Guest guest Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 One of our NapervilleWorks parents and I attended an initial meeting for her church's new Special Needs Ministry about a month ago. This came about because another couple of parents (who have preschool/early elementary kids) had asked their youth minister to help figure out ways for their little ones to be included in the religious ed experiences. This led to a group of volunteers from the church meeting, and turned out this group included a teacher from Little Friends as well as a therapist from Easter Seals. We encouraged them to think beyond the little ones to older members of their congregation, specifically to my friend's son, , who is in high school, who needs structure and routine but who loves to be busy and helpful. She was referred to the 'usher team' for followup; here's her update on how things are going. Eventually she'd like to look into paid work experiences for him or regular daytime volunteer opps, not just the Sunday services. But this is how it can start. Sharing this in the hopes it gives others the inspiration to approach your faith communities for the first time, or to try again if you tried once and it didn't go well. And if you've already developed this kind of relationship with your faith community, please share your experiences here so that others can learn! Thank you!! Ok, here's the mom's summary of what's transpired so far: " As a matter of fact, I just brought yesterday to church for the first time so he could acclimate in a quiet environment. I took pictures of him doing the tidying up task. The support the church is providing is phenomenal. I actually need to call you to tell you about the wonderful/welcoming support we're receiving. This Sunday will be our first time bringing to church to do the actual job of picking up the bulletins and generally cleaning up after services. The entire usher team is really excited to have him - the usher teams rotate - will be a " permanent " usher so all teams will eventually get to know him. We are also going to try to expand his responsibilities to handing out bulletins in the next service, evidently there should not be too much down time between the last service (tidying up) and the 9:30 a.m. service. The one area we may need your help in the future is identifying potential jobs within the church. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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