Back in the early 2000’s, my then roommate, myself, parents and other volunteers started a Sunday School program for children and teens with special needs at the church we attended. This included children who were on the autism spectrum, were hearing-disabled or had a traumatic brain injury. The teen with the TBI was a wheelchair user, and could only verbalize a few words. But he understood what people were saying and actively listened to the world around him.
One day, I was feeding him chocolate pudding when he suddenly sneezed, planting the pudding all over my face. We both laughed out loud despite ourselves. Several months later, after some unfortunate turn of events for the volunteers, our program at this church came to an end. I was incredibly sad. But when I saw the teen I had worked with in the Special Needs Sunday School class at the local mall with his father, upon seeing me he started saying, “Achoo,
achoo!” He knew who I was and remembered the shared laughter at the pudding incident.
I can still smile at that memory. I have had no further contact since then, but this teen feeling included at my church was important to me, and such a gift. I only wish it could have continued longer. This leads me to this question: What at UUCG can we do collectively to include ALL members of our greater community, including people with ability differences? Perhaps there is a future calling there, for myself included.
~Jen Garrison
