In less than 8 minutes, Beth shares her summer vibe, suggests three events your church could try this summer, tells you about her summer serving gig, and issues four invitations from Key Ministry.
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It’s mid-July and we are in the thick of summer. Depending on your season of life, or your family circumstances, or even where you live, summer months might look a lot different for you than other times of the year.
Say what you will about Cleveland and our less-than-ideal winters, you can’t beat our summers! Summer weather in northeast Ohio is, on many days, perfection. I crave being outside, whether it’s biking, kayaking, walking, pickleballing, or just sitting on our back patio in the evening under the café lights. Don’t get me wrong, it does rain – after all it is Cleveland – but there are so many days with beautiful summer weather and all kinds of activities and adventures to enjoy.
That’s my vibe and maybe it is yours, too. Doesn’t mean family responsibilities and ministry work aren’t happening during this season, though. If you are the parent of a school-age child, or caregiver to a loved one with disabilities who participates in a school-year type of program, there’s a good chance that your family and caregiving responsibilities look dramatically different than they did in the spring and will again in the fall.
Let’s talk about summer ministry for a bit. The church where I am on staff as the director of disability engagement doesn’t pause our ministry programming for the summer. I want to share three disability ministry events happening at my church over the next few weeks, one way where I am serving outside my church, and four invitations for you.
First up, let me share about three events that are happening at our church, (Bay Presbyterian Church) including two this week. This Friday night, we are hosting a Respite Event for families with disabilities. We invite parents and caregivers to enjoy a little time to themselves while we watch their kids for a few hours. It’s a ton of fun and it involves volunteers of all ages and stages, from young families serving together to our seasoned saints. At Key Ministry, we know that respite is one of the tangible ways to support families, and we encourage churches to learn how to provide respite to families in their congregation or in their communities. We have some respite resources that we recommend. Visit keyministry.org/podcast to access the show notes where we’ve provided the links.
Also this weekend, my church is hosting By the Brook, which is a retreat for female caregivers and special needs moms. You might be familiar with By the Brook, as it happened live with our friends at Rising Above Ministries just a few weeks ago. Our church was unable to host a livestream on their dates, so we are hosting our own live event with some video content from the Rising Above Ministries catalog. Again, we’ve provided links in the show notes so that you can check it out and consider hosting your very own By the Brook. Special note: we synched these two events – By the Brook and Respite – so that moms who can’t participate without childcare can join us Friday evening while their kids are at our Respite Event.
In August we’ll be hosting another Game Night at our church. It’s an evening of board games and fun in a supportive, non-competitive environment, open to all but especially designed for young adults with disabilities. We partner with a local organization called I’m Possible Games. They bring their board games and a bunch of their followers and we open it up to the community.
I hope these three summer events – Respite, By the Brook, and Game Night -- give you a few ideas to try at your church!
Next month I’ll be serving as the family needs coordinator for a Joni & Friends Family Retreat. If you’re not familiar with Family Retreat, I encourage you to check it out with the links I’ve shared at keyministry.org/podcast. It’s an incredible time for everyone: the campers (who are individuals affected by disability), their families, the short term missionaries who are volunteering, and even the staff of the host sites. It is truly a privilege to work with the Family Retreat leadership team and the families who will be attending.
So what’s going on at Key Ministry this summer? Well, thank you for asking. Consider this your invitation to join us for four gatherings – some virtual and one big exciting in person event – where you can connect with and learn from other ministry leaders.
First up is our July 17 Disability Ministry Video Roundtable. Our topic is Planning Vacation Bible School with Disability in Mind. Is your church having VBS this summer…or maybe it’s on your list for down the road? In this roundtable, we’ll talk about opportunities and options for including kids with disabilities. Whether you are gearing up for VBS, hosted earlier this summer, or are wanting to know what VBS could look like for your church, please join the conversation! Visit keyministry.org/podcast for the link to register (or for the link to our Vimeo or YouTube channels to catch the replay of this or any roundtable you may have missed).
Next up is our monthly Idea Share. This is a video roundtable situation as well, so you’ll want to register to have the Zoom link sent to you for the August 5 edition. Open to all ministry leaders, Idea Share is an opportunity to give and receive encouragement, share ideas, ask questions, and network with other ministry leaders across the country (and now across the world)! We do these the first Monday of each month although we will not have one in September because of the Labor Day holiday.
I’m very excited to invite you to a special Disability Ministry Video Roundtable next month. On Wednesday, August 21 one of my faves, Steph Hubach, will be leading a discussion that builds on a topic she presented during Disability & The Church 2024. You’ll definitely want to join us for: Oil & Water: How Do We Respond When the Values of Disability Culture Don’t Mix with Kingdom Values?
So that’s two Disability Ministry Video Roundtables and one Idea Share to add to your calendar this summer. But here’s your fourth invitation from Key Ministry. I want to make sure that you’ve heard the news about the Mental Health & The Church conference. This is an in-person national gathering taking place in Cleveland, Ohio September 26 & 27. While technically this isn’t a summer event, take a moment in the next week or two to make your plans to attend to be with us this fall. And you know what? Early fall in Cleveland is pretty nice, too. Again, links to info and registration are in the show notes for this episode.
Thanks for taking the time today to catch my summer vibe and to think about summer schedules. Whatever your summer looks like, I hope that you are taking some time to experience the restorative power of God’s creation. I pray that your ministry work is creating the opportunity for you and those you serve with to grow closer to Christ. And I hope to see you at a virtual or in-person Key Ministry event this summer.
