Commission on Disability Concerns
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Welcome - we hope you will utilize the resources on this page to accommodate individuals in your congregation with disabilities. Questions? Feel free to contact the Rev. Nancy J. Webb, chair, at 410-444-7222 or at njwebb@verizon.net. Additional resources and information will be posted soon.
Newsletters for People with Disabilities
NEW - April 2012 Connections (from the Anabaptist Disabilities Network): Color PDF | Large Print PDF
November 2011 Connections (from the Anabaptist Disabilities Network)
June 2011 Connections (from the Anabaptist Disabilities Network)
Spring 2011 issue of Wings (a faithletter for United Methodists with disabilities)
Educational Opportunities and Training
Free Class for Parents/Caregivers of Children with Mental Health Issues
Start Date: Saturday, June 2, 2012 from 10:30 a.m. to noon
End Date: Saturday, July 7, 2012
Location: Govans Boundary UMC, 5210 York Rd, Baltimore, MD 21212
NAMI Metropolitan Baltimore also has free family support groups for relatives and caregivers of individuals living with mental illness in Pikesville and Govans. The NAMI Family Support Group program is a free, monthly meeting of caregivers and family members where they can talk frankly about their challenges and help one another through their learned wisdom. Download the flyer here.
Retreat for Youth and Adults with Special Needs, Oct. 19-21, 2012, Lynchburg, Va.
Worship Opportunities
Rejoicing Spirits Ministry, Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, Severna Park (worship for people with cognitive disabilities)
Upcoming Events
Children's Mental Health Awareness Week in Maryland is May 6-12. Download these resources:
The Kreeger Museum, 2401 Foxhall Rd. NW, Washington, D.C., is offering Conversations at The Kreeger Museum: A Program for Individuals Living with Alzheimer’s Disease and Their Caregivers. This special program is offered four times a monthon every 2nd and 3rd Monday of the month (except August). Programs are offered at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. People or groups interested in attending should call the reservations line at 202-337-3552 and specifically request a Conversations program. More information available on the Kreeger Museum website.
Articles, News and Resources
The recent passage of the alcohol tax in Maryland will fund programs for persons with disabilities. Read about this and other events from this year's General Assembly here.
Read this recent USA Today article: Churches Mustn't Neglect the Disabled (includes a helpful list of resources for congregations trying to accommodate people with disabilities)
United Methodist Congress for the Deaf
United Methodist Committee on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Ministries
United Methodist Task Force on Disabilities
Rejoicing Spirits Ministry - This ministry seeks to enrich the spiritual lives of persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, Severna Park, is currently holding a Rejoicing Spirits service every second Sunday at 4 p.m.
"A Place for All: Faith and Community for Persons with Disabilities" - DVD resource that celebrates the ministries that are faithfully including and utilizing the gifts of persons with disabilities, while also providing a reality check for the many ministries that are not yet fully accessible to persons with disabilities.
Coming in 2012:
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Resources for local church ministry:
- Widen your welcome to persons with disabilities that are physical, cognitive, or related to mental illness
- Understand the attitudinal barriers and stigma that churches may project to persons with all sorts of disabilities that are barriers to their full inclusion in the life of the church
- Worship resources for planning an annual service that celebrates the gifts of persons with disabilities in the life of the church and challenges worshipers to do all that is possible to welcome such persons into the full life of the church
- Resources for conducting an accessibility audit for new and existing church buildings and/or parsonages
- Advocacy in the state of Maryland to assist local churches in directing employed persons with disabilities to adequate health insurance coverage and other services to which they would be entitled
- Representation to a national group of United Methodists with disabilities who are making plans for revising current legislation in the Book of Discipline and creating new legislation to propose to the 2012 General Conference that will strengthen the church's ministry to people with disabilities
