Guest guest Posted January 29, 2001 Report Share Posted January 29, 2001 In a message dated 1/29/01 8:54:53 AM Central Standard Time, okieleah@... writes: << i am on another list and the parents are always complaining about how the churches have the hardest time accepting and accomadating our children..whatever happened to the belief that 'we are all God's children'!!! makes you wonder sometimes about the true sincerity of people... >> I have a positive church experience: Our church, Holy Spirit Catholic Community, is a truly inclusive place. It is a relatively new congregation, only 2 1/2 years, and we have mass in a public school gym while we're raising the funds to build our church. Last year our pastor hired a Special Needs Religious Education Coordinator who has a daughter with special needs, so she understands the " mom " and " educator " side of things. She started a support group for moms that meets once per month, and she's working individually with each family to insure that their children with special needs have whatever they need to be educated in the church. Many kids are included in the regular RE classes with a teenager from the confirmation program serving as their aide (the teens have to do service to be confirmed), while some others are homeschooled, and a few others go to another church in town that has a self-contained RE program for children with special needs. is in a regular RE class, although one year behind her grade in school, with an aide, and will make her first communion this spring. Our pastor has agreed to use regular bread or a cracker because won't eat the host. Our pastor tries so hard to be inclusive of everyone. He encourages us to bring to mass, even though she can be loud and disruptive at times. He even preaches about including kids with special needs in play, birthday parties, etc. and not tolerating unkind remarks like " moron, " " retard, " " gimp, " etc. I had never heard that from the pulpit before! He frequently reminds us in his sermons that we are ALL God's and children and that we ALL have something special to offer the world. He has set the tone and everyone at our church is very supportive of us and . I just love this guy and never want to leave this parish. Aren't there more clergymen like him out there in the world? Just wanted to share a good church story with you all. Thanks for listening, Maureen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2001 Report Share Posted January 29, 2001 At 10:40 AM 1/29/01 EST, you wrote: Aren't there more clergymen like him out there in the >world? Just wanted to share a good church story with you all. Thanks for >listening, There are. But they can be tough to find. I've come to the conclusion (warning this may make some people mad) that many people attend church to feed their own souls rather than to be a congregation or community who interact outside of the church building or sunday morning. This makes it very hard for church leaders to challenge people to rise to a deeper level of commitment and caring for each other--including our children, the elderly, those who are less fortunate, and those who are struggling. It's difficult for many to reach out to others to someone who has *needs* or to a situation that is " messy " ...when what they want is to be filled themselves. Sometimes it is hard for people to realize that in doing so, they will receive much more than they gave. It takes a willing and strong heart. The leadership of the church is so important. I'm seeing our own congregation begin to change..and begin to understand why I can't watch. They are trying to make it so that it doesn't hurt so much to be there...in otherwords, so that I don't have to feel rejection yet one more time or SEE it happening to others. It's nice. I don't trust it yet, but it's very nice. j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2001 Report Share Posted January 30, 2001 In a message dated 1/29/01 10:37:51 AM Central Standard Time, jmedlen@... writes: << I'm seeing our own congregation begin to change..and begin to understand why I can't watch. They are trying to make it so that it doesn't hurt so much to be there...in otherwords, so that I don't have to feel rejection yet one more time or SEE it happening to others. It's nice. I don't trust it yet, but it's very nice. >> Joan, I'm glad for you that at least things are moving in the right direction. Maureen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2001 Report Share Posted January 30, 2001 In a message dated 1/30/01 8:15:38 PM Central Standard Time, brink_00@... writes: << I have noticed that young normal kids like (3 to 6) and speical kids should have a " bag of things " while their in church service, instead of having their parents talk about being quiet. >> Yes, , I agree with you about kids who are too young to really understand church services having a " bag of things " to keep them occupied and hopefully quiet. , my daughter with DS-ASD has one and so does my son , who is a non-disabled child of 6. Very good suggestion! Maureen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2001 Report Share Posted January 30, 2001 Whoever wrote about churches, I have noticed that the special kids arn't treated like they should be in church. I have noticed that young normal kids like (3 to 6) and speical kids should have a " bag of things " while their in church service, instead of having their parents talk about being quiet. Yea I know, not all people treat all people the same when it comes to church activities. Lucky for me, I have friends that support me, so I'm not to worried about church activities that people bother about not treating all the same. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 31, 2001 Report Share Posted January 31, 2001 In a message dated 1/29/01 10:47:19 AM Eastern Standard Time, MRASMUS@... writes: << Our pastor has agreed to use regular bread or a cracker because won't eat the host. Our pastor tries so hard to be inclusive of everyone. He encourages us to bring to mass, even though she can be loud and disruptive at times. He even preaches about including kids with special needs in play, birthday parties, etc. and not tolerating unkind remarks like " moron, " " retard, " " gimp, " etc. I had never heard that from the pulpit before! He frequently reminds us in his sermons that we are ALL God's and children and that we ALL have something special to offer the world. >> Maureen, What a great heartwarming story. I am so pleased to hear about a good church experience. My friend's daughter made her first Holy Communion 2 years ago. CAroline is 12 and has DS, but has autistic tendencies and is placed in the severe range for MR. She was attending a Catholic Special Needs school and they were not very open to her receiving communion. Mom had suggested they put ketchup on the host and then Caroline would eat it. Well Sister Francis acted like she'd just done the most sacriligious act on the planet!!! Made me sick!! Thanks for sharing your upbeat experience with the Catholic church. It gives me hope. Donna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2001 Report Share Posted February 1, 2001 I agree with this too, my 8yr old loves to write etc during church and nathan usually dangles a string, but one thing our church does is when we start the sermon part the kids go to kids church where they get a more on their level of sermon (short,lol) and color or do a craft related to sermon stuff, boys love it! shawna. --- MRASMUS@... wrote: > In a message dated 1/30/01 8:15:38 PM Central > Standard Time, > brink_00@... writes: > > << I have noticed that young normal kids like (3 to > 6) and speical > kids should have a " bag of things " while their in > church service, instead > of having their parents talk about being quiet. > >> > > Yes, , I agree with you about kids who are > too young to really > understand church services having a " bag of things " > to keep them occupied and > hopefully quiet. , my daughter with DS-ASD > has one and so does my son > , who is a non-disabled child of 6. Very good > suggestion! > > Maureen > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 4, 2001 Report Share Posted February 4, 2001 Thanks for y'all to agree with my " bag of things to do " for younger kids, and kids that can't seem to sit still during a church service. I remember that I used to doodle on my paper and draw stuff while I was in church service, but then I don't know what happened, now I'm into listing to church services. From, Oh yea the 12 hours of babysitting of this weekend went great. Now I'm babysatt out, and finally a night to relax, after the past few nights I've been getting home at midnight. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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