Where
Highland Park United Methodist Church3300 Mockingbird Lane
Dallas, TX 75205
Driving Directions
Contact
Julie Chapman - Project Director | Faith Inclusion Network of DallasJewish Family Service of Greater Dallas - Faith Inclusion Network of Dallas
469-206-1657
jchapman@jfsdallas.org
FIND is a collaborative network of faith communities motivated by the fact that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families deserve the opportunity to fully engage socially, emotionally, academically and spiritually -- with every opportunity to serve and be served alongside their fellow congregants. This project is led by Jewish Family Service of Dallas, and is guided by a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) including self-advocates, parents and family members who support those with IDD, experts who provide service, key cooperating agencies, licensing and standards entities, and individuals who have a variety of community contacts including potential funding sources.
Financial support for FIND is provided by the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD), with federal funding made available by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. (TCDD 75% | Jewish Family Service 25%)
"The real gift and power of inclusive congregations, schools and agencies is that people with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities and their families will indeed feel like they belong, not in a particular place apart from others, but in places such as churches [houses of worship] and schools that are the hearts of our communities. They will know that belonging is real, and, we, both in faith communities and public services, will know that we have contributed to helping build that sense of belonging and purpose.” Bill Gaventa, M.Div.
FEATURED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS | FRIDAY, JUNE 20th
Bill Gaventa, M.Div. | Beyond Inclusion: Vision, Leadership and Belonging
Eric W. Carter, Ph.D. | The Other Six Days
This year we welcome back our keynote speakers from the 2013 Symposium so they can direct our attention to the ways in which our enlightened faith communities and congregations can instigate meaningful programs that fully embrace individuals with disabilities and their families. Weaving Inclusion Into Our Faith Communities will speak to the ways in which unmet social, emotional, behavioral, academic and spiritual needs of these individuals can be reversed by thoughtful and deliberate actions taken by the members of our faith-based communities and congregations.
SCHEDULE OF SYMPOSIUM EVENTS
THURSDAY AFTERNOON SMU PERKINS SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY SPECIAL SESSIONS | JUNE 19th | 1:00 - 3:00
(1) Judaism and Disabilities: Even Moses Needed A Voice | Shelly Christensen, MA
(2) Effective Strategies for Teaching Members with Disabilities In a Religious Setting | Katie Edna Steed
(3) Inclusive Youth and Young Adult Ministries | Benjamin conner
FRIDAY SYMPOSIUM HIGHLAND PARK UMC | JUNE 20th | 8:00 - 3:30
8:00 a.m. Registration Opens - Breakfast Buffet | HPUMC Great Hall
The Art of Disability - Exhibition Open until 3:30 p.m.
8:50 a.m. Welcome and Introductions - HPUMC Great Hall
9:00 a.m. Keynote Speaker, Bill Gaventa, M.Div. | Beyond Inclusion: Vision, Leadership and Belonging
10:00 a.m. Keynote Speaker, Erik W. Carter, Ph.D. | The Other Six Days
10:45 a.m. The Art of Disability Exhibition | Meet the Artists
11:30 a.m. Workshop: Where We Are Today
Facilitated by Nagla Moussa, President, National Autism Association of North Texas
12:30 p.m. Table Topics Luncheon
1:30 p.m. BREAKOUT SESSION #1 - Creating a Well-Woven Faith Community for Adults (2 hours)
Liz Giordano, CEO, Head Injury Association (New York) | JoBeth Collier, Executive Director, Mosaic - Dallas | Penny Seay, Ph.D., Texas Center for Disability Studies
1:30 p.m. The Voice of (Dis)ability – Featuring Alison Schuback - Life & Faith with a Traumatic Brain Injury
2:15 p.m. BREAKOUT SESSIONS (These sessions end at 3:30 p.m.)
Session #2 – Weaving Valuable Supports into the Parenting Experience
Rev. Dr. Lorna Bradley, Fellow, Hope and Healing Center | Rhoni Golden, Board President, Autism Service Dogs of America
Session #3 – The Role of Clergy as Weavers
Bill Gaventa, M.Div., Symposium Keynote Speaker | Witek Nowosiad, Chaplain, Children's Medical Center at Legacy
Session #4 – Weaving Children with Disabilities into the Hearts of Congregations
Shelly Christensen, MA, Author: Jewish Community Guide to Inclusion of People with Disabilities Highland Park UMC Special Needs Ministry Team | Melissa Waldon, Co-Coordinator of Disabilities and Catechesis, Catholic Diocese of Dallas
3:30 p.m. Breakout Session End | Art Exhibition Closes
Symposium Survey Session (Optional) Open until 4:00 p.m.
2014-2015 FIND PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Clay Boatright | Presidential Appointee to the United States Presidential Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, Bertina Combes, Ph.D. | Associate Professor - College of Education at University of North Texas (Denton), Fern Gimenez | IDD Director - LifePath Systems (MHMR), Rev. Tom Hudspeth | Executive Pastor - Lovers Lane United Methodist Church, Hind Jarrah, Ph.D. | Executive Director - Texas Muslim Women’s Foundation, Mary Klentzman | Executive Director - Cornerstone Ranch, Eileen Kreisler | Lomdim Coordinator - Temple Emanu-El Dallas, Nagla Moussa | President - National Autism Association of North Texas, Witek Nowosiad, M.Div. | Manager of Pastoral Care Department and Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor - Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, Alison Schuback | Self-Advocate – Inventor of the Invisibib and 2008 Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year, Melissa Waldon | Co-coordinator of Disabilities and Catechesis to Persons with Special Needs -Catholic Diocese of Dallas