Jonathan's Child embraces children with disabilities
Oct. 2, 2007
NOTE: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month in the United States. Photos for this story are available at http://umns.umc.org.
By Martha Taylor*
SEARCY, Ark. (UMNS) - All parents worry about their children, but the parents of children with disabilities face additional worries and challenges.
Medications are often given on a rigid schedule, day and night. Families frequently face numerous surgeries and countless appointments to physicians and therapists. Then there's the exhaustion, marital stress and isolation.
When St. Paul United Methodist Church became the church home to six families of children with disabilities, church leaders were determined to make the families' time at church one of renewal, worship and support. Its Jonathan's Child ministry has blossomed into a mission supporting the needs of families with disabled children.
The ministry's name comes from a Scripture in 2 Samuel 4:4 where a father, Jonathan, is killed and his son left disabled from an injury sustained during a fall.
A place to laugh and cry
"The Jonathan's Child program means so much to me," said Sue Cranmer, a parent whose son, J.R., 29, has autism. "It provides me with a place to interact with people who understand me. They are not shocked when I laugh at some of the things my son does and they understand my need to cry."
The ministry meets each Sunday morning during the Sunday school hour. Adult and children's classrooms have been designed so that parents can be in class and still view their children through a one-way glass partition. With the entrance off of the adult room, the children's room is secure and equipped for children with special needs of all ages.
"Jonathan's Child is one of the most exciting ministries to arise at St. Paul United Methodist Church in my experience," said Rev. Tom Letchworth, the church's pastor. "This ministry, inspired by King David's hospitality to the disabled son of his best friend Jonathan, is a way that we as a church can welcome and nurture children who have special needs and their families."
Few can appreciate the "extraordinary sacrifices required of the parents of children with special needs the way another parent in a similar situation can," said Letchworth. "And no one can appreciate the small victories of a special needs child like another. Jonathan's Child allows these parents to get together for mutual support and spiritual growth. I am convinced that our Jonathan's Child class is cause for our Lord to smile."
Family time
The ministry reaches a segment of the community with limited opportunities to participate in family activities. The group plans family gatherings and special events, such as a communitywide fall festival open to any family with a disabled child. This year's festival is scheduled for Oct. 20. Activities will include bowling, a treasure dig, bean bag toss, ring game and races, while the Harding University soccer team will be on hand to teach soccer skills.
"It's very important for families to have activities where everyone can participate," said Dawn Dietz, whose daughter, Rachel, was born with Down's syndrome. "We understand that things are sometimes out of your control and that big kids cry, too. Everyone needs a friend that they have things in common with. Our door is always open and everyone is welcome."
Jennifer Pike and her family were members at St. Paul when her son, Jacob, was born with multiple birth defects. The church cared for them as a family and is providing a place for Jacob "so that I could be comfortable in my own classroom and still be able to monitor him," said Pike.
Cranmer has high praise for the impact of Jonathan's Child. "It means a lot to me to know that when we get people working together in the classroom that other parents will be able to do what I could not when my son was a home," she said. "They can attend church and receive the spiritual support we all need."
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month in the United States, increasing public awareness of the skills and contributions of American employees with disabilities.
For more information about Jonathan's Child, call Jennifer Pike or Dawn Dietz at (501) 268-5159 or e-mail jonathanschild@wildblue.net.
*Taylor is the director of communications for the Arkansas Annual Conference.
News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org
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