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Faithfulness & Wholeness

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This is the eighth entry in the UCCDM Lenten Devotional 2016 series and will be published on Palm Sunday. This devotional reflection comes from Candace Low. She is the Executive Director of Independence Unlimited, a non-residential, non-profit center for independent living serving a diverse population of person with disabilities, a member of Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, CT, and a student at Hartford Seminary working on certification in worship and spirituality. This devotional reflects the views of the author and not the views of UCCDM.

The Biblical Passage for this reflection is taken from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. In it, Paul begins by writing about himself and his character.

“If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:4b-14)

When I was growing up I had ambitions of grandeur to do great things. I wanted to be a lawyer and a musician, perhaps a judge one day or a great concert pianist or singer. Like most dreams, they were all about me with little thought given to how I might serve God. I was destined for great things. One beautiful sunny day the stillness of the day was broken with the earthshattering sound of the crash of my car and the crash of my dreams in the aftermath.

In an instant I went from an invincible teenager to a grownup with a traumatic brain injury that caused deafness and a host of other issues including memory loss. How could I accomplish anything when I could not remember who I was? I woke up from a coma angry! How dare God do this to me? Of course God didn’t do this to me but I had to blame somebody, right?

I have to confess that I spent many years being angry and trying to find something I could do to be somebody, accomplish something of significance so that I would be judged worthy. I was incredibly misguided in thinking I needed to use the judgement of those around me as a measure for my worthiness. It was a beautiful and empowering day that I realized that God was not going to judge me on my accomplishments, or how much I remember, or that I sometimes sing off key because I don’t hear the pitch. It has been promised that I will be judged on what is in my heart.

I sometimes wonder what I would have done or if I would have the passion for social justice issues if I had not acquired disabilities. I can say that I have learned many lessons through living with disability and I can honestly rejoice and thank God for the opportunity to learn that what I do or accomplish is not nearly as important as the intent in my heart. I can rejoice because it has been promised in the scripture reading for this wonderful Sunday in Lent that faithfulness will restore and make me whole. I do not believe that this promise necessarily refers to my body which really needs some work. The condition of my body is not really relevant to my journey. It is the condition of my heart that needs my focus for it is this upon which I will be held accountable.

Prayer: Dear precious Lord, open our mind and hearts so that we may nourish the love in our hearts and do good works in Your Name. Amen.

Human Difference, Redemption, and Grace

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This is the seventh entry in the UCCDM Lenten Devotional 2016 series. This devotional reflection comes from Rev. Jeanne Tyler. Her bio can be found on the Board of Directors page.  This devotional reflects the views of the author and not the views of UCCDM.

“Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,  who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.” (Isaiah 43: 16 – 23)

The fifth Sunday of Lent is known as Little Resurrection Sunday. It is a Sunday of Biblical texts that point toward hope of redemption already rather than emphasize judgment and repentance.  The Older Testament text from Isaiah begins at verse 16 of Chapter 43 and concludes with verse 21.  It begins with the crossing of the Red Sea by the chariots and their drivers who get stuck in the mud and cannot rise.  It is the slaves who make it across the Red Sea. “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old, Behold I am doing a new thing.”  Slaves made it to freedom.  It was a new day for a people who thought God had forgotten them.

In our world today, we too experience wilderness in our lives.  God is also there making rivers flow and waters bubble in the desert.  Is this just poetry or visions or dreams or deep yearnings among people who live in the wilderness or close enough to deserts to lack easy access to water?  To give people water is to give people life. Already we are redeemed.

Vulnerability is at the heart of the human wilderness experience.  Sometimes I feel invisible, forgotten, and forsaken.  I read theology.  I hardly ever find reference to persons with disability unless it is to speak of vulnerability.  Yes, I am vulnerable but I also have agency and that agency is as significant to my identity as vulnerability.  Why does this not point to God?  Why does this not reveal God in the fullness of God as being vulnerable as well as having agency?

I am embodied.  I see other bodies.  I see racial differences, gender differences, and gender identity differences.  I also see physical differences and some cognitive differences.  It is hard to perceive brain disorders.  It is hard to see hearing loss and diabetes.  I see all the ways we are different.  And, I believe all the ways we are alike. Created in the Image of God for the sake of one another our common humanity is at the core of wholeness and holiness.  Each of us is vulnerable and each of us exercises agency.  Already we are redeemed.

The wilderness is a place where humans feel threatened by lack of safety and scarcity of water.  And yet the wilderness is also the place of God’s presence and activity.  The wilderness becomes a place already redeemed.  With God’s presence in the wilderness we will experience water for survival and roads for direction.  This is God’s grace.  And for this we give praise to God.  The response to grace is gratitude.  I am grateful for both the vulnerabilities I face on a daily basis but also the acts of agency I exercise.  I am grateful to God for being present in the wilderness I experience.  Someone wise once said, “Prayer begins with ‘Help me, help me, Help me!’ and concludes with Thank you, thank you, Thank You!!!’”.

Prayer: O God of the Universe, you know I hate the times I spend in the wilderness.  They can be awful.  And yet, surprisingly I experience water and directions.  I sing.  Amen!

An Acceptable Call?

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This is the sixth entry in the UCCDM Lenten Devotional 2016 series.  This devotional reflection comes from Kevin Pettit.  His bio can be found on the Board of Directors page.  This devotional reflects the views of the author and not the views of UCCDM.

“From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.  So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.  So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:16 – 21)

The first few verses of this lectionary reading, taken from Second Corinthians 5, is an oblique reference to how everyone is more than just a body.  It states that even though Christ is no longer present in the human body of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ is still alive and is available to everyone.  For this reason, Paul states, if anyone is in Christ (or, embraces and follows the spirit of Christ), this person has taken on a new character and has become a new person in Christ.

In my youth, I was taught that this meant that by believing in the truths contained in our Bible, and by “accepting the Lord Jesus”, people become Christians and, as a consequence, can expect everlasting life (unlike others who do not “accept our Lord”).  While it is possible to read the Holy Scriptures and come to this conclusion, starting in my later teens I began to see this way of understanding our Holy Bible as insufficient.  Over the course of many years, I began to see the process of becoming one of Paul’s “new creations” differently:  I now understand that one embraces the Spirit of Christ, not so much by simply adopting a system of beliefs (orthodox or otherwise), but by living a life modeled on what one understands of the life of the human named Jesus.  This is considerably more difficult and demands much more action than merely a change of one’s beliefs. Everyone is called to embrace the Spirit of Christ and become ambassadors for Christ, even those who don’t call themselves “Christian”!

This belief was challenged by my survival of a automobile accident through which I acquired a severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).  This injury put me into a coma and semiconscious state for about 2 months.  I couldn’t speak for a few months, or walk for half a year; however, my 17-year recovery has gone well enough that I have relearned how to care for and express myself. I can sing again and, though I was told the quality of my teaching was “insufficient” for my continued employment as a professor at an elite liberal arts college, I have been able to attend and graduate from the Iliff School of Theology and begin my mission of helping faith communities of any nature to learn to invite, embrace, include, and empower people who might live with disabilities.  I have started a faith-based organization called Faith4All.

However, despite my successes, in all honesty I must admit that I continue to live with a disability that is manifested primarily through memory impairments, as well as by executive function and organizational challenges.  Because of these disabilities, attempting to attain recognition as an ambassador for Christ has been difficult for me. According to the Christian Bible (Leviticus 21:16 – 24), which many believers consider to be the word of God, a person who is challenged by disability as much as I am is not eligible to become a minister or representative of God.  Even in my own progressive denomination, I am unable to become attain commissioning because I have been unable to attain paid employment as a minister.  I believe the only path for my commissioning will be by my receiving a call from Faith4All, the organization that I founded.  This requires the advancement of the efforts of Faith4All which I’ve found to be slowed because of my disabilities.

However, I continue to hear the loud call of Christ’s Spirit and am undeterred!  I hope that all readers of this reflection can consider this message and reflect the call to make all churches strive for the inclusion of all people.

Prayer: Oh Divine One, who welcomes the efforts of all the ambassadors of Christ who follow the guidance of your Spirit, please help me learn to also accept the efforts of all those who follow the guidance of your Spirit, in order to assist in your construction of a new world!

 

Renewed Strength and Faith

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This is the fifth entry in the UCCDM Lenten Devotional 2016 series. This devotional reflection comes from Dr. Nadyne Guzmán. Her bio can be found on the Board of Directors Page. This devotional reflects the views of the author and not the views of UCCDM.

“O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.  Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.  So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.  My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.  My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”  (Psalm 63: 1 – 8)

As I read this passage, what comes to my mind is how many times I have experienced this amazing experience of loving God — of having my body, mind, and spirit be filled up with the joy and awe of knowing I am part of this wondrous Mystery.  However, what I have to admit is that there have been many times in my life when the struggles with the limitations of my body and mind have taken me to a point of incredible frustration.  Then there have been the times when I have succumbed to deep depression and accompanying despair.  In those times life feels just too hard to bear, and daily tasks seem impossible.  That’s when I forget the joy of my connection to God and the constant Presence that has always upheld me, even in my darkest hours.

I know I’m not alone in this.  I’ve talked with many others who struggle with physical and/or neurological disabilities and/or mental illness.  And it’s not just the internal struggle or the endeavor to get through the seemingly small tasks of life — it’s the estrangement from family, friends, and even strangers who just don’t understand and who cast judgment without grace.

Many of us admit that it’s all too easy to slip into self-pity and to forget that God’s steadfast love is always present.  And when we remind each other that our challenges are also our blessings — that they have helped us become even more compassionate with others who carry their own struggles with life — we help each other remember to give thanks for the steadfast love of our Creator whose right hand upholds us in all things.  And through this common understanding I find myself praising God once again, feeling renewed strength and faith, and allowing the One Love to fill me once again to overflowing.

Prayer:  Dear and precious Creator, help me remember each day to be ever mindful of your steadfast love, of my interconnection with those who understand and those who do not, and of your Presence in Grace that sustains us all as One.

UCCDM Fall & Winter Update 2016

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UCCDM Update Fall & Winter Update 2016
Grace and peace to those who may be interested in the work of the UCC Disability Ministries Board–Friends, UCC Members, UCC Clergy, UCC persons with disability and our ecumenical partners.

This is to provide you with an update of the work of the UCC Disability Ministry (UCCDM) Board of Directors since our last update published for June 2015.

In September 2015 we welcomed four new Board Members and one new ex-offico Board Member to UCCDM Board of Directors they are Mr. Paul Fogle from Penn Central Conference; Dr. Nadyne Guzman the Rocky Mountain Conference; Ms. Terry Martinez from South Central Conference; Mr. David Ridings from the Nebraska Conference; and Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund from Indiana/Kentucky Conference. Their bios can be viewed on our board of directors’ page. During the summer of 2015 we also elected new officers of the UCCDM as follows: Rev. Kelli Parrish Lucas, Chair; Rev. Susan Burns, Vice Chair; Mr. Paul Fogle, Treasurer; and Ms. Danielle Rochford, Secretary.

Excited as we are about our new board members we also said goodbye to three board members, all who served as officers, and an ex-officio member. We thank Rev. Lynda Bigler former Chair, Rev. Jeanne Tyler former Vice Chair, Rev. Craig Modahl former Treasurer, and Rev. Alan Johnson Ex-Officio for their time and service on UCCDM.

2015 Annual Meeting Hartford, CT
At our annual meeting in Hartford, CT, in September 2015 UCCDM Board of Directors recognized that 2016 will be a transitional year towards future works of UCCDM. As part of our transitional year UCCDM has developed a vision which will guide is during the 2016

Our vision is to develop and implement a campaign to create awareness of UCCDM and strengthen relationships and increase the value of an accessible to all community. Accessible to all is recognized and honored through the life our church.

In 2016 The UCCDM Board will be busy spreading the word about accessibility and inclusion with the goal of increasing the number of A2A churches in the denomination. The UCCDM Board is clarifying the A2A process–a new church program audit for accessibility and A2A checklist were approved at our January 2016 meeting. We have agreed to partner with the UCC Mental Health Network to maintain a constant contact account to send announcements out. We continue to seek ways to improve the website and we have a Board member devoted to this task. We also have Board members committed to doing outreach to and partnering with churches who wish to become A2A. We also have members of the board who are developing a budget and creating fundraising goals to further the goal of inclusion of people with disabilities in the life of the church. The UCCDM also continues to maintain ecumenical partnerships related to disability on behalf of the UCC.

Since our meeting in Hartford we have recognized two new A2A congregations:
#3 Congregational Church of North Barnstead, United Church of Christ, Center Barnstead, New Hampshire
#4 UCC Parker Hilltop, Parker, Colorado

Looking to join in the work of disabilities ministries? Much of the work of disabilities ministries is done at local church level, you can get involved by sharing the UCCDM mission with your church and start working towards becoming the fifth A2A church! In the coming months another need will be fundraising. Our funding structure has changed, since we reached our fundraising goal for the Kreyer Scholarship we will now be turning our attention to the fundraising to support the on-going work of the UCCDM.

In Grace,
Ms. Danielle Rochford
UCCDM Secretary

Call for UCCDM Lenten Reflections

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UCC Disability Ministries Seeks Lenten Reflections

     Last year the UCC Disabilities Ministries Board posted Lenten reflections to their website and this will be done again in 2016.  These reflections will be based on the Lenten lectionary and will be provided for Ash Wednesday, the six (6) Sundays in Lent, as well as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday.  These eleven (11) reflections should offer views of the biblical texts as understood through the lens of disability, providing new and/or alternate ways to preach, teach, reflect upon, or pray over familiar passages of the Bible.  These reflections should be written by people with disabilities or by people with significant knowledge of persons with disabilities.  As Lent again approaches in 2016, we hope to provide these resources to assist pastors and parishioners, church leaders, and pastoral caregivers in their Lenten studies, preaching, work, and caregiving.

We invite those who wish to write similar reflections this year to choose a date below and submit your reflection to: submissions@uccdm.org by the deadlines listed.  Please note that we encourage all forms of expression including works containing graphic works, and audio or visual works.

Note that in order to to be considered for the UCCDM Lenten reflections, all submissions must address the text through a lens of disability.

Thank you in advance for your submission.

Dr. Kevin Pettit and Rev. Susan Burns for the UCC Disabilities Ministries Board

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Instructions for the UCCDM Lenten Reflections:

  • Entries must be based on the Revised Common Lectionary
  • Maximum number of words:  500 (preferred length of approximately 250 words)
  • Quotations of others’ work is not permitted
  • Format:  word doc, Google doc, email text
  • Authors will not receive compensation for their reflections
  • Authors will be notified if selected

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Dates and deadlines for reflections and submissions:

 

Ash Wednesday:  Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Possible Lectionary Readings:  Joel 2:1 – 2, 12 – 17, Isaiah 58:1 – 12, Psalm 51:1 – 17, 2 Corinthians 5:20b – 6:10, Matthew 6:1 – 6, 16 – 21.

Submission due Jan. 30

 

First Sunday of Lent:  Sunday, February 14, 2016

Possible Lectionary Readings:   Deuteronomy 26:1 – 11, Psalm 91:1 – 2, 9 – 16, Romans 10:8b -1 3, Luke 4:1 – 13.

Submission due Feb. 04

 

Second Sunday of Lent:  Sunday, February 21, 2016

Possible Lectionary Readings:   Genesis 15:1 – 12, 17 – 18, Psalm 27, Philippians 3:17 – 4:1, Luke 13:31 – 35, Luke 9:28 – 36, (37 – 43a).

Submission due Feb. 11

 

Third Sunday in Lent:  Sunday, February 28, 2016

Possible Lectionary Readings:  Isaiah 55:1 – 9, Psalm 63:1 – 8, 1 Corinthians 10:1 – 13, Luke 13:1 – 9.

Submission due Feb. 18

 

Fourth Sunday in Lent:  Sunday, March 6, 2016

Possible Lectionary Readings:   Joshua 5:9 – 12, Psalm 32, 2 Corinthians 5:16 – 21, Luke 15:1 – 3, 11b – 32. 

Submission due Feb. 25

 

Fifth Sunday in Lent:  Sunday, March 13, 2016

Possible Lectionary Readings:   Isaiah 43:16 – 21, Psalm 126, Philippians 3:4b – 14, John 12:1 – 8.

Submission due Mar. 3

 

Palm Sunday:  Sunday, March 20, 2016

Possible Lectionary Readings:  Isaiah 50:4 – 9a, Psalm 31:9 – 16, Philippians 2:5 – 11, Luke 22:14 – 23:56, Luke 23:1 – 49.

Submission due Mar. 10

 

Maundy Thursday:  Thursday, March 24, 2016

Possible Lectionary Readings:  Exodus 12:1 – 4, (5 – 10), 11 – 14, Psalm 116:1 – 2, 12 – 19, 1 Corinthians 11:23 – 26, John 13:1 – 17, 31b -35.

Submission due Mar. 10

 

Good Friday:  Friday, March 25, 2016

Possible Lectionary Readings:  Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12,  Psalm 22,  Hebrews 10:16 – 25, Hebrews 4:14 – 16; 5:7 – 9, or John 18:1 – 19:42.

Submission due Mar. 10

 

Holy Saturday:  Saturday, March 26, 2016

Possible Lectionary Readings:  Job 14:1 – 14, Lamentations 3:1 – 9, 19 – 24, Psalm 31:1 – 4, 15 – 16, 1 Peter 4:1 – 8, Matthew 27:57 – 66, or John 19:38 – 42. 

Submission due Mar. 10

 

Easter Sunday:  Sunday, March 27, 2016

Possible Lectionary Readings:  Acts 10:34 – 43, Isaiah 65:17 – 25, Psalm 118:1 – 2, 14 – 24, 1 Corinthians 15:19 – 26, Acts 10:34 – 43, John 20:1 – 18, Luke 24:1 – 12.

Submission due Mar. 10

 

Widening the Welcome Conference Recordings

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Widening The Welcome


Listen to and view the events of Widening the Welcome: Inclusion for All, September 24-26, 2015, Hartford, CT, hosted by the United Church of Christ Mental Health Network and Disabilities Ministries. We’ve posted videos and audios from the 5th national United Church of Christ Widening the Welcome: Inclusion for All Conference 2015.

The opening worship and the keynote speakers are posted as video files; while the workshops are posted as audio files.

These are posted on the Widening the Welcome 2015 playlist within the WtW channel on YouTube.