In the Image of God

In the Image of God

Begin this session with some centering quiet or music as the group prepares to look at messages from our faith stories. The leader reads from Genesis 1. 27.

So God created people in God’s own image, in the image of God, God created them; male and female God created them.

Divide up into smaller groups (3-4 people) for conversation. Take about 15 minutes to discuss these questions.

  1. What does it mean to be created in the “Image of God?”
  2. How would you describe the Image of God?
  3. What unique message does God convey to the world through you?
  4. What message does God convey to the world through someone who is unable to walk? Has a severe visual impairment? Has mental retardation? Does not communicate verbally?

When the leader has called the group back together, invite the participants to share in ONE word an image of God that came up in their small group. You could write these words on newsprint and leave them posted where everyone can see them.

Then have individuals read each of the following stories aloud to the group. As you read, think about what you are saying and who you are representing to the group. Leave some room for quiet in between readings.

GRANT in the Image of God

I suffered a brain injury when I was in my 40’s which left me unable to use one side of my body. The technical term for this is “cerebral vascular accident,” but most of us know it as a stroke. In addition to MY PHYSICAL diminishment, the stroke changed my perception of myself in space and time. At first I thought my true self had disappeared and what was left of me had taken up residence in this shell of a body. I had to regain my sense of balance all over again, just like a baby learning to walk without falling over or a kid riding a bike without training wheels for the first time. It was scary and I did in fact fall a few times. Because I was so weak from several months lying on my back in a hospital bed, when I started walking again I had to sit down a lot. When I first went back to my church I heard theminister say, “All who are able may stand.” That was like music to my ears because it meant it was OK to stay seated! When I used to hear that phrase before my stroke I thought it was stupid. “Of course only those who are able will stand,” I thought. But now I felt INCLUDED in a new way.

One of the things that means the most to me is when someone comes up to me - usually a child - and asks me what happened to me. That gives me a chance to explain what a stroke is and why I walk funny. It helps us both not to feel embarrassed. Some other people are afraid to ask. One of the things I hate is when people try to do things for me that I can perfectly well do for myself, like pouring a beverage into a glass. Sometimes I can use help with a task, but it’s much more liberating to be asked, “Do you need some help?” because that way I can say yes or no.

BROCK (middle school student) in the Image of God

The thing that I used to have, that I don’t have anymore, is the ability to walk. I have muscular dystrophy, and I stopped walking about a year and a half ago. I’ll continue to lose the ability to move my other muscles, too. But I really miss walking because people ignore me now. They think that because I am in a wheelchair, I am not smart. People who were my friends when I walked are not my friends now that I’m in a wheelchair because they think they would be embarrassed. I know who my real friends are now.

DEE in the Image of God

My husband and I began our Nebraska co-pastorate wondering how our congregation would feel about my traveling with a dog guide, wearing clodhopper shoes beneath my clerical robe, extending a brace-covered hand, and using a jaw support when speaking. While I revel in the freedom these tools offer within the barbed wire fences of blindness, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes, would my congregation?

I chose to be straightforward; so did they. These independent ranchers and townsfolk know about partnership, whether that of maintaining balance within a difficult rural economy or an arduous life dance. They honor my physical challenges by recognizing my wholeness. Our shared acceptance of differences and gifts energizes this free-spirited, community-focused church. We take in stride the mud and muck of each other’s journey as well as its joys.

An unspoken rapport connects us, heart with heart and soul with soul. All three members of this pastoral team, each with a unique ministry, feel welcomed for who we are “inside.” I rejoice in this partnership of spirit and in the gift of having been sent by a generous God to this particular congregation. Bind us together, God, like the 110, unique “church family” squares in two quilted banners now hanging in our sanctuary. But let us not hem ourselves in.

BOB in the Image of God:

I compare incurring a disability to entering a foreign culture. We don’t travel there willingly, we don’t understand the language or customs of the natives of this strange land, and we grieve when we discover we’ve lost our return ticket back home to “normal.” But, if you keep your wits about you and look around to gauge the lay of the land before you panic, you may find that a strange sort of grace accompanies a disabling injury or illness.

I was struck by a hit-and-run driver while bicycling in the spring of 1997, incurring a spinal cord injury that left me in a wheelchair. As a parish pastor, I’ve been able to return to my career, but have had to make many subtle adjustments in self-identity. Five years after the injury I took a sabbatical from my pastoral duties to write a book on my journey. The result, “Blindsided by Grace: Entering the World of Disability” (Augsburg Fortress Press), is not only an exploration of the concept of disability as a cultural and social phenomenon, but was a therapeutic tool for me to come to grips with my new body.

Several years ago my wife and I uprooted our children to move to Nicaragua for three years. Our daughter, who was five at the time, arrived in a horrible tantrum, screaming, “I don’t wanna speak Spanish!” But after a few months in her new home, she made friends and took to the new language like a fish to water. When I awoke in the hospital six weeks after my injury I was screaming inside, “I don’t wanna be a cripple!” But, like Kate, after some time getting acclimatized to my new culture, I’m finding the hidden grace in this condition

RITA in the Image of God

You wouldn’t believe the difference my (guide/companion) dog has made. For years I have been ignored or shouted at because everyone thinks if you use a wheelchair you must have other disabilities as well. Now, I always get stopped while people ask me about my beautiful Black Labrador. We talk dogs. It’s really great. Not only does having a dog help me when I drop things or when I’m getting organized to drive my van, he has been really good “social glue”. I don’t feel so isolated any more.

JOHN in the Image of God

When I get fatigued I stop going to church. I think my pastor has figured this out because he always calls me if more than a week goes by. He helps me feel connected to my congregation, even when I don’t have the energy to face everyone. He always invites me to come to Bible Study on Tuesdays which is nice because it is a small group.

LINDA in the Image of God

Last winter my doctor prescribed antidepressants for me. I felt so bad about being depressed, about having something wrong with my mind. Everything seemed gray and lifeless. I did not fill the prescription for at least a month. One Sunday in the sermon our Minister talked about depression and put it in the same category as other kinds of physical illnesses. And I thought, “Surely if I had diabetes, I’d take insulin”. I filled my prescription on the way home from church.

JILL in the Image of God

I need to use the Large Print Bulletin on Sundays. It works out well for me because I can follow the prayers. Someone even makes sure the hymns are enlarged so I can enjoy singing along with the congregation. However, when I hear “You can read more about it in the bulletin insert” or “Look on the back of your bulletin for the time and place for the Youth Group auction” I get annoyed. It would be nice to have access to all the information everyone else has on a Sunday morning.

NORMA in the Image of God

Persons with identifiable disabilities have unique needs, but also unique gifts. The ministry of presence is a great gift to offer. Our son has this gift and many others to offer the body of Christ. He has a beautiful tenor voice, a believing heart, and a compassionate spirit. He is a choir member, a generous person, an employee, a son, a brother, an uncle, and he has a recurring illness, bipolar disorder. His illness does not define him. He is not a manic-depressive. He is a person who has an illness who periodically needs help in caring for himself. He needs medication; he needs other people’s respect, love, and prayers; he needs God’s comfort and mercy. He does not need to be part of some marginalized, stereotyped group of people called, “the mentally ill”. No he is person who is “fearfully and wonderfully made” in the image of God.

MIKE in the image of God *

I find it very demeaning when a person with a disability is called “Pal” or “Buddy”. Every person has a first and last name. My name happens to be Mike Cohn, not Buddy or Pal. People with disabilities deserve to be treated like anyone else. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, for that is how we learn about one another. Disabled people are like everyone else; some are intensely private about themselves and some are very focused on themselves, but most want to mix in with everyone else and contribute in what ever ways we can to the greater good of society.

*this passage is from an article entitled, Who Am I? Meet Average Joe, published in the July 10, 2004 edition of Access Press, St. Paul, MN, and access@mninter.net

Group Discussion:

  1. How did it feel to speak “in the voice” of someone with a disability? How does our congregation listen to the voices of people with disabilities?
  2. Now brainstorm again as a group using one or two word phrases to describe “image of God”. Do you notice any changes from the first list?
  3. On a fresh sheet of paper list the ways the image of God is presented in your building and through programming and worship in your congregation. For example, what image of God is revealed through stained glass, sculptures, staff, hymns, liturgy, outreach programs, children’s programming, adult education, etc?
  4. How can we broaden and deepen our image(s) of God?