Conference looks to establish not only disability inclusion but welcoming parishes

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator

Among the 60 to 70 participants in a disability inclusion conference held in the Archdiocese of Dubuque were five from the Diocese of Sioux City.

Embracing God’s Vision of Love was held Sept. 24 to offer insight about accompanying families with special needs and forming more welcoming parishes. The keynote speaker was Charleen Katra, executive director of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability. 

Diocesan attendees were Karmen Bower, diocesan director of faith formation; Danielle Fennessy and Maddie McLarty, diocesan faith formation coordinators and DREs Sandra Hildreth of Our Lady of the Plains Parish in Lake City and Sister Lumen Oden, OSB, of Holy Cross Parish in Sioux City.

“My team and I have a desire to expand our knowledge and expertise in regards to serving persons with disabilities,” said Bower, who noted the disability inclusion manager from the archdiocese had extended the invitation to attend the conference. “Since this is not something we are currently offering within our diocese, we opened up our trip to DREs who might also want more formation in this area.”

The conference helped participants not only gain awareness of how they can better respond to the needs of all Catholics but to be mindful not to exclude persons with disabilities from parishes and its sacramental life.

“Oftentimes our parishes do not intentionally exclude people, but we may inadvertently be adding to the challenges that persons with disabilities face when wanting to practice their faith in its fullness,” said Bower. “This conference offered ideas on how to examine our practices and reminded all of us of the rights that persons with disabilities have to be full members of our parishes and to experience the sacramental life of the church.”

It was a good reminder for her to be mindful and self-reflective of personal habits and parish processes to ensure a friendly and welcoming environment for people of all abilities.
The keynote speaker, discussing the importance of helping all people participate in the sacraments, said, “Sacramental celebrations should be a joy for all involved.”

Personal stories
“During the event, we were able to hear from two individuals with disabilities and I was so profoundly moved by their deep formation in the faith it was a beautiful reminder of how precious their witness of Christ is to the church,” Bower said.

McLarty pointed out it was moving to hear from different panelists who either work in this type of ministry or have a child with a disability in how supported they have been by their parishes. This has encouraged a desire in her to seek the same from parishes within the Diocese of Sioux City.

“I think it’s important not just for those in church ministry, but the entire parish community,” she said of the need to be well-versed in the realm of disability inclusion. “All of us, disabled or not, are God’s children who are called to holiness. The more we live this truth, the greater we can accompany the needs of those within our own pews.”

Sister Lumen also found the sharing of personal experiences from different individuals and families to be the most striking.

“It gives me a greater understanding of their lived reality and learning how I can help welcome them in our community,” she said.

Many impacted
As the speaker shared statistics, Fennessy was struck by the numbers. One in six children have a sensory processing disorder, the same for children with developmental disabilities. One in five adults have a mental health disorder. One in 36 have a diagnosis of autism.

“And when a disability is present in a family, there are higher rates of divorce, greater debt and mental health concerns. These show that it affects practically everyone,” said Fennessy. “In her second keynote, Charleen shared that our church should be a home to the wounded and the broken and move from including people to a place where people belong. Welcoming our persons with disabilities, supporting their families, recognizing their needs is just the start.”

Sandra Hildreth, Karmen Bower, Danielle Fennessy, Sister Lumen Odom and Maddie McLarty at conference.Hildreth pointed out that the number of children and families impacted by disabilities is huge, “but when I look around our parish I’m wondering where they are. So, part of my next steps is not just creating a more welcoming space for people in the church next week, it’s also finding out where our church is and discovering ways to invite them back into our parish life.”While there is an innumerable number of creative responses to catechesis and evangelizing in the diocese, Fennessy agreed it was important to be aware of some challenges parishioners are facing and to welcome them “farther in, or back into our communities by helping them break down barriers to live more fully in the faith.”

“The information provided many resources and creative ideas and small tangible actions for people to fully participate in parish life and sacraments,” she said. “For example, catechesis of the Good Shepherd presentations has been used in prayer with individuals with dementia or Alzheimer's and with adults with intellectual disabilities.”

One participant from a neighboring diocese had commented, “A lot of people will say, ‘We can’t do that.’ But it just takes one person to say, ‘Why can’t we?’”

That sentiment resonated with many of the conference-goers.

Through attending the conference, McLarty said the information will benefit their staff as they try to find better ways to serve people with disabilities and their families through sacramental preparation and faith formation programs.

Bower stressed the fact that the diocese has many DREs and catechists with generous and compassionate hearts who seek to do their best in serving all people.

“However, this can be a challenge, especially for more rural parishes, as we want to provide the best quality catechesis but there is not a lot of training currently available regarding teaching adaptations or access to individuals with backgrounds in special education training,” she acknowledged, adding that several parents of children with special needs experience isolation and lack community of other Catholic parents who might face similar experiences.

It is the director of faith formation’s hope that they can develop a better network for families so that all may have access to support, accompaniment and quality catechesis.

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