Friday, December 22, 2017

News and notes from AMD, 12/22/17

 With wishes for a blessed Christmas and happy new year, here are the highlights of postings this week from the Association of Ministers with Disabilities, Disability Ministries Committee, Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Ministries Committee, and UM Congress of the Deaf. We'll resume next year!
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ADN: Accepting the Gift
http://www.adnetonline.org/Blog/Pages/2017/Accepting-the-Gift.aspx
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NYT Disability series: Please Disappear
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/opinion/sunday/are-you-old-infirm-then-kindly-disappear.html
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Navigating expectations during holidays
http://www.keyministry.org/church4everychild/2017/12/14/navigating-others-expectations-of-your-family-this-holiday-season
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The greatest barrier facing Deaf people
http://limpingchicken.com/2017/12/11/rebecca-anne-withey-whats-the-greatest-barrier-facing-deaf-people/
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ADN: rethinking Zechariah
http://www.adnetonline.org/Blog/Pages/2017/Zechariah's-Silence-A-Sign-of-God's-Abundance.aspx
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UMCom: Sad at Christmas?
http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/sad-at-christmas-advice-for-coping-with-holiday-blues
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MHM and Interpreter: When it is not the most wondrous time
http://www.interpretermagazine.org/topics/when-it-is-not-the-most-wondrous-time
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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

Friday, December 15, 2017

News and notes from AMD, 12/15/17

Talking about disability: utility, worth, and value
http://www.disabilityandfaith.org/are-we-useful-or-valuable-the-relationship-between-utility-and-worth/
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MHM: Seasonal Affective Disorder
http://www.mentalhealthministries.net/resources/bulletin_inserts/sad/sad.pdf
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MHM: coping with the holidays
http://www.mentalhealthministries.net/resources/brochures/holiday_coping/holidays.pdf
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UM Disability blog: What's it all about?
http://umdisability.blogspot.com/2017/12/whats-it-all-about-thomas-hudspeth.html
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NYT disability series: Doctors in wheelchairs: who needs healing?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/opinion/doctor-wheelchair-disability.html
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Accept, include, celebrate
https://network.crcna.org/disability-concerns/accept-include-celebrate-holiday-challenge
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The intersection of disability and abuse
http://www.theinitiativecolorado.org/2017/12/06/the-intersection-of-disability-and-abuse/
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What does your hearing dog do?
http://limpingchicken.com/2017/12/09/emily-howlett-answering-the-question-but-what-does-your-hearing-dog-do-2/
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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

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

What's it all about? -- Thomas Hudspeth

Rev. Thomas Hudspeth, president of the United Methodist Committee on Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Ministries, and Pastor of Congregational Care and Deaf Ministries at Lovers’ Lane UMC in Dallas, offers the following comments on the Rebecca Traister’s article “This Moment Isn’t (Just) About Sex.It’s Really about Work” which recently appeared online at The Cut. The article states that “we’re missing the bigger picture …. What it’s really about is work, and women’s equality in the workplace … the rot at the core of our power structures….”

“An excellent analysis of workplace power dynamics that is not being discussed much in current news coverage of the sexual harassment related resignations. If a workplace environment is not set up for women, and thus limits opportunities for women to exercise their gifts, a similar argument can be applied to workplace environments where those with disabilities or who are Deaf are screened out from working (which is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities act).

“In other words, when reading this article replace the noun ‘women’ with ‘those with disabilities, or Deaf,’ and the noun ‘male’ with ‘ableist or audist,’ then one could begin to see how our workplace and educational systems are not set up for those with disabilities or those who are Deaf. I think we as a society have to ask the question, where there is an absence of those with disabilities or those who are Deaf in any workplace, places of worship, or educational settings, ‘Why are we not seeing those with disabilities here? Why are we not seeing those who are Deaf here? And if so, what are we then doing to develop participation and leadership by those who are Deaf and those who have disabilities?’”