The Spectrum of Welcome: Moving from Exclusion to Tolerance to Inclusion to Belonging

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The Spectrum of Welcome: Moving from Exclusion to Tolerance to Inclusion to Belonging

by Amy Julia Becker

Amy shares her insights in regard to this continuum of acceptance from her personal experience of events in the life of her daughter, Penny, who has Down Syndrome.  At the end of the blog post she suggest three other posts she has written in regard to inclusion and belonging.

Amy Julia Becker also has written five books and articles relating to her personal experience with aspects of disability  for Christianity Today, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.  These can be accessed on pages listed at the top of her blog, along with three podcasts as well. Also,  she is available for speaking engagements.

About

From her Professional Bio on her About Page:

Amy Julia Becker is an award-winning writer and speaker on faith, family, disability, and privilege. She is the author of five books, including White Picket Fences: Turning Towards Love in a World Divided by Privilege.

A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Becker lives with her husband Peter and three children, Penny, William, and Marilee in western Connecticut.

Her You Tube Page: Amy Julia Becker

. . . kids about disability and difference

Including Special Needs Children – Fr. Demetrius Nicoloudakis

From Father Demetrius Nicoloudakis, Pastor of St. Matthew’s Orthodox Church in Leesport, PA:

I would just like to put this out there. If your children are not around special needs children at school and have never been taught that not everyone is the same. Then maybe you should take 10 min tonight to explain this to them. Even though they may not be around these children at school, they will encounter them in their lives, as it should be.

In the light of recent events, on the exclusion of a child who has autism from participating in a school trip and a child with Down Syndrome being kicked out of dance class because she couldn’t keep up, I feel the need to share this. There are boys and girls that nobody invites to birthday parties.

There are special kids who want to belong to a team but don’t get selected because it is more important to win than include these children. Children with special needs are not rare or strange, they only want what everyone else wants: to be accepted !! For all the wonderful children out there.

The Church’s Website: St. Matthew’s Orthodox Church

Healing and Community in Orthodox Christianity -Part 1, A Seminar by Fr. Demetrius Nicoloudakis; A Video Series

Parts 2 – 9 can be found here: Healing and Community in Orthodox Christianity, Parts 1 – 9

 

Kathleen Bolduc’s Ministry to Persons with Disabilities

Kathleen Bolduc is a mother of six children, three girls and three boys, the youngest of which is on the autism spectrum. She has written four books on ministry with persons with disability, with a focus on those on the autism spectrum. And while she is not an Orthodox Christian, her devotion to Christ is fervent. She is truly an inspiration for those of us seeking to lovingly relate to persons with disabilities, and is also instructive to that end.

Her website:

http://www.kathleenbolduc.com/wp/disability-inclusion-ministry/

See also: Kathleen Bolduc’s Books

Kathleen Bolduc discusses the inspiration for her book, “The Spiritual Art of Raising Children with Disabilities” on this You Tube Video:

On Mental Health Referrals by Orthodox Clergy

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ON MENTAL HEALTH REFERRALS BY ORTHODOX CLERGY by Archpriest Isaac Skidmore

Father Isaac discusses the dynamics of the relationships between lay people and their spiritual fathers. Lay people tend to idealize their priests, and . . .

Jesus Healing the Sick,

by Gustav Dore.

from Wikipedia

. . . priests, if they accept the extent of this idealization at face value are vulnerable to becoming narcissistic. And, because of their advanced learning and their primary position in their parish, the temptation lurks around the corner to liken themselves to monastic spiritual elders. This unfortunate development in certain Orthodox Christian priests will make it unlikely that they would recognize mental health problem that require expertise that they do not have.

Of course, there may not be accessible Orthodox Christian professionals with such expertise in the area in which the troubled person lives. And so the issue of trust in the guidance of a non-Orthodox or secular professional becomes an issue to spiritual fathers, whether narcissistic or not. Will my parishioner be guided into spiritual harmful practices? Will he lose his Faith?

But some mental health problems simply cannot be adequately addressed from within the local Orthodox Christian community. The Holy Spirit can work outside the Church, as every human being is made in the image of God. And in any case, the Orthodox Christian faith is not the focus of psychological therapy. Those, then, who help the troubled person’s other issues, peripheral to the faith, complement the efforts of the person’s spiritual father.

Fr. Isaac recommends that mental health recommendations be studied and dealt with in Orthodox Christian Seminaries, National Church Administrations, Orthodox Associations and Professional Organizations, Dioceses, and local Parishes, and he gives specific suggestions for each of these.

V. Rev. Isaac Skidmore holds an MDiv from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and a PhD in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria CA. He is an adjunct instructor in the clinical mental health counseling program at Southern Oregon University. He practices as a licensed counselor in Southern Oregon, frequently working with people who are exploring issues of faith, meaning, and identity. He served as rector at Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church (OCA) in Ashland OR during a decade of its growth as a mission parish, where he remains attached as auxiliary priest.