[Magdalen] Religion Without God?

[Lynn Ronkainen]

a lot of talk about this on the HoB/D list earlier this year, including the 
part about how can a priest/parish discern needs, are there HIPAA issues, 
etc.?, but not too much common sense stuff in the approach - possibly 
because they were talking about it at the TEC level...

Lynn

My email  is changing soon to: houstonKLR at gmail.com


website: www.ichthysdesigns.com

When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I have not a 
single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything You gave me." 
attributed to Erma Bombeck

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From: "Grace Cangialosi" <gracecan at gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2014 10:50 AM
To: <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
Subject: Re: [Magdalen] Religion Without God?

> As you say, Jay, this varies considerably among churches, with some going 
> to great lengths to accommodate folks with special needs and others doing 
> practically nothing. Size doesn't seem to matter, either. Our little 
> church in Stanardsville is working hard right now to figure out how to 
> make the sanctuary accessible. Right now there is a portable ramp they can 
> put over the three stairs between the parish hall and the sanctuary, but 
> it's still too steep for a person to navigate alone, so they're looking at 
> various kinds of lifts.
> OTOH, another congregation at a small church some miles away voted down 
> the proposal for a ramp, even though it would not have been a very long 
> one, and the Sunday after the vote an elderly woman fell out of her wheel 
> chair while someone was trying  to get her into the building.
>
>> On Dec 29, 2014, at 9:40 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> An individual church thing, as usual. Although I don't think TEC has done 
>> a
>> lot,church-wide, for the disabled among us. I'm not talking about ramps 
>> and
>> bathrooms here. I base my observation on my experience as the mother of 
>> an
>> autistic son, and I'm talking more about the disabilities (a word my Sam
>> hates to hear used describing him, since he considers himself able but
>> slightly handicapped) that you can't see at first glance, like autism,
>> hearing impairment, or visual impairment. Although one priest took it 
>> upon
>> himself to make sure that Sam was included in EYC activities, nothing was
>> ever done about his Christian formation. We were told that he was a
>> "disruption" in his Sunday school class at a certain point, so we removed
>> him from that class, and he preferred not to attend Sunday school after
>> that but would sit quietly in the back of the choir room instead with a
>> game or book while we rehearsed. He was not included in confirmation 
>> class
>> and no inquiry was made as to his readiness or interest at any time. I
>> often compared this with the treatment of the children with cerebral 
>> palsy
>> that I cared for in the RCC Chicago archdiocese back in the 1960s. Way 
>> back
>> then, those kids, even the ones who were pretty severely handicapped, had
>> special teachers who in some cases came to their homes for First 
>> Communion
>> and Confirmation instruction. In the RCC diocese of Knoxville, there is a
>> large and thriving deaf community at one of the churches and deaf
>> ministries at most of them. At the ELCA church I attend in the itty-bitty
>> town of New Market, VA, we have a superb sound system (I don't know about
>> assistive hearing devices, though) and large print service books are
>> available for anyone who needs them. I haven't seen a lot of any of this 
>> in
>> Episcopal churches I've attended in recent years, even some of the bigger
>> ones. What *are* we doing?
>>
>>> On Mon, Dec 29, 2014 at 12:20 AM, Allan Carr <allanc25 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> My problem, as ever, is that the assistive hearing at the Episcopal 
>>> Church
>>> works for a while after I complain about it, but then stops working. It
>>> will probably again work for a while after I complain about it, but my 
>>> need
>>> to continually complain is tiresome. It's especially tiresome because 
>>> the
>>> assistive hearing at both ELCA Lutheran Churches always works, as does 
>>> the
>>> assistive hearing at the Unitarian Church.
>>> Many years ago, the Episcopal Church was booming with three services, 
>>> but
>>> it never saw the need to install an area with someone in charge of
>>> lighting, sound, and video projection. These other churches did, and can
>>> project material, as they see fit, on a wall or a screen while they 
>>> control
>>> the sound. They also control assistive hearing systems. Each of their
>>> pastors or ministers have individually promised me that the assistive 
>>> sound
>>> will always be checked to make sure it's working. It's clear to me that
>>> they see assistive hearing as a mission. My view is that the Episcopal
>>> Church sees this as a pain inflicted by somebody they'd like to go away.
>>> Which, once again, I will.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sun, Dec 28, 2014 at 7:35 PM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
>>> oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Insightful comment!
>>>>
>>>> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
>>>> *"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things
>>> better
>>>> for people coming behind you, and you don't do it, you're wasting your
>>> time
>>>> on this Earth."  -- *Roberto Clemente
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Dec 28, 2014 at 12:48 PM, ME Michaud <michaudme at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Living in New England, I know and have known hundreds
>>>>> of Unitarians.
>>>>>
>>>>> And talking about them in this way (on this list in particular)
>>>>> feels like overhearing heterosexuals discussing gay men and lesbians.
>>>>>
>>>>> Ignorance can be enjoyably laughable, I guess.
>>>>> -M
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Allan Carr
>>>