Two UCC-Related Seminaries to Offer Courses in Inclusion and Accessibility

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A church without people with disabilities is itself disabled. – Jürgen Moltmann

“The class filled up right away. Not one class member missed even one hour – great discussions,” the Rev. Craig Modahl said about his course that will be offered again this January at the Chicago Theological Seminary.

After first teaching “Theology of Ministry with People with Developmental Disabilities” in January of 2008, Modahl will again be teaching the course in an adjunct faculty position and the ongoing offering of his course. The Dr. Scott Haldeman, Professor of Worship, will co-teach.

“Leaders of faith communities and spiritual guides need to be aware of the implications of disability in the lives of all people they support,” Modahl said. “We need to be able to fully embrace individuals of all abilities through our words, actions and beliefs.”

A 2006 CTS graduate, he has worked with the seminary regarding developmental disabilities in a variety of settings over the years. “Many experiences within the church have not been supportive, helpful, or inclusive,” he said. “That is what brought me to a seminary known for its political activism and inclusion of the excluded.”

Through lectures, assigned readings, conversations with advocates and self-advocates, and active engagement, future pastors and ministers will explore the multiple issues facing people with developmental disabilities and their loved ones.

Experiential learning is an important part of the week long intensive. Members of the disability community share experiences and insights. Individual student projects involve engaging the lives of individuals with disabilities.

In addition to being executive director of a nonprofit organization serving individuals with developmental disabilities in a variety of community based settings, he and his wife have for the last two decades provided a home for two men with developmental disabilities.

Craig Modahl serves throughout Wisconsin Conference, having been ordained by the Southeast Association to a disabilities ministries specialty. He is a member of the board of directors of the United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries (UCC DM).

“God also is definitely still speaking at Eden Theological Seminary,” Ryan Mathews said when telling about a new course offered at the seminary that will explore injustice, inhumanity, and institutional ableism.

“Disability Justice and Spiritual Health: On the Road to Dismantle Ableism in Faith-Based Practice,” will address God’s mission of healing, wholeness and reconciliation in the church and in the world.

Mathews said the primary course goal is the pastoral formation of leadership for communities of faith that practice hospitality, inclusion, mutual interdependence, and right relationship.

“The ability to articulate the relationship between inequity and spiritual loss will be fostered,” he said. “Both language and tools will be provided to help in the dismantling of such oppression.”

Mathews, a second-year Eden seminarian who also serves on the UCC DM board of directors, noted that one of the co-teachers is a person with a mobility disability.

The course will be taught by the Rev. Dr. Marilyn Stavenger, Eden Professor Emerita of Field Education and the Practice of Ministry and Dr. Karen Hagrup, Assistant Professor, University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Education.