Order cheap cialis online, The United Church of Christ National Committee on Persons with Disabilities has as its major goal the full integration of persons with disabilities and their families into the life of the church.

Many of us have attended churches where the church bulletin bore the quotations, "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go in to the House of the Lord.'" We must be certain that the doors to that house are always open to all, no matter what difficulties they or those they love may face in seeking to enter, so that the gladness and joy of acceptance can be known by all. May it be so, and soon.

In late 1990 we wrote to all Conference Ministers of the United Church of Christ, asking them to nominate programs and persons that, in their judgment, best served the goal of full inclusiveness. The stories herein offer examples of loving and inclusive ministries, ministries which are themselves both visions of hope and models of the inclusiveness of the Kingdom of God.

Churches honored include:

First Congregational Church, UCC in Cadillac, Michigan
First Congregational Church, UCC in Camden, Maine
First Congregational Church, UCC in Great Falls, Montana
Central Congregational Church, UCC in Topeka, Kansas
St, order cheap cialis online. John's UCC in Storm Lake, cialis prescription, Iowa, and First Congregational Church, UCC, in Newell, Iowa
St. Peter's Church, UCC in Washington, Missouri
Three churches in Rhode Island Conference: Chepachet Union Church; Riverside Congregational Church, UCC; and United Congregational Church of Litltle Compton

Individuals honored include:

Rev. Dr. Dallas A. Order cheap cialis online, Brauninger, First Congregational Church, UCC in Hemingford, Nebraska
Rev. Kathi D. Wolfe, Osta cialis, UCC Office of Communication
Rev. Nancy Erickson, Lincoln, Nebraska
Rev. Ronald A. Getsay, Marion, Ohio
Mrs, order cheap cialis online. Roberta Martin and her son Christ Martin of Southwest UCC in Portland, Oregon

First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Cadillac, Michigan, has an active ministry with persons who are deaf or hearing impaired. In early 1987, an individual who is deaf offered a sign language class for people in the community. Several people from the church took the class.

During this time it became clear that people who were deaf needed a place to socialize. Order cheap cialis online, First Congregational offered its facilities and the Deaf Fellowship Club was begun. This club has met spontaneously since 1987, For cialis online. People from an area of 50 miles around the church have attended those social gatherings.

Later the church began to offer ten-week sign language classes at the church itself. There was an excellent response to the offer from the community as well as from members of the church. Seventy people attended, and the group had to be divided into two groups, order cheap cialis online. Through publicity about the sign language class, the church became identified with sign language and persons who are deaf.

This sensitivity to the needs of persons who are deaf led in turn to having worship services “signed” at least once a month. Sometimes as many as ten persons who are deaf attend these worship services. Again because of the church’s concern for persons who are deaf or hearing impaired, several have become active members of First Congregational. Order cheap cialis online, Some have served or are serving as deacons, others host dinners and coffee hours, and many have become active participants in worship by signing poems or songs, or sharing prayer concerns.

The congregation has also installed a ramp to make the sanctuary and offices accessible to persons with mobility impairments, has large print bulletins, and has hymns in large print available upon request. It has also installed grab bars in the women’s rest room as well as TTY (telephone for the deaf.)

*

First Congregational Church, Um cialis online, UCC in Camden, Maine. From 1971-1988 the church has provided space for a school for 40 intellectually disabled individuals, who use the Sunday school rooms as classrooms. The school was run in conjunction with the local school board, and lunches provided by the school board were brought to the church each noon during the school year.

All students who attended public school classes at the church are now in a nearby sheltered workshop, and the church building is no longer needed, order cheap cialis online. Every Friday evening, however, a group of persons with intellectual disabilities meet for a social evening. Many of them are people who formerly attended the school held at the church. In April of 1990 a group of these young people put on the musical, Grease.

We saluted First Congregational Church, UCC for providing space for work and play for so many persons with disabilities. Order cheap cialis online, *

In 1987 the Montana-Northern Wyoming Conference passed a resolution asking all the churches in the conference to make their churches accessible; it repeated that request in 1990. First Congregational Church, Montana MT Mont. , UCC in Great Falls, a church with 450 members, responded quickly, with an impressive list of past and present actions and future plans for making their church totally accessible.

Prior to the 1987 Conference Resolution, the church had:
• Reserved parking spaces for persons with disabilities
• An accessible sanctuary and offices
• An accessible restroom
• Hearing aids in the sanctuary, and
• A lift installed to make fellowship hall accessible.

Since 1987, it has added:
• Large print bulletins
• Increased parking spaces for per sons with disabilities
• Additional pulpit microphone for those with hearing impairments
• Accessibility signs on the building and in the telephone book
• The signing of one service per month for hearing impaired. (This is the only local televised service that is interpreted.)

First Congregational now plans to upgrade its accessible restroom from one unisex restroom to making both men’s and women’s restrooms accessible and to add an elevator which will reach the downstairs Christian Education Wing.

When these future plans are completed, First Congregational UCC of Great Falls, Montana will be TOTALLY accessible, order cheap cialis online. We salute them for their fine work.

*
Central Congregational, UCC in Topeka, Where to buy cialis, Kansas has made significant progress in its long range plans to be physically and attitudinally accessible. It has built a ramp to make the sanctuary accessible and prints large-print bulletins each week. It has also hired a signer to include hearing-impaired children of members and others in the Sunday school and worship experiences. Order cheap cialis online, A few years ago the Diaconate instituted a transportation program for shut-ins, which included volunteers who would take the initiative to call and inquire of shut-ins whether they would like to be picked up for Sunday worship. This effort aimed to remove the stigma of needing (and having to ask for_ special care by having the volunteers express the congregation’s desire to include in worship those without their own transportation.

That effort proved so successful that the church purchased a van. Suddenly more persons expressed interest. Because the first van was difficult for some to enter and exit, a second, larger van with a wheelchair lift has been added. The ramp is no longer a passive invitation to those who are able to get to church on their own, order cheap cialis online. Now the congregation is sensitive to the need to be physically barrier-free from door-to-door, and attitudinally barrier-free, from invitation—to welcome- to “see you again!”

*

St. John’s UCC in Storm Lake, Iowa, and First Congregational Church, Iowa IA , UCC, in Newell, Iowa enthusiastically called the Rev. Peter Wenzel as their pastor. He accepted this call as his first full-time parish and began his ministry with the two churches on March 1, 1990. Order cheap cialis online, Mr. Wenzel was born with spina bifida and is unable to walk without crutches; occasionally he uses a wheelchair to get around. He is a man of many gifts who has been received in the church and community and is becoming active in the Iowa Conference programs.

We are pleased to honor the two churches who recognized his ability for ministry, and to honor the Rev. peter Wenzel, both for his courage and determination and for his devotion to the life of Christ’s church.
*
For many decades, St, order cheap cialis online. Peter’s Church, South Carolina SC S.C. , UCC in Washington, Missouri, has expressed concern for people with disabilities. The consciousness of the church regarding persons with disabilities was raised many years ago by the Wilke family, of which the well-known Rev. Dr. Harold Wilke, a man who was born without arms, is a part. Order cheap cialis online, Over a period of ten years the church has expressed this commitment by building a ramp, installing an elevator and accessible restrooms, and putting in a new amplification system. In addition, many in the congregation have been strong supporters of the Emmaus Homes for individuals who are mentally disabled. They sponsor birthday parties for residents’ birthdays, give other holiday parties, have provided scorekeepers for Emmaus’ bowling league, and have painted, Rhode Island RI R.I. , landscaped, and done other maintenance work projects. They also helped develop and staff a sheltered workshop near the Marthasville campus.

Despite some resistance from the town, they are turning their old parsonage, across from the church, into a group home for six individuals who have been residing at t he Emmaus Home.

The church had also given a ramp for an Emmaus van, and has during the past two years contributed $1,000.00 each year to help underwrite the yearly “Open Your Heart” Dinner, order cheap cialis online. Proceeds from this dinner go into a resident’s trust fund to pay the expenses of those whose families cannot cover their child’s expenses. The dinner costs $20,000.00 to put on, and each guest pays $100.00 per plate. At the last dinner 37 members from St. Peter’s attended. Order cheap cialis online, In 1984, when St. Kopen goedkope cialis, Peter’s celebrated its 140th anniversary, it gave $14,000 as an anniversary gift to Emmaus; during a five year capital fund campaign, St. Peter’s raised $77,000.00 for Emmaus. Numerous members of St. Peter’s have served on the Board of Directors of the Emmaus Hmes and have provided significant leadership. Currently t he pastor, William Schwab, and two others, Delores Borcherding and Elmer Heidmann, are board members, order cheap cialis online. We honor them for their continuing devotion.

*

We honor three Rhode Island Churches:

Chepachet Union Church has removed pews in the front of the church to accommodate wheelchairs; installed an automatic chairlift into the sanctuary; remodeled its bathrooms to make them wheelchair accessible, designated handicapped parking spaces, and installed ramps to the main doorway and to the bathrooms;

Riverside Congregational UCC has installed a handicapped entrance ramp with railings, made restrooms accessible to persons with disabilities, created seating for persons in wheelchairs within the body of the congregation, installed hearing aids for those who need them, buy cialis no rx, and made large print bulletins available on request; and

The United Congregational Church of Little Compton has installed an elevator which goes directly from a ramp entrance into the sanctuary, has renovated the bathroom to provide a wide doorway, and elevated the fixtures to proper heights, and had installed a new speaker system so that those who have difficulty hearing can sit anywhere in the church.

*

The Rev. Dr. Dallas “Dee” Brauninger Order cheap cialis online, served with her husband, Bob, as co-pastor of First Congregational Church, UCC, in Hemingford, Nebraska until acute arthritis affected her jaw to the point that she found it difficult to speak. At present, she is almost entirely sightless, and has a leader Dog. Because she is an excellent writer, however, her ministry now consists primarily by use of the written word.

It was very painful for Dee to have to give up preaching and the active pastoral ministry. Cheap cialis, Yet, she consciously continues her ministry not only by writing but by minimizing her disability. Her goal is to make blindness look easy, so that people see the person first and not the disability, order cheap cialis online.

This admirable clergywoman is constantly looking for ways to minister to those around her. For example, Dee studies the Bible by having friends read parts of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible to her (just published and she was curious), while she types passages onto her computer. As she does so, she begins to hear various voices of the congregation which combine to form choral readings. She has put together different groups to read to her, such as “family groupings, disputing individuals, combinations of generations and those who needed lifting up as creatures of God.” In this wonderful way she involves those who might not ordinarily participate in worship. Order cheap cialis online, There are many other creative ways this creative lady ministers. She prepared, at the request of the Conference office, a tape for a man who went through a difficult time visually, New Hampshire NH N.H. . The tape dealt with ways to compensate and cope with lack of sight. She also coordinates the taping of UCC News, having a retired RN in the congregation do the reading. The nurse had to retire early due to rheumatoid arthritis. Another of Dee’s projects is a weekly ecology column in the local newspaper, order cheap cialis online. The list of important projects Dee undertakes goes on and on.

Chicago Theological Seminary recently awarded both Bob and Dee Brauninger the degree of Doctor of Divinity for their faithful ministry on a rural setting. We honor Dee Brauninger as an outstanding clergy person, not because of a disability, but in spite of it.

*
The Rev. Order cheap cialis online, Kathi D. Wolfe, a United Church of Christ National staff member with the Office of Communications, is not only a valued member of the National Committee on Persons with Disabilities, Pharmacy cialis, but she has recently been appointed to the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.

In inviting her to serve as chairperson of the Committee, Justin Dart cited her “commitment and dedication to advance opportunities for persons with disabilities.” On the President’s Committee, Ms Wolfe will address disability-related employment concerns, especially those of women, minorities, and older workers.

A native of New Hope, PA, Kathi earned the degree of bachelor of arts in 1975 from Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, and the degree of Masters of Divinity in 1978 from Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut, buy cialis online without prescription. She was ordained to Christian ministry in 1980 by the Central Atlantic Conference of the UCC. She now is a member of the Euclid Avenue Congregational UCC in Cleveland, and holds her ministerial standing in the Ohio Conference, order cheap cialis online.

As Coordinator for Special Projects for the UCC National Office of Communications, she was the producer of “Reaching for a Dream,” a videotape on people of color with disabilities. Prior to assuming her present position with the UCC Office of Communications, she worked in that office as a staff writer from 1987 to the present.

Kathi Wolfe has held many other positions, including that of Minister of Outreach at First Congregational Church, UCC, in Passaic, NJ; that of social worker with the Social Service Federation of Englewood, NJ; and field representative with the New Jersey Department of Public Advocates on the Division of Advocacy for the Developmentally Disabled. She was the first project access coordinator with New Jersey’s transit bus operations in Maplewood, Goedkope cialis apotheek, NJ, where she set up a program to publicize the corporation’s fleet of wheelchair accessible buses. Order cheap cialis online, Kathi is a published poet, who also serves on the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Blind, and has been a member of the New Jersey Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities.

In nominating Kathi Wolfe for her outstanding contributions as an individual with a disability, the Rev. Curtis Clare, her former conference minister, attested to her sense of humor, her sensitivity, and to the inspiration she gave him when he himself was experiencing vision problems.

*

The Rev. Nancy Erickson is a paraplegic ([paralyzed in both the upper and lower parts of her body). Despite this disability, she is now the first chaplain of the Lancaster County Jail in Lincoln, Nebraska, order cheap cialis online. She holds a B.A. in sociology and psychology (1969), a M.A. (1971) in educational psychology, kjøpe cialis, and a M. Div. Order cheap cialis online, from Yale Divinity School (1989). She was a delegate from Nebraska to the White House Conference on handicapped individuals in 197, was listed in Who’s Who Among American College and University Students in 1969, and in Who’s Who in America in 1980.

During her senior year at Yale, Nancy began to experience the frustration shared by many bright persons with disabilities. Her profile was widely circulated, but she kept receiving rejection letters while her classmates, many of whom had far less experience, found employment in local parishes. In late July, 1989, Rhode Island RI R.I. , a friend suggested that she volunteer at the Lancaster County Jail. She met with the Director and Program Director of the Jail, who agreed to allow her to volunteer as a chaplain and suggested that she attend a Sunday worship to “get a feel for the work.”

On the Sunday she came “to visit,” the minister scheduled to speak failed to appear, so Nancy stepped in, order cheap cialis online. Her reception was overwhelmingly positive, and in November of that same year Nancy Erickson began her work as chaplain t Lancaster County Jail. Working first with a small salary provided by her church, First Plymouth Congregational, UCC, pastured by Rev. Otis young, and then by the Lincoln Interfaith Church, she has since received a small grant from the UCBHM to enable her to continue this work.

Her tasks as chaplain include leading workshops, counseling, and listening to and praying with those in jail. Order cheap cialis online, She sees a parallel between persons with disabilities and those who are incarcerated, since she believes that if either raised questions about their circumstances, their questions are seen not as legitimate objections but as troublemaking. Her personal experience has led her to question her role in an unjust system, and to cry for justice for all, pharmacy cialis. As Christians committed to justice, we are grateful for Nancy Erickson and others like her who are willing to face and attempt to deal with injustice wherever it appears.

{Editorial Note, 2010: Nancy went on to become an Associate Minister of First Plymouth, the largest UCC in Nebraska. She can be contacted through the staff link at First Plymouth.]

*

The Rev. Ronald A, order cheap cialis online. Getsay is a native of Ohio, having spent his childhood in Warren, Ohio. He attended Heidelberg College and Youngstown University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962. He is a graduate of united Theological Seminary and was ordained by the Eastern Ohio Association in 1965.

Ron began his ministry in Waldo, Missouri MO Mo. , Ohio where he served the yoked parishes of Sr. Order cheap cialis online, Joseph and St. John’s UCC. Shortly after beginning his work in Waldo, he discovered that he had multiple sclerosis and was hospitalized. After being released from the hospital, Ron gradually resumed his pastoral duties, and for a time it seemed as if his multiple sclerosis had been arrested. In 1968, however, he found the pastorate of two churches too taxing. He resigned and became the pastor of Salem UCC in Marion, Ohio, order cheap cialis online. Then, in 1972, Ron experienced more and more limitations. He struggled, but in February, Vermont VT Vt. , 1976, he realize he could no longer meet the needs of a local parish, and he resigned.

Ron, however, has never given up being a faithful servant of Christ. Since leaving the pastorate because of lagging strength, he has been a leader for persons with disabilities both in the Ohio Conference, UCC, as well as in the Ohio Council of Churches. Order cheap cialis online, During the 1970’s and 1980’s he was chair person of the Ohio Task Force on Disabilities, now renamed Enabling Ministries Together.

C. William Wealand, Minister for Outdoor ministries, För cialis online, stated, “The renaming of the task force was initiated by Ron Getsay, and is symbolic of his own growth. He has been, and is, a principal mover, raising sensitivities about differently-abled persons taking action to change the location of the Northwest Ohio Association and the Ohio Conference office to facilities that are accessible, and working for the inclusion of differently abled persons in positions of leadership in the Ohio Conference.”

In 1983 Ron wrote a book entitled, An Inclusive Church: Character and Ministry. In it, he wrote:

An inclusive personality is a reality we can help bring into being. In his longing to be free of his affliction, the apostle Paul prayed three times that it would be removed, order cheap cialis online. His prayer was unanswered: “My grace is all you need, for my power is stronger when you are weak.” Our acknowledgment of God’s presence and power in our lives, and our acceptance of our own weakness, offers us the reality of an inclusive personality, παραγγείλετε online cialis. It has been my experience in the past sixteen years, and particularly most recently, that when I allow the grace and power of God to be alive in my being, I can live with myself and others.

Thus we honor Ronald A. Getsay, a man who has truly used his disability for the glory of God and the good of humankind.

*

Roberta Martin Order cheap cialis online, of Milwaukee, Oregon, active and activist church member, has a son, Chris, who was born with Downs Syndrome. Because of the efforts of his mother, Christ, now 36, has been from his earliest years mainstreamed into the life of the Southwest UCC in Portland, OR. Each Sunday Chris Martin rings the bell signifying the beginning of the worship service; he then serves as acolyte, Buy cialis, sets up music stands for the prelude, arranges flowers, helps prepare refreshments, and confers with his pastor, the Rev. Richard S. Kidmore.

The church has been a source of strength for Christ, who has completed a program at Pacific State University for persons with Downs and moved into a group home which provides semi-independent living, order cheap cialis online. Christ now attends a sheltered workshop.
Christ is described as an exemplary individual who gives unselfishly to others, and as a great competitor who loves to win but accepts defeat. Certainly these attributes were fostered and encouraged by his parents, and especially by his mother, Roberta, who has worked tirelessly not only for him but for all persons with developmental disabilities. She has served on the Board od Directors and has been President of the Portland Habilitation Center, Maryland MD Md. , a vocational and residential service program for adults with developmental disabilities. Order cheap cialis online, She has also served on the Board of Rainbow Adult Living Facilities, Inc., investigated the development of statewide guardianship programs, and has provided an advocacy program within the association for retarded citizens of Oregon.

She also has taught at Portland Habilitation Center and served on its Board, where she has been a supportive friend and advisor to many parents who have children with developmental disabilities. She was honored in the 1970’s as “Woman of the Year” in recognition of her tireless efforts on behalf of people with developmental disabilities and their families.

Roberta is the author of C is for Christopher, a book about the relationship between her son and Lloyd Renolds, renowned lecturer, author, and calligrapher. Chris and Lloyd illustrated the book. All proceeds from sales go directly to the Association of Retarded Citizens of Multnomah County, Portland, OR, for the benefit of those they serve. She also developed a very fine brochure for the Central pacific Conference of the UCC on Disabilities and the church.

We salute Roberta Martin for all she has done not only for her own son, Chris, but for all other persons with developmental disabilities and their families.
**

.

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Order aricept online cheap, The Reverend Craig Rennebohm was awarded the National Association of Mental Illnesses (NAMI) 2009 Richard T. Greer Advocacy Award recently at the NAMI national convention in San Francisco, Maryland MD Md. . Aricept online stores, RICHARD T. GREER was NAMI’s first legislative director and life-long grassroots advocate The award is given for leadership and vision that have resulted in
significant improvements on the state and/or national level, Arkansas AR Ark. . Ordering aricept no prescription, Craig has worked mightily to found and grow the Mental Health Chaplaincy in Seattle. The chaplaincy has made a tremendous difference in the lives of homeless people who live with mental illness and in the lives of their family members, loved ones, and neighbors, order aricept online cheap.

Further, order aricept from canada, Comprar aricept de descuento, Craig's advocacy to create an effective and readily accessible community mental health system in the Seattle area has brought lasting change to the community. The spiritual care that the chaplaincy provides to people in hospital and outpatient programs, acheter aricept discount, Where to buy cheap aricept, and the companionship training he has crafted for chaplains and others working within congregations to develop welcoming environments within religious communities is invaluable.

(Above notes are from the NAMI 2009 Convention Program, For aricept online. Cheap aricept pills, Http://www.nami.org). Order aricept online cheap, In a recent United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries communication, he said:

I'm grateful for the NAMI Advocacy award - especially as it represents a growing awareness and understanding of the role faith comunities can play in addressing stigma, modeling accessibility and inclusiveness and collaborating in social change.

He also commented that NAMI celebrated its 30th anniversary with significant gains to its credit, Washington WA Wash. . Order aricept online without prescription, There is also a recognition, he said, cheap aricept tablets, Buy cheap aricept, "of the challeneges still ahead - the injustice of mentally ill persons wandering our streets and being incarcerated; returning vets; a system inadequate to the growing number of children, young adults and elderly needing services, acheter aricept bon marché. Colorado CO Colo. , We still have a long way to go in providing appropriate care and housing for all - especially our most vunlerable and isolated sisters and brothers."

Craig is author of

Souls in the Hands of a Tender God: Stories of the Search for Home and Healing on the Streets

.

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Buy cafergot c.o.d., The UCC Disabilities Ministries presents the 2009 award to an individual committed to helping our churches become Accessible to All to: Mary Larson, Lay Assistant, Mt Sinai Congregational, United Church of Christ, Mt Sinai, NY.

Mary Larson is the coordinator and motivating energy behind “Welcome Sundays”, Utah UT , West Virginia WV W.Va. , occurring monthly during regular worship times at Mt. Sinai UCC, Florida FL Fla. . Order cafergot cod, It is a service welcoming those with differing abilities and is “multi-media” and interactive (with refreshments!) In addition to church members attending this worship service, other regulars include individuals from a number of group residential facilities and their assistants, αγοράζουν online cafergot. αγοράσετε cafergot, Mt Sinai’s outreach to people with developmental disabilities and their families has been mutually enriching.

People with disabilities comprise 20 percent of the American population, Um cafergot online, Ordering cafergot overnight delivery, yet they traditionally are not represented within congregations. In fact, order cafergot overnight delivery, Buy cafergot online legally, a 2000 National Organization on Disability/Harris Survey found that though 84 percent of people with a disability state that their religious faith is important to them, less than half attend a religious service at least once a month, För cafergot online. Ohio OH , We rejoice at the good work of inclusion that is happening at Mt Sinai and lift up their example for the whole church. Buy cafergot. Osta cafergot online. Acquistare a buon mercato cafergot. Kaufen cafergot. Cafergot en ligne afin. Goedkope cafergot apotheek. Pharmacie cafergot bon marché. Ordering cafergot online legally. Kjøpe cafergot online. Buy cafergot no rx. Ordering cafergot from canada. Cafergot online kaufen. Osta alennus cafergot.

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Four recipients were awarded the Bob and Joyce Dell Award (Mental Illness Ministry) and the Disabilities Ministries Award at General Synod in Hartford, 2007. Two youths, sharing a contagious joy and enthusiasm for life, will join a pastor as recipients of the Disabilities Ministries Awards.

Tyler Greene

Tyler Greene, whose church home is the First Congregational United Church of Christ, Waterloo, Iowa, produced a training video titled "I'm Tyler." The tool is being used nationally in faith communities, schools and organizations. "Tyler encourages others not to label people in terms of their 'disability,' but to appreciate others in terms of their ability," said the Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth, his pastor.

Joseph Maki

Joseph Maki is an eager volunteer at his church, Zion United Church of Christ, Le Sueur, in his community and at Pilgrim Point, the Minnesota Conference camp. "The United Church of Christ and its members have opened the doors for him," his mother, Laura Maki, said. "He has accepted that invitation and is doing what he can to help others learn about our Lord through his service to others."

The Reverend Dr. Robert Loesch

The Rev. Dr. Robert Loesch, now pastor of Taborton Zion United Church of Christ near Sand Lake, New York, was nominated by Foster Memorial Church United Church of Christ in Springfield, Massachusetts. "Bob has spent most of his life advocating for persons through church and community leadership in several human service agencies working to support adults with disabilities, especially those with mental illness and developmental disabilities," said Karen Cardigan, Program Coordinator of the Western Massachusetts Training Consortium. United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries awards are given in appreciation for distinguished service to church and community in the interest of furthering the church's mission to become Accessible to All.

The First Congregational United Church of Christ of Downer's Grove, Illinois

The First Congregational Church United Church of Christ of Downer's Grove will receive the Bob and Joyce Dell Award. Pastors are the Rev. Laura and the Rev. William Hoglund. The citation from the Mental Illness Network (MIN) recognizes a local UCC church or person who has done much to eliminate stigma, build a ministry, or advocate for legal protection for persons with serious mental illnesses. "The church has been active in mental health ministry for many years with a comprehensive outreach to the community as well as to in-house services," said the Rev. Robert Dell.

With delight, the United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries received word yesterday that the Reverend Virginia Kreyer will be awarded high recognition as an ordained woman in the denomination. With equal delight, the spirited foremother of the UCC DM responded in a late afternoon phone visit, "I'm coming. Tell them I am coming to Synod." "Virginia’s pioneering and trailblazing ministry must be seen within the context of her being born with cerebral palsy, which was manifested in her motor skills and severe speech difficulties," said Gay McCormick, UCC DM representative to the Office of General Ministry. "In addition to beginning the UCC DM, Virginia is a role model and a prophet," McCormick said. "To know the importance of her qualities it is necessary to understand that she required years of physical and occupational therapy as well as extensive speech therapy, and, that as a child, she was perceived as mentally retarded because of her speech." Virginia's mother was pivotal in how Virginia became who she is. She never allowed her daughter to use her disability as an excuse. Believing that a disability is not something you hide, she imbued Virginia with her quality of dogged persistence. "In Virginia's high school and college days she had felt God’s call to work in the church. It was a call to make this world a better place in which to live, but 'Who would ordain a "handicapped" woman?”'" the writer of her nominating letter said. A year after Virginia graduated from college she became a student at Union Theological Seminary in New York, but not before her first application for admission was rejected. With the assistance of clergy and Union faculty who supported her, she was admitted as a full time B.D. (now M.Div.) student. Her speech difficulties were a problem. The professor of preaching at first saw no reason that she should take his course. Finally he relented and at the end of the course told Virginia, “You are a good preacher.” While at Union she received the unmistakable message God was saying to her, “ Stop questioning your call to ordination,” and so she did. After her graduation from Union Theological Seminary she was ordained (in another denomination) in 1952. She then found employment at the Nassau County (NY) Cerebral Palsy Center. Her hope of being a chaplain to the clients and their families was not the intent of the Center. It had employed her to be a role model of what a person with CP can accomplish. Virginia was not at all satisfied just to be a role model and, as a consequence, started a Masters degree program in social work, receiving her degree in 1960. She became a staff social worker at the Center, working there until 1984. In 1967 she began attending Garden City Community Church, a UCC congregation, becoming a UCC member in 1971. Then she began a long process of being ordained in the UCC. She suggested to the Association Committee on Ordination and Standing the beginning of a committee for persons with disabilities called handicapped / physically challenged. She became the chairperson of the new committee. Over the next five years that committee tried to get the UCC in New York involved in this advocacy work. Nothing happened until a committee member suggested writing a resolution on persons with disabilities and presenting it to the New York Conference meeting in 1976. The resolution was passed and the next year was taken to General Synod. This resolution, ‘that the national church begin work with persons with disabilities,’ was passed but not before Virginia had to speak very persuasively, first, before a Synod committee and then, secondly, address the whole body of the 1977 General Synod. She spoke of how Jesus spent his ministry teaching, preaching and healing, incorporating all three in his ministry. In response, not only did General Synod pass the resolution, but ministry to and with persons with disabilities became one of that Synod’s top priorities. The persons with disabilities resolution was assigned to the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries (UCBHM), Division of Health and Welfare to be carried out. The previously mentioned 1977 resolution opened up a one day a week consulting position. The position was offered to Virginia and she accepted with vigor, though it took awhile to negotiate this change with the Department of Social Services at the United Cerebral Palsy Center. With Virginia as the Consultant for persons with disabilities, she worked with churches struggling to educate them about the needs of persons with disabilities, particularly focusing on what they should be doing to make their church buildings accessible and welcoming to all including persons with disabilities. A questionnaire was developed and mailed to all churches in the United Church of Christ. The response showed that fewer than 10% of our churches were physically accessible and in some cases they, too, had problems. She traveled over the country preaching, teaching, and giving workshops to help people understand the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ of welcoming persons with disabilities. Due to Virginia's dedicated, persistent work, additional resolutions were passed affirming full inclusion of persons with disabilities in the church in the next three General Synods. At General Synod 14, accessible churches were recognized. At GS16 a resolution was passed which advocated for the (a) full participation of persons with disabilities in the life of the church and in society and (b) directed the Pension Board to develop insurance coverage for employees at the time of onset of a disability. All were significant changes, changes attributable to Virginia’s leadership. Texts of all UCC Disabilities Ministries and Mental Illness Ministries can be found on www.uccdm.org. In 1991 she attended the Consultation on the Disabled in preparation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and then served as a UCC delegate to the World Council, working on issues of disability rights. She continued her advocacy work until 1995 when she retired. Also, at this time, she became a member of the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCCC) Committee of the Disabled, and then a member of the Board of Directors, 1977-1995. Committed to advocating for persons with disabilities in the National Councl, she was a highly effective advocate. Concurrently, Virginia was asked to serve as a representative of and for persons with disabilities in 1979 in what became the UCC Coordinating Center for Women. She frequently led the Holy Communion service for the agency. Virginia lived in Garden City, NY, and was a member of Garden City Community Church, her home throughout all her years of service to the UCC and persons with disabilities. In 2002 she moved to a Williamsburg, VA, retirement community where she now lives.

"Companioning Is About Walking Alongside" These words grace the spirit of Plymouth House of Healing. The outreach project of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in downtown Seattle offers a model for churches in providing caring companionship and a stable home for formerly homeless residents living with mental illness. Don and Karen Gwilym have been involved in Plymouth House since its inception five years ago. "We began a companion program with companions sitting with the many homeless and mentally ill who visited our 1100-member church on Sundays. We soon realized that the whole congregation needed to be educated," said Plymouth's first Parish Nurse. "The ensuing forums broke the silence among several church families with mental illness." Craig Rennabohm, a mental health chaplain from Plymouth Church who walked the downtown streets, noticed the same people going in and out of nearby Harbor View Hospital. To break this pattern, they needed supportive housing. He had an idea that drew companioning to a new level. The church developed a companion home for four residents from Harbor View, four companions, and a house manager. Eight people live in the eight-bedroom Plymouth House. It has made a difference both for residents living with affective disorders such as Bipolar, Schizophrenia, and Depression, and for companions, mainly recent college graduates, who serve for one year. "Often," Karen said, "people with mental illness are isolated and don't know how to take the first step toward connection." We help with that first step." Residents spend from three to six months at Plymouth House until they are stable. The program then finds them permanent housing. Even though they house only four residents at a time, she said, only two of the thirty-six people who have found community and a healing space at Plymouth House have returned to the hospital for medication adjustment. The ministry now encompasses Plymouth Healing Communities, two additional houses, and a cluster group in a small apartment. A recently opened third house offers permanent, independent housing with individual rooms for six people. An Itinerant Companion joins them weekly for dinner. As many want their own apartment but still want the community when they leave, Plymouth's next project probably will be one floor of a large apartment complex, Karen said. The church thrives with multi-aged participation from Sunday companioning to study and support groups, from making health kits to providing supplies, from house-purchase and total house renovation to annual operating support. In his June 26, 2005, Musings (www.plymouthchurchseattle.org), then Interim Minister Don Mayer wrote, "I know of no other denomination which so formally charges its members to do continuing work for contemporary relevance in expressing the Good News of God in Jesus Christ. And the congregation of Plymouth answers that call with astonishing faithfulness." For its depth and breadth of ministry, Plymouth Church received the Mental Illness Ministries Dell Award at General Synod 25. The Disabilities Ministries citation recognizes a local UCC church or person who has done much to eliminate stigma, build a ministry, or advocate for legal protection for persons with serious mental illnesses. Contact Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ at 1217 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101-3199 or phone 206-622-4865. By Rev. Dr. Dallas A. Brauninger, Burwell, NE, UCC DM

"If I let disabilities stop me, they can, but I don't want them to. I change the way I do some things, and others I simply can't do but try first," Nancy Phipps, 2005 UCC DM Awardee, told Rich Curby, K-O Conference Accessibility Task Force Chair. His nomination led her to the UCC Disabilities Ministries 2005 Award for exceptional church service. Always coming forward at Whitewater Federated UCC, KS, her folks primed her for volunteering. "We grew up knowing that when the community gives something to you, you give back to the community. That is part of who I am. If you can help, you help." Steve and Nancy live in a century-old farm house where, "I can hobble around a little bit, not for very far or very long, but a little bit. I just sort of putt around in my wheelchair, doing what has to be done." Federated pastor, Scott Martin, said, "It is safe to say that the major mobility problem Nancy Phipps has known the last several years has not slowed her in the least!" Her "putt-ing around" expanded upon answering a hankering to attend Annual Fall Women's Assembly. With conference participation, it all "sort of snowballed -- fun, supportive friendships," she said. The K-O Conference Lay School of Theology student's voice perks with enthusiasm when she mentions the area she feels she is best suited for, working with other women, "movers and shakers who do whatever needs to be done." "Since I have been in my wheelchair, things have changed a lot in my church," she said. Most of her activities are now held in the sanctuary. "We put an accessible bathroom on the main floor the year before I had ankle surgery. We do things as we can -- widening doors, switching handles, little tiny steps at a time." Sitting on council, she knows small church finances. She manages as long as "the guys are willing to carry my wheelchair up and down the basement stairs." However, when others, sometimes forgetting about her mobility changes, ask why she did not attend an event downstairs, she does exercise awareness-raising, "Well, one, have you remembered that I am in a wheelchair and cannot get into the basement by myself?" "Most of us don't think about how others deal with things or what they have to do." She asked her church, "If I have to pay for it myself, may I slice up some of these pews, make them shorter, and, taking out only one pew leaves no room to maneuver." A friend joins her up front now, but that does not preclude anybody else using a wheelchair. Something that has not changed, however, is singing in Federated's women's chorus. "I was born totally deaf in one ear. I cannot hear well enough any more to pick a tune off of a piano or organ, but you put Jackie to my left and I can sing any note she can." Nancy joins the other Accessibility Task Force members of the five geographically distant associations of K-O Conference for Yahoo chat room meetings. They encourage accessibility with information sheets in conference mailings. "It's the small things that make a difference," the lay ministerial student says, like her "Yippee! No pinched fingers" call home from her accessible room with space to navigate. Whether rolling among duties as Synod delegate or with local, association or conference women, she exercises role modeling in many unimagined ways "just because," as Nancy Phipps says, "there's stuff to be done." Written by Dee Brauninger

First Dell Award Given At General Synod
Bob and Joyce Dell of Sandwich, Illinois, have done more than anyone in the UCC to foster the Mental Illness Network. Their ten-year effort prompted the Network and Local Church Ministries to begin an award to be given at each General Synod. The award recognizes a UCC member or congregation deserving recognition for outstanding ministry with or for the mentally ill. Named the Dell Award as a permanent recognition of their work, its first recipients were the Dells. Bob and Joyce began the Network as a response to their family’s situation. Through his growing up years, their son struggled with many symptoms of what only later was diagnosed as a serious mental illness. The stigma and lack of information and understanding prompted Bob to seek out Pathways to Promise, an ecumenical organization providing resources and contacts to the faith community. Further, Bob saw the need for the UCC to have a network of key people working together to educate and advocate within the UCC. Over the years, his efforts have resulted in numerous displays at many Conference and Association gatherings and the beginning of a newsletter, which today is part of That All May Worship and Serve. Reaching almost 600,000 persons, this United Church News insert brings Bob’s message of help and hope to persons and families who care about someone with anxiety disorders (including panic disorder), bipolar disorder, clinical depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia. From UCC DM Newsletter Archive

The Reverend Doctor Hugh V. Nash has served Zion UCC in Perry Hall, Maryland, for the past 17 years. Prior to coming to Zion UCC, he served in other denominations as a pastor for a grand total of 25 years of service. Robert Brooks, Licensed Minister at Zion, described Hugh as "a softhearted loving man who does not put on any 'airs.' He is the genuine article; what you see is what you get." Hugh's disability is no secret, the minister said, and he has not allowed his bi polar illness to keep him from being Zion's "Good Shepherd." However, two decades ago in order to receive a call, Dr. Nash had no choice but to knowingly avoid telling the search committee about his mental illness, said church member, Elizabeth E.W. Kirk. "As the congregation came to understand Hugh's total openness about his disease," she said, "we came to know someone who struggles every day to survive. In watching this daily struggle year after year, we came to understand depression and mania." Hugh's openness and advocacy on behalf of mental health issues have encouraged many in the congregation to know that it is all right to seek help when they need it, to share their concerns with the rest of the congregation and not be ashamed of their various degrees and periods of depression, she said. Reaching beyond the local church and into the community because of Hugh Nash's attitude, Kirk herself became an advocate for the depressed elderly and also was instrumental in beginning the first in house (Congregate Housing Program) mental health program in Baltimore. "It is important that people with mental illness feel that they are understood and have people who truly care about them," she said. Three years ago under Hugh's leadership, two endangered UCC churches in a changing area of Baltimore city became and are now one vibrant, growing Zion UCC in Perry Hall. "If you come to visit you will find a warm and loving congregation ready to embrace you. There are no strangers here," Brooks said. "Hugh makes sure of that."

The Reverend Virginia Kreyer was also honored at the banquet when it was announced that at General Synod 23 in 2001 a new award, called the "Kreyer Award" will be presented to her. The award will be presented to persons who have shown a pioneering spirit in the work of the UCCDM (this award will not be given at every Synod).

The UCC Disabilities Ministries (UCCDM) presence was prominent in a number of ways . . . an awards luncheon, a workshop, the UCCDM and Mental Illness Network (MIN) booths in the exhibit hall, and the Local Church Ministries dinner with the presentation of the first Virginia Kreyer Award to its namesake. This new award honors persons who have been "true pioneers," providing leadership inside and outside the church and furthering the day when persons with disabilities will be full partners and contributors within church and society. With the awarding of the Kreyer Award, a defining moment in the life of the UCCDM, the foundation-laying and disabilities-ministries-building by our foremother and prophet, Virginia Kreyer, is recognized. The Rev. Thomas E. Dipko, retired former Executive Vice-President, United Church Board for Homeland Ministries, introduced her with the following words: "Virginia, beloved sister in Christ: Decades before contemporary authors reminded us that the God we worship came among us in the broken body of Jesus Christ, you were a "pioneering, prophetic, persevering" witness to the disabled God in whose image and likeness we are all made. "Your ordination to Christian Ministry almost fifty years ago challenged the prevailing attitude of church and society that for so long rendered persons with disabilities invisible . . . you taught us anew the wisdom of St. Paul's words to the Corinthians, 'If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.' And lest any of us yield to the base temptations of pride and paternalism, you said to us with transparent eloquence, 'There is a ministry of the disabled to church and humanity. Our presence is a reminder that Christ was a suffering servant.' "Virginia, no one who has ever been in the same room with you would ever describe you as invisible! When you set your chin a certain way and look the insensitive in the eyes with your vision of things yet to be, even indifferent hearts melt. Your influence is felt across this land and around the world. From the splendid accessibility of Lincoln Center in Manhattan to the simple barrier free rural church in Iowa to the Amistad Chapel at Church House in Cleveland, your signature of compassion is not only carved in brick and mortar, it throbs in the welcoming heart to which they testify. "A grateful church rejoices in the creation of the Virginia Kreyer Award for Disabilities Ministries. We are pleased and honored that you are its first distinguished recipient. May it remind you all the days that God shall give you that you are loved beyond words by the United Church of Christ." Virginia Kreyer responded, "When I was a teenager, I felt as if I wanted to do work for the church but wondered how God could use a person with poor speech and a disability. When I arrived at Union Theological Seminary, I asked a very dear minister friend, as follows: 'Do you really feel that there is a place of service for me within the church?' Very slowly he said, 'I really do not know'." "The next few weeks were very difficult for me. I spent much time in prayer, and then one morning at chapel, I felt God place his hand upon my shoulder and say, 'I have called YOU, and I will use YOU. You are not going to question this calling again'...Then in 1971 I became a member of this denomination. You put me to work, and I thank you. I thank the entire denomination and above all I thank God for calling me and using me and for allowing me to be a servant of the Lord. Thank you." From UCC DM Newsletter Archive

The Disabilities Ministries Awards Luncheon provided the occasion to honor leaders in disabilities ministries, Van Brandt, Janet Fadley, and Robert DeBlois. Van Brandt of Worthington, OH was honored along with a rich network of family and wider church that recognizes his gifts, a network comprising the Ohio Conference, Southeast Association, Dublin Community UCC, the former United Church Boards for Homeland Ministries (UCBHM) and World Ministries (UCBWM), and parents Bill and Laura and family. Born with Down syndrome, Van Brandt served in 1981-82 as a volunteer missionary for the former UCBWM in Japan and the Philippines. He was an example to Philippine families with Down syndrome children who spoke publicly of their needs for the first time. In Japan Van challenged perspectives and raised understanding of human dignity for the Japanese, many of whom had believed persons, like Van, had no value. Van served on the Building and Grounds Committee of Dublin Community Church and attended Ohio Conference Lay Ministry training weekends, especially weekends centered on ministries of persons with disabilities. Van has volunteered at General Synods. Van, with his distinctive contributions, was recognized as a true disciple among us. The Ohio Conference is a true witness among us for being a catalyst, recognizing Van's gifts and calling them into service within the UCC. Van read a very meaningful poem at the luncheon that he had written. Honoree Janet Fadley who is a member of North Congregational Church UCC, Columbus, OH, was introduced with these words by Jeanne Tyler (NE), UCCDM Co-Chair: "You, Jan, are a woman of great courage and great persistence who has created a present different from her past. Hope is an awesome gift because we cannot really plan; we can only go on faith. Nevertheless, hope opens up the future to life." Despite severe financial limitations, a profound hearing loss, times of depression, and the impact of an abusive marriage, Jan Fadley summoned the courage to move to a new community and worked her way out of poverty. She has obtained an undergraduate degree and is now working toward a Master's degree in community services. She works at the North Central Mental Health Services as a caseworker. From experience and study, Jan understands the ingredients for a mentally healthy life. Jan's pastor nominated her for her contributions as a VISTA worker with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill as the Coordinator of Project Religious Outreach. Jan responded, "It is the little things that give us that hope to hang on, little things like a dog and a hearing aid. I aim to focus on people's abilities not what they or others think they cannot do." Acting both as a mentor and as mental health case worker, Jan said, "It is the being that I am that seems to be the most help to other people in their own living. What you see and what you do is bigger than the words you say." Honored in absentia was Robert DeBlois, an active member of the Seekonk Congregational Church of Seekonk, Massachusetts, part of the Rhode Island Conference. Robert is founder and director/principal of the Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program (UCAP), an alternative school for at-risk youth in the Providence area. Because of the high success rate of UCAP students, Robert has been named outstanding principal of the year for Rhode Island. During college, Robert sustained a spinal chord injury. Robert is mobile by wheelchair but is unable to use his legs and arms. Outspoken advocate for inclusivity issues at the Seekonk Congregational Church (MA) and gifted educator, Rob sent this response that was read at the luncheon: "Like many in this room, my physical condition has helped me realize that a handicap does not need to be a barrier to happiness. Likewise, having a handicap does not mean that one cannot contribute to the well being and happiness of others. All of us need the help of others. I have been able to play a small role in helping others. As a result, my disability is not a tragedy or a definition of who I am. It's mainly just an inconvenience." The three Awards Luncheon honorees were affirmed in these words from Rita Fiero (CT), UCCDM Co-Chair: "When we read the stories of award nominees, we see how far we have come, how much has been done, and how many are out there doing the Lord's work in disabilities ministries. That tells us why we still do it and why we invite the church to enjoy our gifts and celebrate our gifts as we celebrate theirs." From DM Newsletter Archive

The following congregations were honored for their service and leadership on behalf of those experiencing a mental illness: First Church Congregational, Fairfield, Connecticut; Shepherd of the Hills, Congregational, Phoenix Arizona; First Congregational Church, Downers Grove, Illinois; University Congregational Church, Seattle, Washington.

A Special Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Jennifer Shifrin, "in recognition of her service to those experiencing mental illness, to their loved ones, and to their faith communities." Ms Shifrin recently retired as the executive director of Pathways to Promise - Ministry and Mental Illness. With her leadership, Pathways, founded in 1987, has provided outstanding educational resources for local churches and national bodies.

The Rev Russell C. Schmidt, Mr. John Selmar and Dr. Harold H. Wilke received awards from the United Church of Christ.

The following three awards were presented at the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries Banquet Program on July 4, 1999 at General Synod 22:

1. To a Person With a Disability Who Has Made An Outstanding Contribution to Church and Society: The Rev. Russell C. Schmidt, Grand Rapids, Michigan The Reverend Russell C. Schmidt has been a true pioneer in the church and in society on behalf of persons with disabilities. While serving as Minister of Education at First Congregational Church, Benton Harbor, Michigan, he helped the church and the community become more accessible by lovingly pointing out the obstacles he and others faced. Schmidt returned to Benton Harbor in 1993 to participate in First Congregational's celebration of full accessibility, preaching a sermon entitled, "The Time of Celebration is at Hand." In 1964, Schmidt wrote an article for The United Church Herald using the imagery for people of limited mobility of being stranded on a small island with no access to the mainland. Following his pastoral work, Schmidt served the Michigan Department of Rehabilitation. 2. To A Person Without a Disability Who Has Made An Outstanding Contribution To Church And Society: Mr. John Selmar, Seattle, Washington With warmth and genuine caring, John Selmar, a master clinician, has served as a speech pathologist and writer who gently has touched the lives of many people with disabilities and their families. His professional life is not so much a career as it is a montage of healing stories -- a young child with a speech deficit who leads a school production; former patients who become speech pathologists; a basketball player who moves beyond cultural speech barriers to become a bank vice-president; a doctor who stutters becomes a university lecturer. But, John has not only been a healer. He tirelessly extended himself in the public arena -serving on university training boards, supervising interns, and serving on and consulting with a multitude of committees. John Selmar has been and is an agent of healing and change, freeing others to speak and lead whatever their abilities. 3. A Special Award of Service to God: Rev. Dr. Harold H. Wilke, Claremont, California The National Committee on Persons with Disabilities bestows upon Harold Wilke a Special Award of Lifetime Service to God. Not only within the United Church of Christ, but, people within the whole United States remember Wilke looking over the shoulder of President Bush and then handing him a pen with his foot as Bush signed the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. Wilke was present on stage in 1995 when General Synod XX passed the resolution calling upon the whole church to be morally bound by the ADA. Harold has touched the lives of so many people --- writing extensively, speaking tirelessly, pastoring always --- awakening many to the gifts and talents of people with disabilities. At the age of 14, as he knelt during his confirmation, his pastor spoke these prophetic words, "Let this child go to theological seminary and become a minister of the church." This minister with no arms is revered throughout the UCC and has taught us all the true meaning of trusting the embracing arms of God. Looking ahead to General Synod 23, 2001, the UCC Disabilities Ministries will establish the Virginia Kreyer Award. The Rev. Virginia Kreyer, Garden City, NY, established the UCC Disabilities Ministries, beginning in the 1970's, and served as its first consultant until 1995. Her pioneering efforts will be recognized at the next General Synod. UCCDM will establish an award in her name to be offered to persons who have been true pioneers in the disability ministries. Kreyer will be its first recipient.

From UCC DM Newsletter Archive