14 Comments

• 1. John Lowell replies at 29th November 2006, :

  I am taking a test course at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA to see if I still have the mental capacity to earn a M.Div. I am mentally disabled from a TBI in March 2001. I just discovered the interfaith Religion & Disability Program at the National Organization on Disability. Here is their website: http://www.nod.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=9. There is a link to a directory of disabled seminarians and clergy of many faiths. Some of them are UCC!!!

  Read II Corinthians 1:3-10.

• 2. Dee replies at 29th November 2006, :

  I was concerned about starting seminary knowing that I could read only ten minutes in the morning. As it happened (translate,God at work),the interviewing Dean of the Chicago Theological Seminary was blind. Celebrate the part of your brain that works, John. God’s plans for you are still unfolding.

  Jeremiah 29:11

• 3. Dee replies at 23rd December 2006, :

  What productive experience have you to share about the process of preparing for the ministry if you are a second career person with certifications in another field and numerous college credits but have not completed a bachelor’s degree? The asker is a person with a disability who wants to enter seminary. Please add your comments below.

• 4. John Lowell replies at 26th December 2006, :

  I am a UCC seminarian at the Pacific School of Religion/PSR in the GTU Berkeley California. I am very active in the First. Cong. Church San Francisco. I am mentally disabled from a TBI in March 2001. I am co-creating a disabled students union at PSR. All are welcome to contact me, John Lowell. I will be at the Synod in June. Email: jxlowell@covad.net & phone: 415-865-0455.

• 5. Kevin Pettit replies at 8th January 2007, :

  I am a UCC seminarian at the Iliff School of Theology and a member of the First Congregational Church, UCC in Boulder, Co. My disabilities are the result of a severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that I received in October of 1998. My biggest challenge is my short-term memory which makes schooling rather difficult for me. I only can attend school half-time because of this challenge. But, so far, I am doing pretty well there.

  I have written a book about my recovery from my TBI. It is composed of diary excerpts that I made as soon as I was able to write. I published it so that people could see what it was like for me as I recovered from this accident which is the most common cause of disability in the country! The text is available from Xlibris, a self-publishing company, at http://www.xlibris.com. I have also made a recording of my book for people that have difficulty reading. It is available from Mixonic at http://store.mixonic.com/rambling.

  If you would like to contact me you can email me at kevin.pettit@comcast.net or call me at (720) 565-0858.

• 6. Craig Modahl replies at 27th February 2007, :

  In January 2008, the Chicago Theological Seminary will be offering a course called “Theology, Ministry and People with Developmental Disabilities.” This course will explore the multiple issues facing people with developmental disabilities. Central to the course will be the implications for ministry on the part of religious leaders and their communities.

  This course arose from my experience at seminary over the last three years. I was drawn (read “called”) to pursue this education as a result of 20 years of professional service with individuals with developmental disabilities. I found it dissappointing and telling that among all the seminaries of the Association of Chicago Theological Seminaries during the three year cycle of courses, there was no courses on this topic or similar topics. I gathered information from various sources and put together a one week intensive course. CTS has been very supportive and is offering it for the first time in January of 2008. I hope to see this offered at other seminaries as well. I am putting together a one day seminar for seminary students as an alternative.

  I hope to get feedback from self-advocates and others. Refining this curriculum prior to and after the course will be ongoing.

• 7. Dee replies at 27th February 2007, :

  What a fine piece of information. What a tool. I know of no one better qualified to write such a piece. Do you get to teach it at CTS? Congratulations. Good to hear from you again. db

• 8. melanie replies at 10th April 2007, :

  Hello!

  I have enjoyed reading all of the comments! My situation somewhat paralells the writer Dee above. I do not have a Bachelor’s Degree beacuse of my Mental and Physical challenges. I am feeling a deep “call” to Ministry and am trying to find a seminary which would a) allow me to attend, even though I have college credits, but no Bachelor’s Degree and b) allow me to be on a campus which is fully accessible. I would love to attend a UCC seminary or another denomination, who believes in full equality for all. The most important consideration is my ability to get around the campus and all spaces on campus. I must also go very slowly with my course work because my mental issues can cause difficulty in concentration and my physical challenges cause difficulty in stamina. If anyone has any ideas on how to proceed, please let me know! Thanks and God Bless!

  mel

• 9. Robyn Hamilton replies at 10th April 2007, :

  We have completely organized the DisAbled Student Union this semester that John Lowell began in the fall. We have almost a dozen members, each disabled in some way. We have already completed an Accessibility Survey on our campus for the Facilities department, identifying dozens of either inaccessible or dangers places on the campus for disabled persons. We will be conducting an Contextual Education event in about a week on “The DisAbled Congregant: Issues of Mercy and Justice for Church Leaders”. We are exicted about where we are going, and would like to know if there are other organized DisAbled Student Unions or groups in other seminaries.

• 10. John A. Lowell replies at 17th April 2007, :

  The Disabled Congregant: Issues of Mercy & Justice for Church Leaders
  ~a workshop at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley California~

  The DisAbled Student Union at Pacific School of Religion will hold a workshop titled: The DisAbled Congregant: Issues of Mercy and Justice for Church Leaders. The workshop, open to all students at Pacific School of Religion and the surrounding community in the San Francisco Bay Area of California will be on campus on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM, The Seely G. Mudd Building, Room 100.

  PSR seminary’s address:
  1798 Le Scenic Avenue
  Berkeley, CA 94709-1323
  (north of the UC Berkeley campus)

  Description of workshop:
  This is a two-hour workshop. Presenters: DASU members who are Pacific School of Religion seminarians. This Contextual Education program has approved this workshop for PSR students needing to witness Contextual Education events as a requirement for academic programs such as the Masters of Divinity degree.

  DASU members will speak of the Christian spiritual calling to minister to the disabled. They will further speak of the California state and Federal civil rights laws for people who have been medically and legally declared to be physically and/or mentally disabled.

  Several DASU students will tell their own stories of physical disabilities that are from accidents, genetic conditions and diseases as well as mental disabilities, often called “hidden disabilities.”

  DASU Mission Statement:
  The DisAbled Student Union at Pacific School of Religion exists to educate, advocate for and support all God’s people concerning issues of disability.

  DASU website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PSRDASU/

  Contact information:
  Contact tJohn A. Lowell at jxlowell@covad.net or phone 415-533-7857.

• 11. John A. Lowell replies at 20th April 2007, :

  A prayer I created that we DASU members said together at the beginning Pacific School of Religion Contextual Education workshop on disability. It is based on the Declaration of Independence of 1776:

  Dear God, we the members of the DisAbled Student Union pray to You that these listening sojourners will hold the truths which we are to speak to be evident, that all people are created equal. We are all endowed by You our Creator with certain unalienable rights, gifts and responsibilities. That among these are the rights to access the means and ways to learn more about You in any house of worship, the omnipresent gift of the Holy Spirit in each person and the responsibilities to share the many stories of the wonders of God with all peoples of different mental & physical abilities, classes, genders, ethnicities and sexual orientations. Amen!

• 12. Jan Buchanan replies at 13th June 2007, :

  Thank you SO MUCH – everyone – for the work that you are doing. We need more ministers who have sensitivity to the many issues that each of you face daily. I graduated from seminary in ’03, did a hospital chaplain residency and ended up serving in disability ministry. I knew very little going into it – but now have three years of experience caring for residents in a residential facility in North Carolina. My residents have are developmentally disabilities or have a form of dementia and are in an aggressive stage of their disease process. I have had HUGE issues with finding resources that are not demeaning to my residents or are way too complex for them. Any recommendations??? I REALLY wish that there had been SOME kind of preparation for serving in this field in seminary! Thank you so much for ANY help you can offer!

• 13. Peggy Dunn replies at 8th July 2007, :

  Greetings, and I agree this is a fascinating conversation. One resource which Jan and some others might find useful is a Directory of Resources compiled by Rev. Bill Gaventa of the Boggs Center at, I think, UMDNJ in New Jersey. Bill is a GREAT font of both information and wisdom. Here’s the link: http://rwjms.umdnj.edu//
  boggscenter. BEWARE: new worlds open when you enter this website -

• 14. kristy may replies at 11th July 2007, :

  Jan, Dee Brauninger alerted me to your situation. I was called to a similar ministry 6 years ago with the same dearth of experience – same for my colleague at our sister campus. Over the years we’ve made mistakes & had epiphanies. In our experiences, what is advertized as ready-made for persons w/developmental disabilities is sometimes not truly respectful; you’ll likely spend time adapting and tweaking resources that have POTENTIAL, to get to what you know is right for your folks.

  I echo Peggy’s comments: Bill Gaventa & the religion & spiritualy website + newsletter are very helpful!

  My colleague & I have also used Seasons of the Spirit curriculum the last 3 years – adapting it for our particular circumstances. SOS was very helpful (pun intended) – I was running dry on idears!! I direct our choir+bell choir, so can let you know my discoveries w/music.

  You’re most welcome to be in touch with me: mayk@emmaushomes.org, or 636-433-2207 x 111.

  Blessings in your ministry!
  klm

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