Resources (all groups)

Advocacy for Haiti victims

Web link: EPPN urges Haiti advocacy; Resource type: Web site

EPPN urges prayer, giving and advocacy for Haiti;
White House grants temporary protected status to Haitian refugees in the U.S.

By Matthew Davies, January 15, 2010

[Episcopal News Service] The effort to assist victims of the Haiti earthquake should be expressed through prayer, financial support and advocacy, the Episcopal Public Policy Network has urged in a policy alert issued Jan. 15.

"Like hundreds of millions of Americans and other people around the world, my heart has broken as I've seen the images of the devastation brought to Haiti by this week's earthquake," said Alexander Baumgarten, director of government relations for the Episcopal Church, in the alert. [ read more ]

An Invitation to an Inclusive Church

An essay by the Rev. Paul Bresnahan, Salem, MA

We have now received an invitation from Catholicism to return to the Mother Church. For those unhappy over The Anglican/Episcopal Church’s “liberal” stance on the ordination of gays and their inclusion in our leadership and membership, there is room in Rome. [ read more ]

Disabilities Concerns (DISC)

Web link: http://www.gbgm-umc.org/health/; E-mail: hwmin@gbgm-umc.org; Phone: (212) 870-3871;

DISC is a program of the Health and Welfare Ministries of the General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church. It is an online support group with web pages for spirituality resources, annotated bibliographies, and news about ministries with people with disabilities. [ read more ]

Equal Access Guide

Web link: http://www.ncccusa.org/elmc/disabilities%20manual.html; Phone: (212) 870-2267;

The National Council of Churches of Christ's Committee on Disabilities, part of the Education and Leadership Ministries Commission, has prepared a comprehensive "Equal Access Guide for Meetings, Conferences, Large Assemblies and Worship." The guide is based on the theological principles that all people are created in the image of God, have spiritual gifts, and are invited to participate in God's m [ read more ]

Food Gatherers, the Washtenaw County Food Bank

Web link: http://www.foodgatherers.org/; E-mail: info@foodgatherers.org; Phone: (734) 761-2796;

Get information on how to help Food Gatherers with food drives, volunteer car washes, community garden start-ups, etc.

Eileen Spring is the Executive Director.

How Episcopalians can help Haitians in need

Web link: ENS article on Haiti; Resource type: Web site

Haiti earthquake prompts the desire to help, asks the question of how

By Mary Frances Schjonberg, January 13, 2010

[Episcopal News Service] Whether it is a tsunami overwhelming southeast Asia, hurricanes demolishing the U.S. Gulf Coast, or an earthquake devastating Haiti, many people feel the need to give of themselves to help those who suffer.

The question is how best to do that at each stage of the aftermath and how best to meet the needs of those hurt by the disaster.

As people contemplated how to respond to those needs in the hours since a magnitude 7.0 earthquake shook the Port-au-Prince area to its foundation at just before 5 p.m. on Jan. 12, governments and the United Nations began moving bulldozers, cranes and hospital ships into position.

"It's heavy disaster logistics," Robert Radtke, president of Episcopal Relief and Development, told ENS. [ read more ]

Martin Luther King Jr. Speaking About The Labor Movement

Web link: AFT website ; Resource type: Web site

From the AFT website, the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from the 1960's:

"The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. Out of its bold struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, government relief for the destitute and, above all, new wage levels that meant not mere survival but a tolerable life. The captains of industry did not lead this transformation; they resisted it until they were overcome. When in the thirties the wave of union organization crested over the nation, it carried to secure shores not only itself but the whole society."
—Speech to the state convention of the Illinois AFL-CIO, Oct. 7, 1965 [ read more ]

National Pastoral Life Center

Web link: http://www.nplc.org;

In serving the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church's pastoral ministry (pastors, parish staff, lay Catholic leaders, and diocesan staff) the National Pastoral Life Center offers a variety of publications, several pertaining to relating with people who have disabilities. [ read more ]

Religion and Disability Program of the National Organization on Disability (NOD)

Web link: http://www.nod.org; E-mail: ability@nod.org; Phone: (202) 293-5960;

This interfaith effort urges national faith groups, local congregations and seminaries to identify and remove barriers of architecture, communications, and attitudes. The program helps to sponsor That All May Worship conferences, conferences that bring together people with disabilities and religious leadership to plan improved access - both physical and spiritual - in houses of worship. [ read more ]