[Faith-talk] Ministry

Wed Mar 30 05:13:21 UTC 2011

I really liked this article.  I even experienced this as a teenager in
a new church, although it was much harder because you know how teen
girls are...  Anyway...  Did you see "The vision impaired ministry"?
I was like whaaaaaaaat?  Gave me a good laugh for a little bit.

On 3/30/11, Amy Ragain <belovedconsecrated2god at gmail.com> wrote:
> thanks for posting this! I've always liked this story and its good to hear
> it every once in a while...especially when I'm looking for a job in a church
> and its so hard to get them to understand what i can do!!!
>
>
>
> On Mar 29, 2011, at 10:42 PM, Nikki wrote:
>
>> How's this...
>>
>> THE BLIND CHURCH MEMBER: WHAT CONVERSATION IS UNLIKELY TO REVEAL
>> by Harvey Lauer
>>> From the Editor: Harvey Lauer has been a reader of the Braille Monitor
>>> for
>> many years. He was one of the pioneer researchers in methods of enabling
>> blind people to read print. He works as a researcher and computer
>> instructor at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital at Hines,
>> Illinois. The following
>> article recently came into our hands. It captures the experience that many
>> blind church members have had and demonstrates the most effective way of
>> educating, reassuring, and witnessing to congregations filled with
>> ordinary people who fear blindness and are uncertain how to behave with
>> blind people. Here is what he has to say:
>> Note: The author gratefully acknowledges the Vision Impaired Ministry
>> Committee of the Northern Illinois District of the Lutheran
>> Church-Missouri Synod, which first commissioned this article and endorses
>> its distribution.
>>
>> "We can't ask them to help. What could they do? They are blind!" As new
>> members of our congregation, Bethlehem in Broadview, Illinois, that's
>> almost the first remark my wife and I overheard. It didn't surprise me
>> because I had met professors who wouldn't let me take their courses and
>> some who wanted to give me a good grade just because I was blind. By the
>> time we moved to Broadview, I was employed as a rehabilitation teacher and
>> had to deal regularly with stereotyped notions about disability.
>>
>> My wife, Lueth, had just come from a rural community in which blindness
>> was poorly understood by her family and friends. They meant well but
>> perceived her as dependent, even as an adult. She came to the city with
>> hopes of being accepted as a contributing member of society. Because of
>> her shyness she reacted by feeling ill at ease and withdrawing. She hoped
>> that we could find a friendlier church, but I saw the problem differently.
>> I knew that only time and acquaintance would reveal whether such remarks
>> were based on clannishness, ignorance, or pity.
>>
>> People were friendly, but that didn't help much. They told her how amazing
>> it was that she read and wrote Braille, something she had learned in
>> school and which she felt should not be considered unusual. As a result,
>> she felt self-conscious and would not read aloud in public.
>>
>> At church gatherings we both sat a lot and must have appeared rather
>> helpless. People may have wondered how we did our housework. We kept a
>> reasonably good house, but there were two big obstacles to functioning in
>> church. The first was unfamiliarity with the territory. At home we knew
>> where to find things. At church almost nothing was ever in the same place
>> twice. At home awkward behavior could be laughed off; in public the
>> appearance of awkwardness brings not only needed assistance but sometimes
>> too much help and expressions of pity that are hard to take.
>>
>> Talk was futile. There were two barriers. It was hard for Lueth to try new
>> things, and some people were reluctant to give her a chance. Some wanted
>> to help but didn't know how to begin. While she couldn't wait on tables
>> efficiently, she could have helped in the kitchen if she had known where
>> things were kept.
>> She couldn't watch children on the playground, but she could have helped
>> in the nursery if people had believed in her ability. She couldn't make
>> posters, but she had developed the ability to write and dramatize stories.
>> Yet she needed encouragement and acceptance. My own road to acceptance and
>> involvement was just as rocky.
>>
>> Over the course of several years, and with the help of prayer and good
>> friends, our strategy took shape. We volunteered to organize the coffee
>> hours. Then we "forgot" to find someone to go in early to make coffee and
>> prepare for the activity, so the job fell to us. We went a half hour early
>> in order to familiarize
>> ourselves with the kitchen and find everything we needed. The members who
>> came later with coffee cakes were surprised to find us there and more
>> surprised to find the place set up for business.
>>
>> In calling people for the next coffee hour, we found that it's easy to get
>> people to bring things, but harder to find someone who will go early and
>> set everything up. Lueth said, "Why don't we do it again?" So we did it
>> again and many more times after that. Each time different people who were
>> taking their turns would come in and find us working.
>>
>> Good working relationships were formed. Lueth began to help with other
>> activities. People found out what she could do efficiently and gave her
>> those tasks. The years went by. We had birthday parties for our children
>> and invited members' children. We joined neighborhood Bible study groups,
>> where Lueth gradually gained the confidence to read passages and
>> contribute to the discussion. She volunteered to be a friendly visitor in
>> convalescent homes, where she could talk with people individually, then
>> later read stories to groups, and finally lead a Bible class. Now she is
>> on the evangelism team and an officer on the church council. In many of
>> these activities the Braille and recorded materials transcribed by several
>> groups and organizations were of great help.
>>
>> Before I relate the final incident, I must tell you that so far there is
>> nothing unusual about this story. In fact, it is typical for blind church
>> members and blind people generally to be underinvolved. Why is this so?
>>
>> One set of reasons stems from ignorance. Most people think blindness is a
>> lot more limiting than it needs to be. People think that, because they use
>> their vision for a given task, it must be necessary to do so, so they
>> conclude that those who function well without sight must be either
>> courageous or geniuses. The fact is that it takes different skills and
>> tools to function without sight. Training is important, and certain
>> activities like independent travel are more difficult, so fewer blind
>> people do them well. Even the parents of blind children seldom learn all
>> that can be done to maximize the ability of a blind person. Less is
>> expected of us, so we often react by expecting less of ourselves. Blind
>> beggars and geniuses are the most common stereotypes. Articles and
>> pamphlets which discuss resources for information and assistance are
>> available.
>>
>> What Christians call sin accounts for another set of reasons. The thought
>> of blindness strikes fear, wounds pride, engenders hostility, and
>> therefore causes guilt. It strikes fear in those who have not learned to
>> rest secure in the strength of the Lord. It wounds pride in those who have
>> not fully opened
>> themselves to the humility of Christ. It engenders loathing in the souls
>> who cannot feel God's loving presence. Guilt is felt by those who can't
>> face their human nature and accept God's forgiveness. No matter what they
>> are taught about blindness and no matter how many blind people they know,
>> those who are steeped in fear, pride, resentment, or guilt find it almost
>> impossible to relate to a blind person as an equal. They must think of
>> themselves as superior. When such people sustain a loss of vision
>> themselves, they have great difficulty adjusting to it.
>>
>> Vision loss, especially sudden loss, is a blow to anyone. But after the
>> shock wears off, some of us perceive blindness as a stumbling block. We
>> exaggerate the areas of physical dependence, allowing our pride to let us
>> forget about the interdependence of all life. We hate even more the
>> demeaning attitudes which depict all blind people as helpless. We often
>> refuse needed help because we mistake kindness for pity.
>>
>> But others among us see blindness as a stepping stone. We can enjoy most
>> of the world's good things, and unfortunately the bad ones as well. We
>> have the chance to inform where knowledge can be accepted and to forgive
>> where prejudice clouds minds. Our disability can be used as a vehicle for
>> overcoming pride. We can learn to discern between pity and kindness. Pity
>> comes from guilt and the desire to feel superior. Kindness is motivated by
>> love and the wish to do for others what one would like to have done for
>> oneself in the same circumstances.
>>
>> Now let me tell you the rest of the story, which is not typical, but not
>> unusual either. We learned about it twenty years after it happened. Some
>> people in town told a group of church members that we should be
>> investigated because we were blind and probably couldn't take proper care
>> of our children. Nothing was
>> done about the suggestion because the members assured them that blindness
>> was no reason for such a concern. They said that our children were at
>> least as well cared for as theirs. It turned out that ours is not only a
>> friendly church, but an observant and loving one as well.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message----- From: Denise Valkema
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 10:05 PM
>> To: Faith-talk, for the discussion of faith and religion
>> Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] Ministry
>>
>> Can the article be pasted in email so all can learn fr
>>
>>
>>
>> -- Sent from Denise's Palm Pre
>> Om it?On Mar 29, 2011 10:42 PM, Nikki <daizies304 at comcast.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>   Alan, I hope you don't mind, but I shared that article with my friend at
>>
>> church. She told me she shared it with the Pastors and they might share it
>>
>> with the congregation. They will decide next week.
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Alan Wheeler
>>
>> Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 8:54 PM
>>
>> To: 'Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion'
>>
>> Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] Ministry
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Like I said, I have a copy of this article. It appeared in the February,
>>
>> 1995 Braille Monitor. I can e-mail you a copy if you wish.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>>
>> From: faith-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:faith-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>
>> On Behalf Of Nikki
>>
>> Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 7:45 PM
>>
>> To: Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion
>>
>> Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] Ministry
>>
>>
>>
>>   Alan, where do I get that article?
>>
>>
>>
>> Um, I've been slowly getting to know people. Not to get too personal,
>> after
>>
>> being seperated, I decided to check out a church and I liked it. My first
>>
>> time was emotional, but I got through it. I was approached by a woman that
>>
>> invited me to her home for lunch after church. We talked and I explained
>>
>> some confusion I was having spiritually. Then one Sunday, a woman gave her
>>
>> testimony and something she said drew me to meet her. I soon found myself
>> in
>>
>> her small group of divorced parents. I was looking to make friends with
>>
>> different people. Later, she had announced an engagement. I was very happy
>>
>> for her. We had a change in Pastors and during that time, I stopped
>>
>> attending church. IDK why. January of this year is when I started going
>> more
>>
>> steadily. getting more acquainted with the Pastors, getting introduced to
>>
>> more people, attempted a Bible Study, but couldn't follow along.
>>
>>
>>
>> I have the music pastor send me the words to the songs that'll be sung in
>> a
>>
>> week's advance.
>>
>>
>>
>> IDK what I can do. I guess hearing other's testimonies about going to
>>
>> another country and helping medically or feeding the poor, supplying
>>
>> blankets, pillows, etc just drives me nuts. I wish I knew what my gifts
>> are
>>
>>
>>
>> I write poetry if anyone is interested in reading...
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>>
>> From: Linda Mentink
>>
>> Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 6:47 PM
>>
>> To: Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion
>>
>> Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] Ministry
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi Nicki,
>>
>>
>>
>> You might start by talking to some of the church members or the pastor's
>>
>> wife. Explain your situation, and that you'd like to be involved. You can
>>
>> learn names and pray for them; that would be a start.
>>
>>
>>
>> Blessings,
>>
>>
>>
>> Linda
>>
>>
>>
>> At 05:52 PM 3/28/2011, you wrote:
>>
>> >             how does a blind individual help, minister, serve others
>>
>> >when  they themselves need help?
>>
>> >_______________________________________________
>>
>> >Faith-talk mailing list
>>
>> >Faith-talk at nfbnet.org
>>
>> >http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/faith-talk_nfbnet.org
>>
>> >To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>
>> >Faith-talk:
>>
>> >http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/faith-talk_nfbnet.org/mentink%40f
>>
>> >rontiernet.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> Faith-talk mailing list
>>
>> Faith-talk at nfbnet.org
>>
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/faith-talk_nfbnet.org
>>
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>
>> Faith-talk:
>>
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/faith-talk_nfbnet.org/daizies304%40com
>>
>> cast.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> Faith-talk mailing list
>>
>> Faith-talk at nfbnet.org
>>
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/faith-talk_nfbnet.org
>>
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>
>> Faith-talk:
>>
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/faith-talk_nfbnet.org/awheeler65%40win
>>
>> dstream.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> Faith-talk mailing list
>>
>> Faith-talk at nfbnet.org
>>
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/faith-talk_nfbnet.org
>>
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>
>> Faith-talk:
>>
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/faith-talk_nfbnet.org/daizies304%40comcast.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> Faith-talk mailing list
>>
>> Faith-talk at nfbnet.org
>>
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/faith-talk_nfbnet.org
>>
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> Faith-talk:
>>
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/faith-talk_nfbnet.org/valkemadenise%40aol.com
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Faith-talk mailing list
>> Faith-talk at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/faith-talk_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> Faith-talk:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/faith-talk_nfbnet.org/daizies304%40comcast.net
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Faith-talk mailing list
>> Faith-talk at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/faith-talk_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> Faith-talk:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/faith-talk_nfbnet.org/belovedconsecrated2god%40gmail.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Faith-talk mailing list
> Faith-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/faith-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Faith-talk:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/faith-talk_nfbnet.org/kaybaycar%40gmail.com
>

-- 
Julie McG
 Lindbergh High School class of 2009, participating member in Opera
Theater's Artist in Training Program, and proud graduate of Guiding
Eyes for the Blind

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life."
John 3:16