|
Speaker Snapshots
|
|
Derrick Dufresne – Senior Partner,
Community Resource Alliance;
CEO, Institute on Public Policy for
People with Disabilities, St. Louis,
MO. Visit craconferences.com and
instituteonline.org. Based upon the
premise that all people are entitled
to a meaningful life, Derrick’s
workshop, From Client to Citizen,
answers important questions...
What strategies can providers use
to help individuals with developmental disabilities build
opportunities and competencies to be full members of
the community? What role can the faith community play?
This workshop will explore a radical understanding of
self-determination and person-centered support.
|
|
Friendship Ministries – Its mission is “to share God’s
love with people who have cognitive impairments
and to enable them to become an active part of
God’s family.” Friendship Ministries has helped
churches/parishes from various denominations for
more than 25 years. Visit friendship.org. At this workshop
you’ll learn about Bible study materials and how to start
a program that includes Friendship Ministries’ mentoring.
This program trains friends for worship through teaching
about prayer, singing, and more. They will also bring
their resource exhibit. |
|
Mark Garis, Ed.D. – Mark Garis is a retired
superintendent and former principal in the Souderton
Area School District. His volunteer work has included
board leadership at Indian Creek Foundation, Penn
Foundation, Messiah College, Philadelphia Mennonite
High School, and Brethren in Christ Denominational
Government. Mark was diagnosed with a brain tumor
from which he has recovered. In his workshop, When Life
Takes an Unexpected Turn, Mark shares lessons learned
from his personal experience of a devastating diagnosis,
treatment, and recovery. |
|
Bill Gaventa, M.Div. – Associate
Professor and Director, The Elizabeth
M. Boggs Center on Developmental
Disabilities, UMDNJ-Robert Wood
Johnson Medical School; Co-editor
of the Journal of Religion, Disability,
and Health; Columnist for Insight, the
national newsletter for the ArcUSA.
Visit rwjms.umdnj.edu/boggscenter/.
Bill’s workshop, Rekindling the Spirit
of Direct Care, recognizes that in
the everyday world of individuals with disabilities we
are often overwhelmed by the day-to-day and
immediate needs of the individual. This workshop
will focus on cultivating a deeper spiritual relationship
between caregiver and individual and will describe
ways to enhance that relationship. |
|
Marilyn Hair and Sarah Steele – Respectively, wife
and daughter of Richard Steele. In the Sarah Goes to
College workshop (via remote connection), Marilyn and
Sarah share the story of bringing to fruition Sarah’s dream
of college attendance – how they overcame frustrations
and obstacles, with tips for helping your family member
achieve his or her dreams. |
|
Elizabeth Howes, M.Ed. – Program Director, Peaceful
Living. In her workshop, Finding a Place in a Congregation,
Elizabeth explains an interactive model (discrepancy
analysis) for fostering inclusion in youth groups and other
congregational activities. She also shares tools and
resources for inclusive activities. |
|
Marilyn Kriebel – Married, 3 sons, board member of
Souderton Mennonite Homes; confined to a wheelchair
as a result of a spinal cord injury from a bicycle accident;
life-long member of Grace Mennonite Church; often
seen volunteering at Souderton Mennonite Homes,
3-4 afternoons a week. Marilyn’s workshop, What to
Say to a Person in a Wheelchair, will help well meaning
individuals feel more comfortable interacting with people
in wheelchairs rather than avoiding the situation because
they don’t know the “right” thing to do or say. |
|
|
Paul Leichty – Parent, former pastor, and founder/
director of Anabaptist Disabilities Network (www.
adnetonline.org). Through Paul’s workshop, Healing
Community in an Over-stimulated World, participants
will learn about the dilemma of over-stimulation for
society as a whole and, especially, for those with
social and communication challenges. You will identify
ways to reduce over-stimulation in work, home, and
congregational settings and to respond compassionately
to persons for whom this is a challenge. |
|
MARC – Serves more than 900 children in the Early
Intervention program per year and 2,400 families who
need advocacy services for a family member with a
disability; membership of 1,500. The Arc works to better
the lives of people with mental retardation and other
developmental needs. Visit marcpa.org. MARC’s workshop,
Where to Turn When a Child with a Disability Is Born, will share
tips, tools, and resources for the family or congregation that
is new to the world of developmental disabilities. |
|
Paul and Kim Miller – Founder/director of See Jesus;
Paul, his wife Jill, and his daughter Kim are members at
Line Lexington Mennonite Church. Visit www.seejesus.net.
Kim communicates through selecting icons and letters on
a keyboard that are verbalized by an electronic voice
(known as an Augmentative Communication Device or
ACD). Paul and Kim’s workshop, Loving Kim: Watching
Our Designer God at Work, will demonstrate how the
act of loving draws us closer into union with Christ. |
|
Hans Reinders, Ph.D. - Willem van der Bergh Professor
of Ethics and Mental Disability at the Vrije Universiteit in
Amsterdam; internationally known author and presenter
and parent of child with a disability. Author of Receiving
the Gift of Friendship: Profound Disability, Theological
Anthropology and Ethics. Eerdmans Publishing. (February,
2008). Hans’ seminars, Problems of Caring in an Over-
Corporatized, Consumerized Service System and Ethics
on the Workfloor, will focus on ethical issues faced by
people in disability services. |
|
Rejoicing Spirits – A groundbreaking, successful ministry
which reaches out to enrich the spiritual lives of individuals
with developmental disabilities, their families, friends, and
other supportive community members. This is done through
an inclusive, adapted worship and fellowship time which
delivers God’s message of love. You’ll learn how this model
might be applied to your congregation. To learn more
about Rejoicing Spirits, visit rejoicingspirits.org. |
|
Barbara Shisler – Recognized poet, writer, and author of
Blessed Is the Meadow; retired Mennonite pastor, Perkasie,
PA; founder of the first Mennonite Faith and Light group in
the US. Barbara’s workshop, Blessed Is the Meadow, will
focus on Beatitude stories of the spiritual lives of people with
disabilities. Listen to individuals share their personal stories. |
|
Richard Steele, Ph.D. – Seattle
Pacific University, Professor of Moral
and Historical Theology and father
of a daughter with a disability; author
of (among numerous books and
articles) a book chapter, Five Things
I’d Like a Youth Minister to Know about
Disabilities. The workshop, For Fathers
Only, will create space for fathers to
openly discuss their feelings and will
offer father-to-father tips and wisdom
on nurturing themselves and their families. |
|
Carl Yusavitz, D.Min. – Director of Pastoral Services,
Penn Foundation for Mental Health, Sellersville, PA. Penn
Foundation is a behavioral healthcare ministry of the
Franconia Conference of the Mennonite Church USA.
Carl’s workshop, Going beyond the Pastor to the Rest of the
Church, notes that many people with mental illness remark
how much they love their pastor. Explore pastoral strategies
to equip the WHOLE church to include persons with mental
illness in the life of the congregation. |
|
