disAbilities Ministry
Brief History
Peg Kolm and Francesca Pellegrino started the DisAbilities Ministry at Blessed Sacrament Parish in 2003. Originally, the ministry focused on the needs of young people with developmental disabilities. Over time, it has evolved to include a wide range of programs and activities. Since 2010, the Ministry has enjoyed the services of two part-time staff people, Emma Voelzke, Special Needs Program Coordinator and Stephanie McGrail, Special Education Liaison with Blessed Sacrament School.
Nature and Purpose
The disAbilities Ministry at Blessed Sacrament Parish exists to welcome people with disabilities, and to help integrate them as fully as possible into parish life. The Ministry primarily addresses the spiritual needs of people with disabilities, while considering their physical and social needs as well.
The disAbilities Ministry at Blessed Sacrament Parish is open to deafness and the full spectrum of disabilities (physical disabilities, developmental disabilities, mental illness, blindness).
The Ministry has its own programs, and works as well with other parish organizations and ministries. Volunteers are always welcome to help with Ministry activities.
Guiding Principles
1. Blessed Sacrament Parish/School is committed to becoming a fully inclusive Catholic community.
2. The disAbilities Ministry at Blessed Sacrament is grounded in faith and in the teachings of the Catholic Church, especially as expressed in the Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on People with Disabilities (1978).
3. While the disAbilities Ministry at Blessed Sacrament serves and is partly guided by people with disabilities and their families, they are not solely responsible for organizing, leading and pursuing it. The Ministry is a work of the whole parish community.
Structure
The disAbilities Ministry includes all parishioners who are interested in the Ministry’s goals and willing to devote time and talent to their fulfillment. There is no term of office.
The Ministry meets quarterly. It has the following principal responsibilities:
- Decide the annual goals, priorities and activities of the Ministry, to be carried out by the Executive Committee;
- Advise the Executive Committee regarding current Ministry activities and their relationship to established goals and priorities; and
- Generate and discuss ideas for new or adjusted Ministry goals, priorities and activities.
The Executive Committee of the disAbilities Ministry is appointed by the Pastor for a three-year term. After soliciting a recommendation from the membership, he appoints one of their number as Chair for a three-year term.
The Executive Committee has seven to ten members, at least three of which are people with disabilities or immediate family members of people with disabilities.
Members of the Executive Committee may choose to educate themselves about a particular type of disability, so as to serve as resource to the Ministry for that disability or as liaison with outside experts and organizations.
The Pastor will fill the vacancy should a member of the Executive Committee miss two consecutive meetings without excuse.
The Executive Committee meets monthly. It has the following principal responsibilities:
- Execute the Ministry’s established goals and priorities through individual and collective action; and
- Supervise the activities of staff.
The Chair of the Executive Committee will:
- Convene and lead all meetings;
- Work with parish clergy and parish staff as necessary between meetings
- With the staff’s assistance, respond to the questions, requests and concerns of parishioners; and
- Report directly to the Pastor.
The Staff of the Ministry will:
- Staff all meetings of the Executive Committee, preparing agendas, minutes, reports, analyses, correspondence and other documentation as required;
- Carry out the priorities of the ministry (see below) in a competent and responsible manner within the constraints of a part-time work week;
- Assist the Chair and members of the Executive Committee as necessary between meetings; and
- Report directly to the Chair.
Relationships
Catholic Organizations
1. Bethlehem House
2. Blessed Sacrament Star of the Sea Sodality
3. Catholic Coalition for Special Education (CCSE): www.ccse-maryland.org
3. Kennedy Institute, Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Washington
4. Department of Special Needs, Archdiocese of Washington
5. Director of Special Education, Archdiocese of Washington
6. Office of Ministry for Persons with Disabilities, Archdiocese of Washington
7. National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD): www.ncpd.org
8. National Catholic Office for the Deaf: www.ncod.org
9. National Apostolate for Inclusion Ministry: www.nafim.org
10. Young Adult STAY Care, St. Thomas the Apostle Parish
Other Organizations
1. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): www.nami.org
2. Potomac Community Resources: www.pcr-inc.org
3. Special Olympics Maryland: www.somd.org
2011-12 Ministry Goals (Priority Order)
- Conduct a needs assessment, identifying individuals and their families within the Blessed Sacrament community that have special needs.
a. Activities
i. intensive private interviews
ii. focus groups
iii. parish survey
iv. assistance with recruitment of students with special needs for BSS
v. assistance with recruitment of students with special needs for SOR
vi. collaboration with Sodality on identifying individuals and families with special needs
- Help ensure that individuals with special needs and their families feel included in parish life. Help link them to existing programs and services in the parish, such as Blessed Sacrament School, the religious education program, and parish governance structures. Help link them as well with programs and services in the wider community that can address their needs.
a. Activities
i. collaboration with Blessed Sacrament School on providing appropriate education for students with special needs
ii. collaboration with the Blessed Sacrament School of Religion on providing appropriate sacramental preparation and catechesis of students with special needs
iii. preparation of “white paper” on accommodations for students with special needs at Blessed Sacrament School and in the Blessed Sacrament School of Religion
iv. collaboration with parish and archdiocesan programs to train people with disabilities as lectors, greeters, singers, altar servers, and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion
v. provision of liturgical accommodations for people with special needs (visual and tactile signing, large-print missalettes, reserved pews for people with mobility impairments, pulpit announcements, sensory boxes, etc.)
vi. references to people with disabilities in homilies when in keeping with the Scriptures of the day
vii. references to people with disabilities in Prayers of the Faithful
viii. annual Ruppert Liturgy
ix. fellowship opportunities for deaf parishioners
x. seasonal prayer services for people with developmental disabilities
xi. teen group for people with developmental disabilities
xii. general (small groups) and emergency (e.g., meals, respite) support for parents of children with disabilities
xiii. workshops for parents of children with developmental disabilities (housing, financial arrangements, programs for siblings, etc.)
xiv. exploration of the possibility of starting a Faith & Light community at Blessed Sacrament
xv. collaboration with the Special Olympics program
xvi. 8th-grade students’ accessibility study of parish buildings and grounds
xvii. creation of a support group for siblings of people with disabilities
xviii. seasonal dances for people with disabilities
xix. assistance as time permits with the annual archdiocesan conference on disabilities
xx. participation in annual archdiocesan White Mass
xxi. dissemination of information on related organizations and activities (NCPD, PCR, BCR, Buddy Walk, etc.)
- Create a welcoming culture at Blessed Sacrament Parish that intentionally includes people with disabilities. Design and pursue an information/ education campaign centered on the Body of Christ that seeks to overcome the stigma and unconscious fear associated with disabilities.
a. Activities
i. disabilities awareness training for parish staff and volunteers
ii. disabilities awareness training for school faculty and staff
iii. “town hall” meeting to present the DisAbilities Ministry to the parish
iv. regular sponsorship of after-Mass fellowship
v. distribution of DisAbilities Ministry brochure
vi. media outreach: parish bulletin and website, newspaper, Facebook
vii. collaboration with Sodality on creating greater visibility for the Ministry
viii. engagement if possible of a mission speaker knowledgeable about including people with disabilities in parish life
ix. exploration of the possibility of forming an ecumenical initiative among the churches on Chevy Chase Circle to serve the needs of persons with disabilities
Executive Committee and Staff
David Byers, Chair (301-681-7014; )
Doreen Engel
Meredith Ficca
Andrew Fois
Margaret (Peg) Kolm
Francesca Pellegrino
Emma Voelzke, Special Needs Coordinator (202-449-3990; )
Stephanie McGrail, Special Education Liaison ()
Young Catholics with Disabilities Group
The DisAbilities Ministry includes a Young Catholics with Disabilities Group which offers social events and gatherings for teens and young adults with disabilities in our community.
Contacts: Francesca Pellegrino, 301-933-8925 or Peg Kolm, 301-562-9573
Special Olympics Basketball
The Blessed Sacrament DisAbilities Ministry sponsors a Special Olympics basketball team, providing practice facilities throughout the season and an Exhibition Game in the spring.
National Catholic Partnership on Disability
The Blessed Sacrament DisAbilities Ministry is proud to associate itself with the National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD). Established in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1982, NCPD is the primary resource for practical approaches to including people with disabilities in the everyday life of the Church. Please learn more at www.ncpd.org. Working on behalf of the over 14 million Catholics in the United States who live with physical, intellectual, sensory, mental, or emotional disabilities, NCPD provides training, resources, and consultation to a network of directors of disability ministry in dioceses and parishes throughout the country, and to other ministry partners. Through its programs and services, NCPD promotes and defends the culture of life, upholding the dignity of every person.
