{"id":221,"date":"2026-03-23T11:29:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/disabilityministries\/?p=221"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:29:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:29:02","slug":"a-reflection-on-the-extravaganza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/disabilityministries\/a-reflection-on-the-extravaganza\/","title":{"rendered":"A Reflection On The Extravaganza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s post comes from ELCA Disability Ministries advisory team member, Anita Smallin.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I have had the honor of attending the Extravaganza as a participant and as a workshop leader over the course of my career. The E (as it gets called) feels like a family reunion of sorts. Whenever I go to the E, I know I\u2019m in a room of people who understand what life in ministry is like.<\/p>\n

The Disability Ministries team was present at the event in two ways. We had a display table where we were available to have conversations with youth leaders. We heard about the needs of congregations, the frustrations of attitudes and cultures of congregations, and the joys and successes of congregations and ministries back home.<\/p>\n

We also led a workshop: Breaking Down Accessibility: Moving from Inclusion to Belonging. We asked some big questions, including: What does it mean to be not just present, but included? \u201cThat seems to be a primary thing religious communities can do: create spaces where people can learn to care for one another, even if people are quite different, in some respects, from yourself. And it\u2019s not just for people with disabilities\u2026. It\u2019s for all of us; we need to be missed.\u201d (Theologian John Swinton)<\/p>\n

We had conversations around physical environment and inclusive programming. We talked about travel to the youth gathering, service-learning trips, and camps for our friends with disabilities. Lastly, we provided resources for workshop attendees. These resources included physical things to have on hand, everything from accessible crayons and sports balls to articles and helpful guidelines for further research and empowerment.<\/p>\n

The most important things that happened at the Extravaganza were the connections made and conversations had. We met so many leaders around the country who are doing great work. We got to hear the joys and successes, and we heard the frustrations too. We also heard about things that would make ministry easier back home. We as a team take that information and use that as a guide to figure out what resources would be helpful and what we need to develop.<\/p>\n

I always come back from the E feeling revitalized for the important work of disability ministry. I love meeting all our partners in ministry and hearing about the great work that we are all doing.\u00a0\u00a0Thank you for being a part of our cloud of witnesses!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today’s post comes from ELCA Disability Ministries advisory team member, Anita Smallin.\u00a0 I have had the honor of attending the Extravaganza as a participant and as a workshop leader over the course of my career. The E (as it gets called) feels like a family reunion of sorts. Whenever I go to the E, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":285,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Reflection On The Extravaganza - Disability Ministries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/disabilityministries\/a-reflection-on-the-extravaganza\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Reflection On The Extravaganza - Disability Ministries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today’s post comes from ELCA Disability Ministries advisory team member, Anita Smallin.\u00a0 I have had the honor of attending the Extravaganza as a participant and as a workshop leader over the course of my career. 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