Monday, January 30, 2017

Walking on Water -- Jonathan Campbell

I wanted to share what I spoke about on Sunday (1/29/17) in worship. I was preaching about Peter walking on water and the problem of fear. Below is a portion of my sermon:

A couple of weeks ago, my wife came up to me and said, “I have something to tell you, but I don’t know how exactly.” I braced for impact. She went on to tell me that she recently noticed a lot more people making fun of me in public. I would like to say I was surprised, but as a person with a lifelong disability, I was not. 

I have, over time, come to realize that the individuals who mock others with disabilities do so out of fear. 

They’re afraid because people with disabilities are a reminder of their own mortality. They’re afraid of their own perceived weakness. They’re afraid about how their job, their relationship, and their lives are going wrong. They project that fear on others, often people with disabilities, because it makes them feel better about themselves. However, fear never makes us stronger or better. 

 I know a lot about fear. During elementary school I was severely bullied. I wish I could tell you I always dealt well with the fear and frustration, but I didn’t. For most of my youth I built a wall around myself to keep from being hurt. During the summer before I began middle school I had a growth spurt. When I went to middle school that year I was twenty pounds heavier and over six feet tall. When the first person tried to bully me I turned to violence in retaliation. But, neither of those “solutions” solved the problem. These “solutions” didn’t bridge the wide chasm of misunderstanding between me and my bullies.

We can easily lose ourselves in fear. Countries can also lose themselves in fear. Terrorism is scary, and as a country we must deal with that real problem. But, judging people solely by their religion, race, or national origin won’t make us safe. Like Peter, our actions based in fear, will only exacerbate the problem. 

I doubt I will ever get to have a conversation with those who made fun of me behind my back. If I could, this is what I would like to say to them. I’m more then my disabilities and when you look at me, or any person who is different than you, through the lens of fear you don’t see our humanity. I’m just the guy with the spastic arm and weird limp. You don’t see me as a husband to a beautiful and loving wife or the father of three wonderful boys. You don’t see me as a pastor with two master’s degrees. You don’t see a long suffering Eagles’ fan. You don’t see me! I would like to let them know that the disabilities they made fun of where the things that made me a stronger and a better person. I would tell them about a man named Jacob and how he met God and walked away with a limp. I would talk to them personally, and tell them that their weaknesses are the very things that can make them stronger. 

So, what do we do about our fears? We learn from Jesus. Jesus reached out and rescued Peter when he was gripped by fear. He then reminded Peter that he need not doubt himself or live in fear. We can help each other find the strength not to be controlled by our fear. Unfortunately, sometimes it feels like my default position in life when trouble hits is fear. What can we do to help one another? When you see that I’m facing a situation that is making me fearful you can remind me that fear won’t solve the problem, and I’ll do the same for you.

Jesus calls us to reach out and offer our hand to rescue those living in fear. I hope you will join me in contacting your local and national leaders to remind them we shouldn’t make decisions out of fear and judging people by their race, religion, or national origin won’t keep us safe. We must remember the powerful and true words of 1 John, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear.” Through the grace of God may we help each other, our neighbors, and our leaders step out in love and not fear.
Jonathan Campbell is pastor of Old First UMC in West Long Branch, NJ. This is not an official statement; only the General Conference can speak for the UMC.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Friday, January 20, 2017

News and notes from AMD, 1/20/17

Fact Sheet: ACA and disability
http://www.advocacymonitor.com/fact-sheet-the-affordable-care-act-and-the-disability-community/

Anabaptist Disabilities Network on health care
http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=fc4d1d6b69c4ca3b7c360527d&id=c9e7d4a1e2&e=3be94e61ff

UMCD offers Sarah Wilke our congratulations and our thanks. Sarah was responsible for ensuring there was an ASL presence at the World Federation  of Methodists in Houston. This captured the attention of many people, and led to discussions about ASL expansion at General Conference.
http://www.scarrittbennett.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Wilke-news-release-SBC-SEW.pdf

The Feast at Highland Park UMC
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/highland-park/2017/01/12/highland-park-united-methodist-church-focuses-special-members-weekly-feast-service

Language and portrayals
https://blog.samhsa.gov/2017/01/09/the-power-of-language-and-portrayals/#.WIC-tvkrLIU
     
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.

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Friday, January 13, 2017

News and notes from AMD, 1/13/17

 January newsletter from DHM
http://www.umcdhm.org/news/index.html

Curb cuts and public benefit
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_curb_cut_effect

Thoughts about charity: are "saviors" inherently discriminatory?
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/38989-saviors-believe-that-they-are-better-than-the-people-they-are-saving

Advocacy: the importance of Medicaid
https://withoutacrystalball.com/2017/01/06/the-real-fear-of-losing-medicaid-one-mothers-perspective/

UM Disability blog: Heath care
http://umdisability.blogspot.com/2017/01/health-care-and-invitation-beth-dehoff.html

CripPastor blog
https://crippastor.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/health-and-the-real-me/

Advocacy: Health care alerts from The Arc
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=b516ab2850dff6a42eff1a9e7&id=407f6e92aa&e=61b0cca606

Notice to AMD members: 
The members of the UMAMD committee on nominations wishes to extend to The Rev. Dr. Robert Walker, our sincere gratitude for the hours of skillful time and dedication he gave to the Association of Ministers With Disabilities, both serving as editor of the book Speaking Out, and serving as chair of the association's social action committee. As such, Bob spent many hours helping the committee to revise and distribute petitions for the 2016 general conference. We are pleased to let you know that, upon Robert Walker's resignation as chair of the social action committee, due to age and personal concerns, The Rev. Evy McDonald, a retired elder, has agreed to serve as the chair of the social action committee.
If you have any objection or prefer to submit another name for consideration, please contact one or both of the Association co-chairs, Rev. Russel Ewell or Rev. Janine Delaunay. If no comments are received by January 25, 2017, Evy shall be elected by acclamation.
The nominating committee is considering that all the officers who were elected at our last meeting in Dallas in 2015 are willing to remain in the offices to which they were elected. If not, PLEASE contact, The Rev. Nancy Webb, chair of the nominating committee, at 1-410-444-7222 or njwebb@verizon.net
Annual dues of $25 are due to Greg Edwards, treasurer, United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities,
1955 Chevy Chase Lane, Beaumont TX 77706, during the month of January 2017.


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.
Visit us on the web or Facebook

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Health Care and an Invitation -- Beth DeHoff

(As a reminder, the UMC identifies health care as a basic human right and advocates for universal coverage.)

Health care and an invitation to Rep. Todd Rokita

I recently posted on Facebook about my heartfelt letter to Rep. Todd Rokita about the importance of the ACA and Medicaid to my child and so many others, and quoted his canned response about his more than 60 attempts to get rid of "Obamacare" and his opinions against the ACA. I sent this response to him today:

Dear Rep. Rokita,

It was disheartening to me to receive a form letter boasting about your more than 60 efforts to repeal, delay or defund the Affordable Care Act after I wrote you a heartfelt letter about the damage this action will do to my vulnerable son with disabilities and so many families who I serve in the my work with children with special health care needs and their families. I feel as my representative, you should provide a personalized response addressing my fears and concerns. I also feel that since you also have a child with a disability, we might share common experiences and can learn from one another. A canned letter response thwarts any opportunity for relationship or learning.

I respect your right to your opinions, but I question your facts. I have a master's degree in public health, am a published author on Maternal Child Health, and am a certified Indiana health care navigator. The ACA reflects efforts previously made by Republicans, and it honors free market options as well as providing government options. Last year, the cost of premiums went up, as they have every year for the past five decades, but they went up less than any year in the past 20. The tax increase only affects people making more than $200,000 a year or families making more than $250,000 a year, and last I checked, that's not the middle class. Tax increases also vary widely from state to state, with the highest increases in states who did not choose to expand Medicaid, while 10 states that expanded Medicaid saw increases of 7 percent or less. As many as 2.5 million Americans would be eligible for premium tax credits in a marketplace plan, meaning these folks, based on income, pay a premium far more affordable than most of us pay through our employers.

The ACA made my son insurable with his pre-existing conditions. It made our lifetime maximum go away -- before the ACA, Kyle would have lost coverage by his teens and been completely uninsurable in any other plan. In addition, Medicaid funding make it possible for him to have a waiver and for us, his parents, to be able to work, pay taxes, and contribute to his future and our community. Before Medicaid, we averaged $13,000 a year in out-of-pocket medical expenses after our employer insurance, which paid at levels that, without the ACA, would have reached a lifetime maximum and left Kyle with no insurance by now. Without the ACA, any other insurance plan would be out of the question due to his pre-existing conditions. Without Medicaid dollars for a waiver, I would be unemployed and then eligible for all sorts of public assistance. I prefer to have these basic safeguards available at a modest cost for my vulnerable son, so that his dad and I can be employed and over income for any other assistance.

I respectfully request a meeting with you and your staff member who covers health issues. I will meet with you and bring 2-3 other parents of children with special health care needs. You can learn a little bit about our lives, we can learn about you and your son, and we can help each other learn about our various perspectives on these issues and find where we can reach middle ground. We're all Hoosiers. We're all Americans. Please don't make this about political ideologies. It's about people...families...and for me, a wonderful boy named Kyle.

Thank you,

Beth A. DeHoff, MPH

Beth DeHoff, MPH, works as a family support coordinator in Indianapolis. She is a member of First United Methodist Church in Mooresvile, IN, and co-leader of the Indiana Conference Disability Ministries committee. She has been a member of the UM Disability Ministries Committee and Speedway UMC Special Needs Ministry. Her son Kyle has Down syndrome, autism and is a leukemia survivor. This blog entry is reprinted from http://brokenandchosen.blogspot.com/2017/01/health-care-and-invitation-to-rep-too.html with permission.

Friday, January 6, 2017

News and notes from AMD, 1/6/17

Mental health: post-bullying syndrome
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2016/06/the_lasting_effects_of_childhood_bullying_are_surprisingly_not_all_detrimental.html

Music therapy
http://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/December-2016/The-Impact-of-Music-Therapy-on-Mental-Health

Nearly all students find closed captioning useful
http://www.3playmedia.com/2016/12/20/more-research-concludes-nearly-all-students-find-closed-captions-helpful-for-learning/

Accessible art (and buildings)
http://mashable.com/2016/12/29/art-accessibility-blind-low-vision/#x9nawsTkAmqU

Attack a reminder of violence faced by disabled
https://www.facebook.com/NCDgov/posts/1331282053578066

Advocacy: The Arc Action page for health care
http://cqrcengage.com/thearc/app/write-a-letter?3&engagementId=268013

Notice to AMD members:

The members of the UMAMD committee on nominations wishes to extend to The Rev. Dr. Robert Walker, our sincere gratitude for the hours of skillful time and dedication he gave to the Association of Ministers With Disabilities, both serving as editor of the book Speaking Out, and serving as chair of the association's social action committee. As such, Bob spent many hours helping the committee to revise and distribute petitions for the 2016 general conference.

We are pleased to let you know that, upon Robert Walker's resignation as chair of the social action committee, due to age and personal concerns, The Rev. Evy McDonald, a retired elder, has agreed to serve as the chair of the social action committee.

If you have any objection or prefer to submit another name for consideration, please contact one or both of the Association co-chairs, Rev. Russel Ewell or Rev. Janine Delaunay. If no comments are received by January 25, 2017, Evy shall be elected by acclamation.

The nominating committee is considering that all the officers who were elected at our last meeting in Dallas in 2015 are willing to remain in the offices to which they were elected. If not, PLEASE contact, The Rev. Nancy Webb, chair of the nominating committee, at 1-410-444-7222 or njwebb@verizon.net.

Annual dues of $25 are due to Greg Edwards, treasurer, United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities,
1955 Chevy Chase Lane, Beaumont TX 77706, during the month of January 2017.

--

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.
Visit us on the web or Facebook