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Certificate in Disabilities Ministry
Preparing for ministry with the largest minority group

Posted by Ben Conner / Holland, Michigan
2/18/2016
Page Image
three women laughing together on couch
Image Caption
​Image courtesy of Western Theological Seminary
Opening paragraph
​While issues of class, race, ethnicity, and economic marginalization have been receiving increasing attention in theological institutions, the lived experience of marginalization related to disability rarely enters into the theological imagination. What makes the absence of disability interests in theological studies so odd is the prevalence of people with disabilities in the United States.

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People with disabilities, taken as a group, can be conceived of as the largest multicultural minority group, an open minority group which most people will likely enter against their will, and it is a group that includes a collection of people who can be found in every class, race, ethnicity and economic circumstance. The fact that around eighteen percent of the population has a disability suggests that nearly every person in the US is touched by disability.

Unfortunately, theological institutions have been slow to address the reality of the experience of disability in any comprehensive way.

A 2014 survey by Naomi Annandale and Erik Carter, which included correspondence with representatives from 118 ATS (Association of Theological Schools) accredited theological schools, concluded: “Perhaps most striking, we found that most academic leaders felt that their graduates received little or no preparation that would help them to include people with disabilities into multiple dimensions of congregational life.” The authors implored, “While we acknowledge the very real complexities associated with ensuring that theological schools prepare students for the myriad aspects of ministry they may undertake, we are convinced that the ubiquity of disability calls for much greater attention than is currently provided (Annandale, Naomi and Erik W. Carter. 2014. “Disability and Theological Education: A North American Study.” Theological Education 48.2, 83-102.)

The mission of Western Theological Seminary (WTS) is, “to prepare Christians called by God to lead the church in mission” and in order to fulfill our mission, we need to prepare our students to effectively minister to and with this large segment of the population that has disabilities. This includes not merely being a seminary that talks about disabilities, but, more importantly, being a seminary for people with disabilities.

WTS has made enormous strides in preparing their graduates to minister to and with people of all abilities. WTS has raised disability awareness and presence on its campus by building the first Friendship House, a residence where graduate students share life with young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We have had students for whom graduate education is not an option participate in our Hebrew course.

In the same spirit of innovative and formative education that inspired Friendship House, WTS is launching (Fall, 2016) a Graduate Certificate in Disabilities Ministry (GCDM) program, the first and only of its kind. The GCDM, a package of credit-bearing, transcripted courses, focuses on preparing men and women called by God to lead the church in mission by giving them the knowledge and skills that will enable them to lead congregations and ministries to be attuned to and inclusive of the gifts and perspectives of people with disabilities.

The courses will be taught by WTS faculty and by leaders in the field like Bill Gaventa, Erik Carter, and Barbara Newman. All of the required courses for the GCDM can be completed on-line in WTS’s successful distance-learning format. As the Director of the GCDM, I invite you to follow the hyperlinks above to learn more about the program. And, feel free to contact me directly.

 

​Ben Conner, PhD is Associate Professor of Christian Discipleship and Director of the Graduate Certificate in Disability and Ministry at Western Theological Seminary. He is the author of Amplifying Our Witness: Giving Voice to Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities.​

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