Elaina sits down and talks with Lisa Jamieson from Walk Right In Ministries about family caregivers, the holidays, and ways the church can better support them.
The training, content, gatherings and experiences that we’ve created for pastors, church staff and ministry volunteers produced with the assistance of like-minded colleagues serving in disability ministry have become our principal service. So much of what we’re able do to help churches welcome and support families, we accomplish by bringing together experts from other ministry organizations.
November is Caregiver Awareness Month. As someone who became one of my dad’s caregivers before I started school, I grew up thinking everyone in the world was aware of caregivers and caregiving. As a young adult my husband and I cared for a son born with a life-threatening medical condition, and his typical sibling. As members of the sandwich generation, my brother, sister, and I cared for our mother for 15 years after she was diagnosed with dementia. This explains why, when I first heard that November is Caregiver Awareness Month, I was incredulous, and I still am.
In this episode, Lauren Hickman shares her personal journey and calling to disability ministry, describing how God has guided her every step of the way to serve families impacted by disability.
In today’s episode, Sandra talks about the challenges small to normative-sized churches face in disability ministry and shares how the churches she’s been a part of have overcome these challenges.
If you listen to disability ministry leaders, surveys and thought leaders these days, you will hear a resounding concern that families impacted by disability, mental health difficulties and other special needs will not be returning to “church as usual” any time soon. I hope churches and pastors are asking what will happen to these families. Here are three things your church can do to bless individuals and families impacted by disability in your congregation to navigate the transition process and feel restored to our church communities.
I still remember waking up in the hospital, surrounded by about a half dozen men and women in white lab coats. They were all just looking at me, like I was a new species or a classroom exhibit. With this and many related experiences, all this time later, I routinely follow a thoughtful process, researching potential supplements, medications and alternatives to medicine, whenever my doctor makes a recommendation, and that includes vaccines. COVID vaccines are no different.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Along with the October Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I would love to see Christian pastors and Christian counselors be at the forefront of not only bringing awareness, but also coming up with the solutions to serve domestic violence victims and sexual assault survivors, to end abuse.
God uses the Church in important ways to come alongside people He eventually calls to leadership. God often places people in positions of receiving essential encouragement, prayer, support and equipping. In the process, He’s revealing their potential, as well as opportunities to move them into areas of ministry with other families impacted by disability.
I have the most amazing baby sister. She is goofy, loud, opinionated, and hard-headed. She makes me laugh and she drives me completely insane. My sister has a traumatic brain injury (TBI). She needs accommodations to be successful, especially in the church. These accommodations can help almost anyone with a TBI.
