{"id":27,"date":"2022-05-18T12:44:38","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T18:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/disabilityministries\/?p=27"},"modified":"2022-05-18T12:44:38","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T18:44:38","slug":"north-west-lower-michigan-synod-task-force-for-disability-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/disabilityministries\/north-west-lower-michigan-synod-task-force-for-disability-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"North\/West Lower Michigan Synod Task Force for Disability Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Greetings,<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">My name is Pastor Clay Bates, and I serve as the chair of the North\/West Lower Michigan Synod Task Force for Disability Ministry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">My vision of a synodical task force to promote ministry with people with disabilities began with the conviction that people with disabilities belong in worship and the life of a congregation as full participants, and every person with a disability has a right to access the sacraments, Christian learning, and spiritual guidance.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">My first step was to approach our bishop, Craig Satterlee, with my idea.\u00a0 He embraced it with enthusiasm and suggested that I contact our synod vice-president for instructions as to how to petition our synod council for the formation of a task force.\u00a0 After our synod council gave its approval, Bishop Satterlee and I recruited five people to join us on the task force (Bishop Satterlee and Assistant to the Bishop Rosanne Anderson are also on the task force, which is immensely helpful).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Our first task was to seek training from a non-profit organization based in Wyoming, Michigan called All Belong (allbelong.org).\u00a0 Its Director of Church Services, Victoria White, provided us with the knowledge we needed to get started.\u00a0 Our relationship with All Belong continues, as it will be available to consult with us as to how to be helpful to congregations with specific issues to be addressed, such as autism or dementia.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Next, we composed an entry process for accompanying a congregation with whatever issue with which they might be requesting assistance.\u00a0 We also composed an interview process for meeting with the person with the disability, their caregiver if any, the rostered minister, and anyone in the congregation who would be involved in implementing the plan.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We composed a PowerPoint presentation for introducing the task force and how we could accompany a congregation on their way from welcoming people with disabilities to belonging to the fellowship of the congregation.\u00a0 We also composed a brief video to serve as publicity.\u00a0 We hosted a synod-wide book study on Zoom, also.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We are currently in the process of developing a Disability Day (October 22<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">nd<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">) to which we are inviting members of our synod, neighboring synods, and ecumenical partners.\u00a0 Among the activities will be keynote addresses and workshops.\u00a0 It will be held in Portage, Michigan and you are invited!\u00a0 Registration materials will be forthcoming.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Our first consultation with a congregation is an ongoing process.\u00a0 First, we gave a general introduction to disabilities and the life of the congregation, a description of universal design (being prepared to welcome anyone with a disability) and responsive design (responding to a particular set of needs).\u00a0 We also helped them begin to discern a vision for their ministry and setting goals.\u00a0 Next, we will address responsive design in detail.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I would be delighted to chat with you regarding any questions you might have, and there are a few documents which we created that I could share with you.\u00a0 The best way to contact me is at <\/span><a href=\"mailto:clayhbates@gmail.com\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">clayhbates@gmail.com<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> (don\u2019t forget the \u201ch\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Greetings,\u00a0 My name is Pastor Clay Bates, and I serve as the chair of the North\/West Lower Michigan Synod Task Force for Disability Ministry.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My vision of a synodical task force to promote ministry with people with disabilities began with the conviction that people with disabilities belong in worship and the life of a congregation [&hellip;]<\/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-27","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>North\/West Lower Michigan Synod Task Force for Disability Ministry - Disability Ministries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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