Reflections on Day 3 (Thursday) #SITD15

Erik Carter introducing Mark Crenshaw

The third day of #SITD actually started a half an hour earlier than the last few days… unfortunately, most of us were dragging a little bit!  But the speakers were well worth it.  Bishop David Talley of the Atlanta Archdiocese, Barb Newman of the CLC Network (and a frequent Friendship Ministries collaborator) and Mark Crenshaw, our host at Georgia State University and Director for the Center for Leadership in Disability.

Bishop Talley addressed Humility and Service as part of his own spiritual journey.  A former Baptist and seminarian dropout who finally studied canon law in Rome, he was challenged to action by a mother years ago.  Since then, he has made serving people with disabilities a non-negotiable as a local parish pastor and now in his present responsibilities as bishop.

A dynamic speaker, several of his comments stuck with me… 

• As a member of the clergy, if I am to serve you, I must know how you learn and process.
•  A life of humility is both a gift and a learned art  -- only then can we move from arrogance and isolation to joy and connection.

There is no question that Bishop Talley is prophetically speaking to congregations unwilling to move towards full worshiping participation.  He juxtaposes the isolation that is often experienced by people with disabilities, with the isolation that will occur when those in the church find they are not living out God’s path.

Barb Newman walked through several chapters of her new book Accessible Gospel, Inclusive Worship and concentrated on Vertical Habits – encouraging us to take the skeleton of the liturgy and dress it with musculature that is universally accessible (Talley’s description).  Her approach from a special education consultant gave practical ideas (fidgets, rubber bands, visual schedules, early warnings, assistive tech) for people to access the curriculum in kinesthetic, visual, and physical means.  The challenge for many (as evidenced in twitter conversations) is to utilize her ideas outside of the reformed ordered worship setting in which they originated.

Mark Crenshaw, in Recipients Towards Bearers, exegeted the blind Bartemeus story, telling it from the perspective of the subject who engaged Jesus, interrupting the crowd, and obtaining what he needed.  Mark reflected that the greatest gift he has to share (as a connector, often in religious communities) arose out of some of his most painful experiences of disability within the church.  He also reminded us that until we exegete and understand the community and context and are finally trusted to do work on behalf of the community, one may not belong yet.

In the discussion afterwards, we were reminded that a formal weekly liturgy is actually just the template for the real liturgy which occurs during the lifecycles of the rest of the week.

All three speakers revealed that all people with disabilities have gifts.  It is often those of us without current disabilities that must get out of their way in order for those gifts to be realized.

One critique leveled against the speakers this morning was the danger of imposing a particular spiritual communities voice upon those without the communicative capacity to reject that voice.  A danger may exist in that we often may force the presence of G-d or a sign of his into a situation where it does not exist. This is a danger that clergy members – and the larger community of faith – may need to guard against.

 #SITD15

Negotiating Boundaries - Dr. Priscilla Oh #SITD15

Dr. Oh recently completed her PhD at the University of Aberdeen in Practical Theology with Dr. John Swinton. Originally from Inchon, Korea,  her auto-biographical theology on mental health reflects upon her years as a roommate of a friend with manic mental health.  (See Stanley Hauerwas Hannah's Child for a similar sketch)

I enjoyed her presentation, but really was enraptured by her use of free verse poetry to encapsulate the emotions, relations, similarities, and differences in their mutual relationship over time. The prose has the power to proffer healing.   I look forward to the time when those will be published.

#SITD15

From Pig Farmer to Pastor #SITD15

I had a chance to chat with Pastor Dan DeVries for a bit between sessions at the Summer Institute.  A common question asked as part of introduction around here, is what brings you to the table of disability?

Dan currently serves as the Religious Services Coordinator for Hope Haven in Rock Valley, IA (near where my own parents were raised).

But his journey to get there took him through several different career paths.  A degree from Iowa State in agricultural, several years serving in world relief, a stint as a pig farmer, a distance seminary education (Western Seminary - RCA) and finally a call to serve people with Intellectual Disabilities.

The journey God calls his people to, wraps us around the world and utilizes all of our gifts.

#SITD15

Meet Dr. Evelyn McMullen #SITD15

I got to meet Dr. Evelyn McMullen,(D.Ed.Min, Columbia Theological Seminary) on Tuesday at the Summer Institute. She has been a leader in Friendship groups and her church for years in the Lakeland, Florida area.  Recently she has launched Bright Threads Ministries where she is helping churches and communities weave together intentional faith relationships with each other.   I'm also happy to report she has agreed to help author some of the new Friendship curriculum!

#SITD15

Thoughts from the Summer Institute on Disability #SITD15

Welcome to Atlanta!

This week I am attending the Summer Institute on Theology and Disability #STID15.  This annual conference brings together an international array of theologians, educators, thinkers, writers, activists, and advocates from around the world.  Every habitable continent is represented. The attendees range from many diverse denomination, religious, and secular traditions.  One goal of the week is to find out our where interests overlap so we can advance change in our society.

(for some of last years posts, click here)

This year, the first day was set aside for local area clergy and other representatives to get a taste of the upcoming week and attend practical workshops.  It fascinates me that the many of the local people I interacted with were from conservative evangelical traditions, seeking to further their knowledge of disability ministry; yet notably absent this year were the voices of many of the conservative evangelical American leaders and writers.  I know they had been invited, but many opt not to have their seat at this table, to our mutual detriment.

Several intriguing discussions arose during the day.  As theologians are prone to do, words are re-purposed to fit a category of thought.  Catchy phrases, which I live tweeted through the event, do not necessarily have the same weight in different parts of the country.  I’m finding that our uncommon language among regions and disciplines make for great journal articles but have little impact on local ministries.  At the heart of this issue is that no matter how we term it, before full inclusion, belonging, or becoming can ever take fully hold (past mere access and integration), mutual relationships must be formed with the other.  This is the true hospitality – which by definition should pull even the most progressive one of us into uncomfortable situations.

As a Christian, I desire to be challenged in my faith formation – it furthers my development towards the full image of Christ.  As an outgrowth of my personal faith, I am unable to comprehend disability ministry as anything but originating from the heart of Christ – that is what drives me.

As a Classical Pentecostal who acknowledges that occasional abuses occur by mortal humans attempting to find their place within the economy of faith, I am not quite as willing to throw away the doctrine of healing.  I will confess, however, that my doctrine of healing does not begin nor end with it being defined solely as a cure – yet I am willing to allow the gap in time and space (Reinders) to have a place for the miraculous.  Furthermore, as a Pentecostal who hears the critiques of others, I fully understand the cry to pray for the gift of ears for JUST listening, over that of tongues.  But I have never found them mutually exclusive.  In fact, in my Pentecostal tradition, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the often accompanying glossolalia allows me to be even more attune to the lament of God’s people.

I look forward to another day of stretching, growing, and thinking!

I invite you to help me grow!

Rev. Marvin J. Miller, D.Min (cand)

mjmiller@abilityed.com

T: @MarvinMiller

#STID15

Sandra Jensen / Annie Golden Heart

It's been a great week and exhausting week here at SITD 2014 Dallas.  I got to relax tonight by skyping with my wife and two daughters.  My daughter with Down Syndrome turns 12 this week.  She held up to the screen/camera the ornate extensive artwork conveying to me what she wants for a present.  I think she wants a cat... or dog... or is that a spider?  I'll move mountains to get my daughter what she needs!  (Which is why I don't resonate with some interpretations of the parents of the man healed of visual impairment in John 9).-- as long as it's not a cat, dog, or spider!

Dr. John Swinton @ SITD 2014

My wife asked me if I had seen any viral comments about the President forcing kids with Down Syndrome to die.  Honestly, I am just tired of political rhetoric distorting the true ethical issues and denying personhood to persons with disabilities and their family caregivers.

And no, I hadn't...

 Some of these untrue or half-true viral posts do more damage to the disability advocacy movement.  So to set the story straight, the National Down Syndrome Congress released a statement in its  e-newsletter late last night which I dug out of about 100 unopened emails. You can read the full text of their statement below.

This brings up some of the issues we are grappling with here at #SITD.  I am looking forward to hearing more conversations tomorrow, particularly with ethicists Stanley Hauerwas, Hans Reinders, and John Swinton.




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(From emailed newsletter update 17 June 2014)

The Sandra Jensen Story

In 1996, Sandra Jensen, a 34 year old woman with Down syndrome, needed a heart-lung transplant to survive. As far as anyone knew, she would be the first patient with Down syndrome to receive an organ transplant, and initially she was denied. Along with her doctor and her family, Sandra had to fight for the right to receive a transplant. The case gained nationwide attention, arguing that Down syndrome should not be enough to automatically deny a patient a transplant. Sandra won. In January, 1996, she received the requested transplant at Stanford University Medical Center. Her case was seen as a test of whether hospitals could use blanket categories to deny treatment. Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the establishment of related federal regulations, discrimination against people with disabilities in medical treatment is prohibited.

Today, there is an internet petition (change.org) asking the President of the United States, "Why are children with Down syndrome not considered for organ transplants?" While we love grass roots advocacy, we want to set the record straight by saying it is not true that people with Down syndrome are automatically denied life saving treatment based on their diagnosis of Down syndrome today.

Making decisions around organ transplantation is a terribly complicated process, and the supply of organs for donation is quite limited. People are denied transplants for a variety of reasons. A patient who feels he is being denied solely on the basis of Down syndrome needs to appeal through the hospital system.

Make today the day you sign up to be an organ donor, and help more people receive the organs they desperately need.