Jeanne Tyler is one of the members of the National Committee on Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD). She has been an ordained clergy woman for more than 20 years and lives in and serves two churches in Nebraska. Just recently she represented the UCC at a National Council of Churches of Christ (NCC) event in Charlotte, NC. The purpose of the event was to examine employment issues within the structure of the NCC for both people of color and persons with disabilities.
Jeanne was the child of her mother’s fifth pregnancy. Her parents were Rh factor incompatible. Because she was not transfused as a newborn, this has caused her to have cerebral palsy (cp.) – which affects her gait, a 55% hearing loss, bone loss and a speech impairment. Her hearing loss was not diagnosed until Jeanne was in third grade. Up until that time, she had been considered not very bright. Even so, it took until she was in college to be properly fitted with hearing aids in both ears.
During her growing-up-years it was expected that she would go to college, though her family of origin was opposed to her dream of pursuing a post-graduate education. All that changed when she met and married John Tyler to whom she now pays the tribute, that “without-her husband she doesn’t know how she would have survived.” He enrolled at Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) and she decided to audit one class, a class on Hope. Their son, Jason, was then one year old.
Jeanne took a year of seminary classes as a time for exploration. She had felt a call to the ministry since her under- graduate days when she had been active in campus ministry. Because of her disabilities, some professors were more supportive and reassuring than others that she could handle the demands of being a CTS student. She made the decision to listen to those who affirmed her call and her abilities and she enrolled as a full-time student.
When Jeanne and John graduated from CTS their family included four-year-old Jason and one-year-old Andrew, who had been born during Jeanne’s second year of seminary. They were called to co-pastor a church in La Crosse, WI. There they divided pastoral work as they felt comfortable, since John is more gifted in administration while Jeanne’s gifts and interests are in the areas of Christian education and visitation.
They next served a church in northern WI where the rights of the Ojibway Indians to Spearfish, as guaranteed by the treaty signed with the US government, were unilaterally opposed by the congregation, a position with which Jeanne and John disagreed. The atmosphere was divisive and confrontational but the Tylers were able to help allay the potential for and prevent violence.
Since 1991 they have lived in Lincoln, NE where they are now co-pastoring St Paul’s UCC 80% of their time and Trinity Chapel UCC for the remaining 20%.
Jeanne knows what it is to experience discrimination but finds it difficult sometimes to
distinguish the motive behind that discrimination.- Is it because she is a woman? Is it because she is a woman clergy person? Is it because she is a person with a disability? She came to the UCC from another mainstream Protestant denomination, a place where she was well treated. She has found acceptance within the UCC which she names as a Biblically-based and justice-oriented denomination and has served on the NCPWD since 1996. She enjoys the NCPWD membership, a place where her gifts are received and even treasured.
The UCC pastor, The Rev. Harold Wilke, known to many persons with disabilities and
UCCers, has been a significant presence in her life for the last 20 years.
There is no doubt that she is a woman with many gifts which she uses in the service of Christ and in tandem with her disabilities. To quote Jeanne, “I believe my gifts are in relationship to my disabilities. They are in part a reaction to my disabilities and in part in service to them. For example, I am curious and have writing skills. These have nothing to do with the disabilities but I use them to listen to the stories of ‘the other’ and seek to make connections to the community of faithful that gathers around the stories of Jesus. I seek to build bridges of understanding through which people can connect with each other.
“A sense of grace has been given me so I am more accepting and more inclusive and more compassionate in reaction to both being excluded and included. I know how it feels to be excluded but I also know the feelings of acceptance, inclusion, and affirmation. I know what it is to be in the image of God. This nourishes me.”
Of interest to those of us who are acquainted with the UCC Ministerial Profile is how Jeanne sees its purpose and usefulness. She utilizes it as a means to obtain interviews. She states on her profile that she has a hearing loss and wears two hearing aids. Then she shares with the readers, to help them possibly gain a new perspective on disability, that her great love is music, and especially opera. Also, during interviews she talks about the connections between disability and vulnerability; and it is a time when she shares that she brings special gifts to ministry, including her gifts of empathy and of her writing skills.
She values the time spent on pastoral visitations and hearing people’s stories, and she enjoys preaching. Reading theological writings is another pleasurable activity. Over the years she has found that her theology and how she lives her personal life have become inseparable, one from the other, helping her to be a more holistic person.
C.P. affects her finger reaction time so she sought out and received help from Assistive
Technology Project, a federally funded project in NE. Her computer is a Macintosh which has a “delayed response” automatically built into the system. She benefits from the assistance offered by recent technological advances including a Clarity phone, made by Walker, which has an amplifier built into the phone. Nine years ago Jeanne had jaw surgery for TMJ. The surgery brought about a fracture which has had a long term effect of causing her to become quite fatigued in lengthy conversations.
Jeanne has mild dyslexia and both their sons have learning disabilities. She has first hand and difficult experience with what it means to be the parent of children with disabilities. After reading about her you will not be surprised that one of her parishioners wrote the following about Jeanne: “Jeanne Tyler is a highly compassionate woman and a caring pastor. She understands pain and suffering in the lives of others and reaches out with sensitivity to help them … is available to those in need and very generous with her time. Jeanne has an intense intellectual curiosity … continues to sharpen her theological skills . . . brings lively awareness to groups and boards with whom she works, and often offers stimulating insights about areas in which the church needs to minister. Jeanne has a lively spiritual life (and) … is effective in leading a group in devotion and prayer.”
From UCC DM Newsletter Archive
