IOCC in the Holy Land

The Four Homes of Mercy, in Bethany, near Jerusalem, which was the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, which were profiled in this weblog in October through the eyes of his Eminence Metropolitan Savas Sembillas, who accompanied a good number of Orthodox Christian college students for Real Break: Jerusalem 2010 to the Holy Land and a time of service and interaction at these homes,  came to a time of severe financial shortfall recently.

After 73 years of existence, would they have to close their doors? Where would the residents, who had disabilities which preclude independent functioning, possibly go?

Thank God, the International Orthodox Christian Charities, in partnership with the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, stepped in with a grant, so that the dear people who depend on this ministry may remain in what for them is home,  a place of mercy. Not many institutions are that way, unfortunately, and even in these, bed space is at a premium in this needy land.  

Read the story of one of the residents, Suma, in the following IOCC article: IOCC Assists the Holy Land’s Disabled  

And here is the website of Four Homes of Mercy 

Picture from Embrace the Middle East: The Four Homes of Mercy 

Eleanor clearing the hurdles of life …

Eleanor

… but she needed help to get to the finish line, to become a teacher.

The Orthodox Mission in Sierra Leone is providing a scholarship and an artificial leg so that she can attain her goal.

I’ll let Reverend Themi tell the story of her determination amidst the dangers of wartorn Sierre Leone: 

To access: http://pk4a.com/adeversity-and-hope/

Waterloo Disabled Village

 

Waterloo Village Water Well

The Village is one of the projects of the Orthodox Mission in Sierra Leone, an Australian Orthodox Christian initiative  led Fr. Themi Adamopoulos, located near Freetown, the capital of this west African country. The effort will be sustained and thrive as Orthodox Christians  worldwide lend support. 

Orthodox Christian craft their ministries to persons with disabilities not according to a central model but according to the specific situation and the particularities of the culture.  Waterloo Disabled Village reflects this. 

The ministry involves housing, water, gardens, medical support, and education to the persons with disabilities and their families.

Access their website to learn more: Waterloo Disabled Village

Picture from Picasa Web Albums: Themi Adamopoulo photos

 

 

Bishop Basil blesses the Sheltering Tree

The Sheltering Tree I will be a home for ten persons with intellectual disabilities; each person will have their own apartment, and there will be a common area for community life. The process toward the completion of the home has been very involved; it is a work in process. But the Church in the person of His Grace Bishop Basil has blessed the home-to-be. We are a people of faith, seeing ahead to the day of fulfillment, to the completion of the Sheltering Tree I, the home, and also to a planned educational and vocational center, the ABLE Center. 

The ministry is located in the Omaha, Nebraska metropolitan area.

http://www.antiochian.org/content/bishop-basil-blesses-residence-disabled 

Their website:  http://www.shelteringtreecommunity.org/ 

The planned ABLE Center:  http://www.shelteringtreecommunity.org/#/able-center/ 

Also: His Holiness Patriarch Kirill consecrates the house for disabled children at the Ascension Monastery in Bancheny, Ukraine (Pictures) 

“The Challenge Liturgy and Beyond”

by Marina Katsoulis with Elizabeth Borch 

This two page article from Praxis Magazine, Issue 25, speaks to the various ways  the Challenge Liturgy Ministry Program has grown, as well as the development of the Hellenos House, a group home. 

One can see in this ministry a fulfillment of St. Paul’s vision of the Body of Christ, (1 Corinthians 12) in which all the members, including the weaker, whose gifts St. Paul says are necessary, all have the same care for one another. Persons with disability actively participate in Parish life through this ministry. 

 Praxis Magazine, Special Issue, Clergy-Laity Congress 2010, pp. 3-4

http://issuu.com/orthodoxmarketplace/docs/issuepdf–25-   

You will need to scroll down to page 4 of 28; it is the first article in the online magazine.

If the URL above does not work, try this: [PDF]  COME & SEE  

Oliver De Vinck in the eyes of his brother

Christopher De Vinck, a Roman Catholic devotional writer, shares about his older brother Oliver, who was severely disabled. In addition to the short essay below, De Vinck also wrote a book on his life with his brother. He has written many other books, many of them centering on the discovery of the Divine in simple things. 

Oliver: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/devinck.html 

Concerning Oliver and his brother Christopher: http://www.patersondiocese.org/moreinfo.cfm?Web_ID=1958  

The Book: “The Power of the Powerless: A Brother’s Legacy of Love:”  http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=The+Power+of+the+Powerless:+A+Brother’s+Legacy+of+Love&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=16675782587845216498&sa=X&ei=-NfzTqG2MufX0QHg0vSqAg&ved=0CEMQ8wIwBA  

excerpts from the book: http://grateful-for-life.blogspot.com/2010/05/oliver-de-vinck-powerful-blessing.html  

“The Accessible Church”

by the Very Reverend Father John Matusiak  –Rector of St. Joseph Church, Wheaton, IL; managing editor of the publication “The Orthodox Church;” and secretary of the Orthodox Church of America’s Diocese of the Midwest.> (at the time this article was written)

 The rights of people with handicapping conditions first received the support of federal law with the enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Title V, Section 504, prohibits discrimination against qualified persons with handicapping conditions in federally-assisted programs or activities solely on the basis of disability.During the years immediately following enactment, administrators and advocates learned that non-discrimination is more difficult to practice with the disabled than in cases of racial or sexual discrimination. The reason is that people with disabilities may need different treatment than others for equal access to public life. That realization prompted demonstrations at Health, Education, and Welfare offices across the country and led to the development of the Section 504 regulation in 1977.For the most part, churches have ignored the needs of the disabled, and many church buildings are virtually inaccessible. Steps, pew placement, inaccessible washroom facilities, and insensitivity to the needs of the disabled in general have posed problems for decades. Yet as we consider the means by which the Orthodox Church in America can effectively evangelize, grow, and reach out to everyone — including the disabled — we should consider accessibility one of our top priorities, as every parish can expect that one out of four of its members will be handicapped at some point in life. A major attitudinal barrier to overcome is the idea that people with disabilities are people in need. As Orthodox Christians we should strive to see people as having abilities instead of disabilities, capable of offering leadership and a host of other talents to the Church and community. The parish which truly seeks to evangelize as Christ commanded will welcome all people, as Christ Himself did.

Building Language

 

Let’s consider a few facts.

The disabled persons are not necessarily handicapped. A handicap exists when the disabled person cannot overcome a barrier. Therefore the responsibility for accessibility is in those who create barriers or who should remove such barriers once their presence is recognized.

Buildings send messages in what might be termed “building language.” The message that church buildings need to say is “welcome.” A church building or parish hall with countless steps, inadequate sound systems, or inaccessible facilities surely does not extend a warm invitation to the disabled.

We may fool ourselves that proposed structural changes are planned only for the permanently disabled people. Not so. At any moment many able-bodied parishioners are recovering from illness or are temporarily in casts or on crutches. Further, every parishioner is growing older. These are all conditions which benefit from “barrier-free” access to our church facilities.

One of the purposes of the Church is the maintenance of Christian fellowship. We assume that it is a person’s desire to continue active involvement in worship and in fellowship as long as life will allow. On the other hand, every parish has its list of homebound parishioners who are no longer active. The decision to be homebound is theirs. They perceive that, given their disability, to leave home and enter the church building or hall is too difficult. If every church building could be barrier free, the greater part of the perceived difficulty will have been removed.

Assessing Needs

An Accessibility Audit is one of the easiest ways of discovering architectural barriers, and considering the different ways in which these barriers can be removed is usually quite simple.

Determining costs, procedures, and the time involved in removing physical barriers is more difficult. But with such information in hand, decisions, plans, and implementation take place at whatever pace a particular parish accepts.

Awareness-building might proceed more quickly if able-bodied parishioners used a wheelchair or crutches to tour their parish facilities in order to experience first hand some of the problems faced by disabled persons.

It is also essential to recognize the fact that we are long past that time when the need for accessibility developed. The long list of those now considered shut-in makes that self-evident. We need also to remember that removing existing architectural barriers will not, of itself, return to active parish life those who are comfortably established in their home-bound lifestyle. Those for whom we are becoming barrier free are, primarily, those who are presently active and those becoming active as time goes on, the one out of four who will become disabled at some point in their lives. Our goal should be to extend their time of active participation for as long as possible.

What Is An Accessible Church?

An accessible church is one that has overcome:

The physical or architectural barriers that make it difficult for people with handicaps to enter or to participate fully;

The attitudinal barriers that keep them from feeling welcome. Of the two, the attitudinal barrier is the most difficult to overcome. Once awareness, sensitivity, and understanding are achieved, the removal of physical barriers becomes an easy task.

 Attitudinal barriers might be more easily overcome if we kept the following points in mind:

People with disabilities also have many gifts and talents given to them by God. We are all called to be stewards of our own gifts and to encourage others to share theirs as well.

Disabled people should be included in parish leadership roles. When planning programs, learn firsthand the needs of the whole parish.

Parishioners may have relatives with handicapping conditions who are anticipating or experiencing attitudinal or physical barriers. Listen to their fears or anger and involve them in the process of change.

To assure that people with visual disabilities can fully participate in liturgical services, contact your local society for the blind. For little or no cost they will gladly assist you in producing prayer books and other religious literature in Braille or large-type.

Christianity has a long and unfortunate history of excluding hearing-impaired persons. St. Augustine, an early Christian writer, declared that deaf persons could not be Christians because they could not “hear the Word.” Past mistakes do not justify continued insensitivity. Since it is generally impossible to offer services with sign language interpretations, consider better sound amplification, which can be accomplished by installing a “loop” system in the pews. Your local society for the hearing-impaired will provide information about mechanical means of access.

Non-sighted persons will want to move around parish facilities independently. Ushers or greeters can express their welcome by orienting them immediately to steps, doors, and corridors.

Several modifications may need to be made for equal access by those in wheelchairs. Can they move freely around the church? Are some pews shorter than others thereby allowing persons in wheelchairs to be part of a row rather than an appendage of the worshipping congregation?

When your parish has learned to integrate people with handicapping conditions into its life of service, you may want to explore new opportunities for outreach and evangelization by noting in parish publications, phone directory listings, and advertisements that the church building is accessible to the disabled. It is a proven fact that the disabled will more readily join churches which are accessible.

Because of its history of barring those with disabilities, the Church is challenged to seek out people with handicapping conditions and invite their participation in a common ministry. Elimination of architectural barriers, as vital as it is, is not enough. An on-going ministry to the disabled should be an integral part of every progressive parish.

From the Orthodox Church of America’s online Resource Handbook for Lay Ministries’ Parish Development Page, by Permission

Alana’s personal reflection on Church services and her special needs family

Paschal Pysanky egg by Alana

An Orthodox Christian mother, Alana, shares her feelings and experiences in regard to participation in Church services and her relationships with fellow parishioners in a November 3, 2010 Post, “Sitting on the Front Pew,” in her weblog Morning Coffee. 

While expressing her feelings and fears, she also concludes with what her experiences are helping her learn and practice in regard to some very crucial inner resolves that are basic to Orthodox Christian life. 

As Jesus said, “Cleanse the inside of the cup.” 

To access: http://morningcoffee.blogspot.com/2010/11/sitting-on-front-pew.html

Picture from http://morningcoffee.blogspot.com/2010/03/today-cleaning-house-then-there-was.html#links 

Teaching Blessed Mourning

As Jesus said, “Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (St. Matthew 5)

Most who speak of socialization have in mind the incorporation of children into society’s norms. In the field of service to persons with developmental disability, this is called normalization. 

But Orthodox Christians seek for themselves and their children and those they love socialization into the Kingdom of God and it’s “norms.” Turning from sin, trusting God in the midst of personal loss and grief, and sympathetically sorrowing for the sins and stumblings of those around us are indeed aspects of this Way of Life in Christ. 

We seek socialization “above” (Colossians 3) rather than socialization below- the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

Read the entire article; it’s not long:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/47109.htm

See also a web post which comments on St. Gregory of Nyssa’s explication of St. Matthew 5:4 (“Blessed are they who mourn . . . “):   http://orthodoxwayoflife.blogspot.com/2009/09/3rd-beatitude-blessed-are-those-who.html  

Picture from http://gabrielsmessage.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/blessed-are-they-that-mourn-for-they-shall-be-comforted/ 

A Partnership with the Georgian Orthodox Church

St. Demetre of Georgia

World Vision is not a specifically Orthodox Christian mission, but they are partnering with the Georgian Orthodox Church to address human needs in Georgia. See Page 2 on the following report for a short but informative article on The Almost Lost Generation: Children with Disabilities: http://meero.worldvision.org/docs/49.pdf 

 Also . . .

The World Bank: Qualitative Survey on Disability and Living Standards in Georgia: a 2007 Report http://pdc.ceu.hu/archive/00003102/01/disability_survey.pdf 

On Page 20 of this report, there is a short section describing the Church’s efforts at meeting the needs of people with disabilities. But they do not specify the Orthodox Church, and it is not likely that their study was comprehensive in terms of what the Church is doing.

The following document is a study of how mental health is addressed in the country of Georgia: ISSUES TO CONSIDER IN THE ASSESSMENT AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF MENTAL HEALTHPOLICY, PROGRAMMES & SERVICES (75 pp.)   http://www.mental-neurological-health.net/global_network/downloads/georgia.pdf 

Icon from http://www.executedtoday.com/2008/03/12/1289-demetre-ii-self-sacrificer/