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Bringing Faith Into Community

Bringing Faith Into Community. Wesley R. Allen, M.Div. Welcome | Who, Why, Whose. Who are you? (think about who you are, tell us a little bit about yourself, it’s you, so there can’t be any wrong answers!) Why are you? (what is your purpose in life?)

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Bringing Faith Into Community

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  1. Bringing Faith Into Community Wesley R. Allen, M.Div

  2. Welcome | Who, Why, Whose

  3. Who are you? (think about who you are, tell us a little bit about yourself, it’s you, so there can’t be any wrong answers!) • Why are you? (what is your purpose in life?) • Whose are you? (where do you belong, where are you connected?) Contemplate!

  4. Breaking into groups of 3-5 people whom you do not know, discuss your answers. • What stories did you learn from one another? • Were there any similarities in your narratives? • What differences were there? • What points of connection did you have? Small Group Discussion

  5. “The greatest difficulty with the world is not its ability to produce but its unwillingness to share.” – Roy L. Smith Let’s share!

  6. Tap into the transformative power of faith communities to help people with disabilities find and keep jobs. The Vision

  7. “The social fabric of community is formed from an expanding shared sense of belonging. It is shaped by the idea that only when we are connected and care for the well-being of the whole that a civil and democratic society is created. It is like the Bodhisattva belief that not one of us can enter Nirvana until all other have gone before us.” – Peter Block Building Community

  8. You want to get people jobs in churches? Standard Response

  9. Building Connections

  10. The numbers

  11. More numbers

  12. Independence: “Who am I?” • Productivity / Purpose: “Why am I?” • Integration / Community: “Whose am I?” • Self Determination: “How can I shape my life?” Some Interdisciplinary Questions…

  13. Who am I? • Self made, own person … nature / nurture • Why am I? • Job, vocation, from where or what do I derive meaning and a sense of purpose … • Whose am I? • I belong to … I am connected with … Expressions & Answers …

  14. Who am I? • “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them…” – Genesis 1:27 • Why am I? • “For I know the plans I have for you…” –Jeremiah 29:11 • Whose am I? • “Rise up, O God, judge of the earth; for all nations belong to you!” - Psalms 82:8 Theological Expressions…

  15. Who Am I? • Individualized Development Plans – ELP, IHP, ISP, PCPT, PATH plan … • Why Am I? • Vocational Evaluations: job sampling, trial work experience … • Whose Am I? • I work 20 hours a week at …, I go to _______ synagogue, I watch ______ games. Human Service Expressions

  16. What is work?

  17. “My daddy worked his whole life for nothing but the pain, now he walks these empty hallways looking for something to blame.” – Bruce Springsteen; Adam Raised a Cain (1978)

  18. “The Hierarchy of Holiness” • Clergy > Citizens • “the laity were those who were not clergy, those, ‘who were not consecrated for the service of God.’” • Monastic life > Active life • “activities of life oriented toward sustaining life, such as food production, the family, trade … even politics [were] subordinate to the contemplative life.” “The kind [of life] Martha was leading, that’s where we are; the kind of life Mary was leading, that’s what we are hoping for; let us lead this life well, in order to have that one to the full.” – St. Augustine Theological Roots of Vocation

  19. Hierarchy of Holiness (continued) • Martin Luther • “Luther argued that through faith all stations of life-all “callings”-are of equal value before God … life in the world is not a distraction from the life of holiness. It is precisely the place where we live out our God-given call” (David Hahnenberg). • Vatican II – “laypeople do God’s work in so far as it must be done in and through the work of the world” (Yves Congar). Theological Roots of Vocation

  20. Assessments • Job Sampling • Trial Work Experience Starting Points

  21. Educate clergy and faith groups • Educate community providers, job coaches, staff “Speak their language!” What needs to happen…

  22. A congregation or community of faith: the power of a committed group • The congregation as network • Job programs and human services: the power of allies and shepherds • A person with disability: the power of finding vocation and calling. The power of narrative

  23. Block, Peter. Community the structure of belonging. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008. • Hahnenberg, Edward P. Awakening vocation : a theology of Christian call. Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press, 2010. • Kretzmann, John P., and John McKnight. Building communities from the inside out : a path toward finding and mobilizing a community's assets. Evanston, Ill. Chicago, IL: The Asset-Based Community Development Institute, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University Distributed by ACTA Publications, 1993. • McKnight, John, and Peter Block. The abundant community : awakening the power of families and neighborhoods. Chicago San Francisco: American Planning Association Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2010. • Sherman, Amy L. Kingdom calling : vocational stewardship for the common good. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2011. • Smith, J D., and Michael L. Wehmeyer. Good blood, bad blood : science, nature, and the myth of the Kallikaks. Washington, DC: American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2012. • Stevens, R P. Work matters : lessons from Scripture. Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 2012. • Volf, Miroslav. Work in the Spirit : toward a theology of work. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2001. Resources and References

  24. Rev. Wesley R. Allen, M.Div Director of Day & Employment Services Quality Management Associates, Inc. 700 Cinnaminson Ave. Palmyra, NJ 08065 wallen@qmainc.com 609.760.1325 Send hate mail or contact me @:

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