Almost 16 years ago I left a job that I loved – teaching young children with and without disabilities in an inclusive classroom- and I began the most rewarding and challenging job of my life- being mom to Fritz, Bessie and Catherine. As my life with kids began, my life with the church grew even stronger. One day I started to see a special call, a call to ministry and a call to inclusion. Faith and disability has been at the center of my call to ministry and my doctoral research. I am so proud of the community of inclusion that we have at Central Church. We are delighted that more families are feeling comfortable bringing all kids to Sunday School, VBS and community events. Our inclusion of kids has been steadily growing, and now, we have even more support for this ministry.

I am delighted to introduce Stephanie Giusto. Many of you already know Stephanie. She grew up in our church, has volunteered in our programs for years, she works in our preschool, and now, we are bringing her on as our Behavior Support Assistant. Stephanie will be in all of our Sunday School classrooms to support our teachers and students. If any of our kids is having a hard time, Stephanie has some strategies to help them feel safe, cared for and part of Sunday School classes. We hope that Stephanie can continue with us during her career as a student in Special Education.

If any of you have any special concerns for your kids, or ideas of how to best support their joy, their sense of belonging and their connection to God and this community, I would love to hear them.

 

Yours in Grace,

Pastor Deborah