was able rebuild her support system, which included building relationships with her church family. While the church cannot do anything specifically for the withdrawal, it was able to love her, model unconditional love, and support her family while she pulled herself together. She has come a long way since her heroin days, even to the point of being a faith leader in her church. This is how Christ would have them do it. Another parishioner relapsed twice, was arrested and went to jail for several months. During that time, he was visited by church members, prayed for, and his family was supported. He returned to church after his release. Again, unconditional love. His particular relapse wasn't due to withdrawal, it was due to unresolved issues and emotional pain. For one, the passing of his mother while he was a child led to a complicated cycle of grief. He also learned to take seriously the life of recovery (it's a life-time commitment and lifestyle).

How does the church get involved or begin the conversation of having an addictions recovery ministry? It often starts with developing awareness, having knowledge, and developing sensitivity. This can begin with a sermon series, a Bible study, posting articles on the church bulletin board, and including bulletin inserts about overdoses or general drug awareness. When it comes to addiction recovery, focusing on prevention, treatment, and after-care are considered. Remember, stopping drug use is not the same as recovery, which can be complicated due, for instance, to doctors over-prescribing opioid medications and/or abruptly stopping the medication.

There are many ministry ideas churches can consider doing. Some include:

Prevention:

  • Teaching awareness with youth groups 1 or more times a month. 
  • Teaching awareness with older adult ministries and groups (older adults are the fastest growing population for addiction). 
  • Hosting community awareness trainings including overdose prevention. Have addiction recovery observances and celebrations (e.g. International Overdose Awareness Day is Aug 31 and September is National Recovery Month). 
  • Do a sermon series on the various addictions. 
  • Opioids are often cheaper than other pain relief drugs and people with limited incomes or who lack insurance become trapped. Work for economic justice in medical care and drug prices. 

Care:

  • Begin a bi-monthly or monthly grief support group for your community to support for family members who lost a loved one to an overdose. You can promote this at ERs and funeral homes. 
  • Adopt a recovery house near you; this might include bringing weekly meals, hosting a Bible study at the house, keeping them in prayer, and/or inviting them to church-related activities. This helps the residents know they're loved and that people care. 
  • Adopt a drug treatment center. For instance, this ministry focuses on those working on the front lines, such as the counselors and staff. Show them love and encouragement by bringing weekly coffee and donuts for them. Some facilities may have staff who would be welcome to a moment of prayer. Certainly keep them in prayer, as addiction work is a burnout field. 
  • Extend hospitality. Some churches have coat closets and food pantries. Offer these ministries to drug treatment centers as resource to share with clients. 
  • Provide referrals to human service agencies, social services, and drug treatment centers. In most areas, dialing 211 can get you to a referral line for such referrals. 

Recovery Focused:

  • Become a recovery-focused church by becoming a recovery church. Contact AA, NA, and other 12 Step groups to come host their meetings at your church. Extend hospitality to them by offering refreshments. 
  • Begin a Celebrate Recovery meeting, which focuses on both the addict and the family member. 
  • Host an annual revival that includes hearing testimonies. 
  • Have a Recovery Sunday. 
  • Begin a recovery ministry that includes pastoral support, training individuals in techniques such as motivational interviewing, having monthly prayer vigils, and regular general drug awareness. 
The lepers in Christ's time had names, just like they do in ours. These 21st century lepers should not be shunned (or labeled lepers), but they should be loved and reminded they are children of God. Jesus emphasized our need to care for others throughout the gospels (e.g. Matthew 25:34-40). The church needs to be the church and offer the hand of Christ.

* Rev. Leo Yates, Jr. is a provisional deacon and a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor serving in the Baltimore-Washington Conference.





Friday, February 16, 2018

News and Notes from AMD, 2/16/2018

Here are the highlights of postings this week from the Association of Ministers with Disabilities, Disability Ministries Committee, Mental Health Ministries, Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Ministries Committee, and UM Congress of the Deaf:
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UMCD, DHM, ELDA, ECD joint meeting in Las Vegas, July 22-29
http://www.umcd.org/download/2018registration.docx
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A Disabled God: A Lenten Devotional (prayers section)
https://www.umdisabilityministries.org/dasunday/
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Mental Illness and Religious Leadership
https://sarahgriffithlund.com/2018/02/06/shining-a-light-on-mental-illness-in-religious-leadership/
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How mental health experts explain ...
https://www.wthr.com/article/how-mental-health-experts-explain-school-shootings-to-children
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DMC: Adapting for those who are blind or low vision
https://www.umdisabilityministries.org/access/blind.html
-
Click here for a list of events of interest to people in disability ministry.
UMAMD logo with the UM Cross and Flame and several
          disability symbols
This newsletter is generally issued weekly by the
United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities,
a caucus of the United Methodist Church.

Click here to join this e-mail list.
This newsletter is also published on the UM Disability Blog
Visit us on the web or Facebook.

Friday, February 9, 2018

News and Notes from AMD, 2/9/18


Here are the highlights of postings this week from the Association of Ministers with Disabilities, Disability Ministries Committee, Mental Health Ministries, Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Ministries Committee, and UM Congress of the Deaf:
-
UMCD, DHM, ELDA, ECD joint meeting in Las Vegas, July 22-29
http://www.umcd.org/download/2018registration.docx
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UM Disability Blog: DMC and the future
http://umdisability.blogspot.com/2018/02/dmc-and-future.html
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NYT disability series: The Nazis' first victims
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/opinion/nazis-holocaust-disabled.html
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The curiosity of a child
https://www.missionalwisdom.com/julian360/2018/1/30/the-curiosity-of-a-child
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MHM: CRAWL model for church
http://hope4mentalhealth.com/act/start-your-own
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Missional Wisdom: Are we invited?
https://www.missionalwisdom.com/julian360/2018/2/2/are-we-invited
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ADA threatened
https://mailchi.mp/dredf/urgent-save-the-ada?e=e34afd9a97
-
-
Click here for a list of events of interest to people in disability ministry.
UMAMD logo with the UM Cross and Flame and several
          disability symbols
This newsletter is generally issued weekly by the
United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities,
a caucus of the United Methodist Church.

Click here to join this e-mail list.
This newsletter is also published on the UM Disability Blog
Visit us on the web or Facebook.

Monday, February 5, 2018

DMC and the Future

Disability Ministries logo

February 4, 2018                        

Greetings! 

Last month representatives from the DisAbility Ministries Committee of The United Methodist Church and the co-chairs of the United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities caucus met in Atlanta at the Global Ministries (GM) office to discuss the future of the committee. GM staff attending were General Secretary Thomas Kemper, Executive Director of Global Health Dr. Olusimbo Ige, and US Health Program Manager Sabrina Rodgers. Also present were Bishop Peggy Johnson (Pennsylvania Episcopal Area) and David F. Watson, Academic Dean and Associate New Testament professor at United Theological School.

After decades of being our source of financial support, Global Health (a division of GM)    announced last August that they had decided to end our funding as of May 31, 2018. We thank all of you who have since expressed support and offered help. We want you to know the hopeful outcome of this recent meeting.

Thomas Kemper explained a possible plan to restructure the Disability Ministries Committee. The basis for the change is threefold:

  • Global Ministries/Global Health is not a good fit for us.
  • We have already made connections and worked with a number of other boards and agencies.
  • The Book of Discipline states that annual conference disability concerns committee will work with jurisdictional accessibility associations to share information, and those jurisdictional associations currently do not exist. 
Our vision is that we belong to the entire denomination and not just one agency. This has moved closer to reality with the proposal of this plan. This is what it looks like so far:

  • The hope is that the DMC might become an entity that has an appointed bishop to oversee it. This needs to be approved by the Council of Bishops. If it is approved, the appointed bishop would become the chair and be better able to advocate for us.
  • Thomas Kemper plans to approach the Executive Secretaries of the boards and agencies we are working with to discuss a more collaborative way of funding us, based on the work we are doing.
  • If they agree, the Council of Bishops could move to form the jurisdictional accessibility associations named in the Discipline. These associations would then have a positive impact on starting and sustaining annual conference committees. 
We have always been a bottom-up movement. We have accomplished much, but we are not as well-known or as well-utilized as we would like. It's time to add a top-down approach so that support and action comes from both ends. Just like we don't get very far with a congregation unless the pastor and/or other church leaders are on board, we need this top-down piece to be able to have greater impact.

This plan is still in formation. There are still a number of unanswered questions but the door to further discussion is open and the Holy Spirit is very much present.

Yours in service to Christ,

Sharon McCart

Chair, DisAbility Ministries Committee of the United Methodist Church




Friday, February 2, 2018

News and notes from AMD, 2/2/2018

Here are the highlights of postings this week from the Association of Ministers with Disabilities, Disability Ministries Committee, Mental Health Ministries, Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Ministries Committee, and UM Congress of the Deaf:
-
UMCD, DHM, ELDA, ECD joint meeting in Las Vegas, July 22-29
http://www.umcd.org/download/2018registration.docx
-
The Man at the Airport
https://largertable.com/2018/01/22/the-man-in-the-airport/
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NPR: a few things to know about ASL (DHM Resources page)
https://youtu.be/wa0nxppMJ-Q
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MHM: A sermon of truth about depression
https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/January-2018/A-Sermon-of-Truth-About-Depression
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January-February newsletter from DHM
https://www.umdeaf.org/news/
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DMC: bulletin inserts for disability awareness
https://www.umdisabilityministries.org/dasunday/
-
Accessibility at YOUTH 2019
http://youth2019.com/2018/01/31/all-are-welcome-accessibility-at-youth-2019/
-
Click here for a list of events of interest to people in disability ministry.
UMAMD logo with the UM Cross and Flame and several
          disability symbols
This newsletter is generally issued weekly by the
United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities,
a caucus of the United Methodist Church.

Click here to join this e-mail list.
This newsletter is also published on the UM Disability Blog
Visit us on the web or Facebook.