What  all these will include, she is still discerning. An avid knitter, Christine has said that she may need the first six months following her resignation to just be still and knit for a while. She plans to continue studying Spanish, with a vision for supporting local Spanish-speaking autism families, and has possible writing projects in mind.

Since 2004, ADN has worked to assist Anabaptist congregations as they strive to become more inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities and their families.

Christine began serving at ADN in 2006 as its first volunteer Associate while she pursued her seminary studies at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. As Associate, she worked under director Paul Leichty, writing and speaking about the autism spectrum and mental health. In 2009 and 2010, Paul and Christine collaborated with MennoMedia to publish updated editions of the classic books Supportive Care in the Congregation and After We're Gone, originally published in the 1980s by Mennonite Central Committee.

Then in late 2010, Christine was appointed program director to focus on producing and editing the Connections newsletter, maintaining the website, and serving as a resource person to congregations, groups, and individuals. Soon afterward, she became the sole staff person of the organization, assuming many administrative responsibilities, and she diligently worked for the next two years with the board of directors to continue providing needed resources and assistance to congregations, families, and individuals with disabilities.

When the ADN board hired Tim Burkholder as executive director in 2013, Christine could once again focus on producing resources for families and churches. With significant help from volunteers, she and Tim produced the third book in the Supportive Care series, Circles of Love: Stories of Congregations Caring for Persons with Disabilities and their Families. Although a truly collaborative effort, Circles of Love, published in 2015, could not have been completed without Christine’s vision for the project and her oversight of the book’s content.

Following Tim’s retirement at the end of 2014, Christine carried an administrative load again alongside her program responsibilities until the board was able to hire the current executive director, Kathleen Nofziger Yeakey, in May of 2015.

In recent years Christine assumed oversight for preparing thousands of ADN files for Internet cloud storage and a redesign of ADN’s website along with significant updates to its content.

“I am grateful for the continuity and oversight that Christine has been able to provide to Anabaptist Disabilities Network over the past ten years,” said Nofziger Yeakey. "Her experience and knowledge about issues related to disabilities will be greatly missed, but we wish her all the best as she begins the transition to the next stage of her life."

ADN’s board of directors and search committee have begun seeking applicants for the next Program Director for the organization. You may find the Program Director job description here and on the Staff Openings page under the "About" section on the ADN website.

Christine has graciously agreed to continue working in her position at Anabaptist Disabilities Network until December 31, 2016, or until another program director is found who can begin work before that date.