October 2017 – Mill Pond Porch

Living without disability | “I see a church with no disabled people – 6”

Originally posted on Mill Pond Porch:
This is the concluding post of a series… If you haven’t been tracking along, I’d encourage you to go back to the start and read them in sequence, since they do build one upon another… It seems pretty clear to me that most, if not all, of us, whatever…

Disability as contextual | ‘I see a church with no disabled people’ – 5

Originally posted on Mill Pond Porch:
It’s been taking me a while to get these posts out here, but they really do string together, and I will complete the series with the next one. The “argument,” such as it is, started with a bit of “deconstruction”: First, Disability is NOT something that is inherent in…

Marginal – Marked off and marked down | “I see a Church with no disabled people” – 4

Originally posted on Mill Pond Porch:
We are convinced that “disability” is not a matter of something being “wrong” with the body and mind of a person we would label as “disabled.” But, all the same, it’s misleading to think that “everybody is disabled” in one way or another. Differences are real – but “disability”…

Who or what “disables” people with disabilities? | “I see a church with no disabled people” Part 3

Originally posted on Mill Pond Porch:
We’ve been taking on a couple of prevalent ideas about disability: first, that it’s a problem that involves certain individuals’ brains and/or bodies and secondly, that “we’re all disabled” in one form or another. Yes, everyone is different. And no one is able to be or do everything they…

“We’re ALL disabled” – NOT! | “I see a church with no disabled people” Part 2

Originally posted on Mill Pond Porch:
We were sharing last time about our conviction that disability is NOT a matter of “something being wrong” with certain people, or certain bodies or brains. There is one other expression that I’ve often heard shared, frequently by very good-hearted people, that I believe needs to be challenged: Namely, it…

Disability is not a matter of bodies or brains | “I see a church with no disabled people” Part 1

Originally posted on Mill Pond Porch:
I have shared, posted about, blogged on and advocated for the proposition that “disability ministry” must not be seen as “optional equipment” on the “vehicle” of the church, but that it is essential to the church BEING (and becoming) the Church. I want to take some time to develop…

The Heart of The Mill Pond: Friends For Life, a Life For Friends

I soon learned something that refreshed me to the core – nothing is off the table for discussion at The Mill; more importantly, no people are off the table when it comes to friendship. To me, their openness reflects the love and peace of Christ. His perfect love truly does drive out fear: fear of others, fear of differences, and even fear of our own weakness.