The Rev. Doris Powell has been the Director of Finance and Treasurer of the United Church of Christ since 1990. In the current structure, she is one of three officers of the Church, along with the President and the Secretary. This is not a position she ever expected to hold. But then, a lot of things in her life have not been as she expected. Until she was in her early 30s, Doris was a physically active person. She loved backpacking, canoeing, camping – any noncompetitive outdoor sport that got her into nature. She looked forward to living some day in Colorado where she planned on hiking to her heart’s content. All of that changed when she was diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis. For the first six months, she had constant acute pain. Then, medication and an exercise regimen began to help, and she felt very thankful not to be in as much pain.
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Looking Into the Glass Dimly At the time of this writing, Bernice Powell Jackson was Executive Minister, JWM. For the past six years we in…
Comments closedWritten by Tony Lewis In 1993, just before General Synod 19 in St. Louis, my partner, Donald Lawrence, and I, Tony Lewis, stayed with a…
Comments closedYou open your church’s front door and enter without a thought. If advancing years or a temporary, progressive, or permanent disability has diminished your strength, you may still open the door enough for a foot or shoulder wedge. Then, thrusting your body against the door, you are in. That is, if you could grasp the handle while managing a walker or cane. Or, you pound on the door and wait because you are a child or your wheelchair reach does not afford the leverage necessary to budge the door.
Comments closedJeanne Tyler is UCC DM Co-Chairperson.
Comments closedWho am I?
just a woman
with CP* and poor hearing.
A woman who falls down more than I
should
Who am I?
breaker of the bread
made holy and whole
our bodies ache for holiness.
Who am I?
knower of the story as well as teller
healer as well as healed
I know.
The Methodist hymn writer Jane Marshall poses a question every Christian ought to have the privilege of asking: What gift can we bring, what present, what token? What words can convey it, the joy of this day? When grateful we come, remembering, rejoicing, what song can we offer in honor and praise? (The New Century Hymnal, # 370)
A church that is accessible to all is a church in which everyone is affirmed as a steward of the abundance of God’s joy. We all have a gift to bring, a song to offer God in honor and praise.
Comments closedExperience a mental illness and there is a good chance you will be put in jail – really! With a lack of community based treatment…
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