Jonathan’s ministry embraces children with disabilities
Jennifer Pike reads to her son, Jacob, 4, at St.
Paul United Methodist Church in Searcy, Ark. The Jonathan's Child
ministry assists children with disabilities and provides support and
encouragement to their families. UMNS photos courtesy of
St. Paul United Methodist Church.
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By Martha Taylor*
Oct. 2, 2007 | SEARCY, Ark. (UMNS)
All parents worry about their children, but the parents of children with disabilities face additional worries and challenges.
The adult and children's Sunday school rooms are separated by a one-way
glass partition so parents can check
on their children while attending
their own adult class.
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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."
“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.”–Sue Cranmer
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.
Jacob sits with his aunt, Ashley Pike, during a Bible study with his mother
and friend Sue Cranmer.
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"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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