This was the most memorable quote of the session for me. A good reminder that inclusion isn’t about noticing charity cases you previously ignored, it’s about seeing everyone as part of the body with something to offer the whole.
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And it brings up how as a church we can best help everyone, including those so challenged, find their place of service.
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The round table session was a stark example for me. I was at the “women in science” table first, and we got to hear from Roseanne Sension, which opened up a window I’d never understood. At the next table, we discussed disability in the church, and @HRankin quite literally made a place for me, and invited others. I could share my experience, felt heard, and was grateful for input. It was incredible that I could be vulnerable because I’ve wondered over the past couple of years if church has given me trust issues with church. We were all welcomed in a way, given a place and allowed our voices, and we could be vulnerable and challenged. This puts hope in perspective, and this demonstrates fellowship. It was unlike the assimilation I experience at regular church, where fitting in and being assured I’m on the right team used to make me feel good and that I had eternal significance. But being given a place within invites healing. Because I was able to experience this with the church, maybe it’ll become easier when God says ,”Did you eat from the tree I told you not to eat?” I know it’s safe to say “yes” instead of blaming a serpent.
I found the conference restorative, and I hope others did too 
On Saturday morning when we were invited to reflect during worship, I thought of kintsugi. And the hope Sandra Richter offered just by hearing my concern that I had shared with her, to which she extended compassion. What came next was Francis Collins’ web analogy, which to me looked a lot like the mended kintsugi bowl that Mako showed a picture of the previous day! The voices that followed were pieces of the bowl themselves, as well as the gold that restores. They weren’t just preached or taught, it happened.
In short, the conference spoke some powerful things while demonstrating those things. And I have hope as well as a thread to follow to continue in that way.
So thank you to everyone who participated, I think is what I’m saying 
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Great insights, Paige. I too felt the round-table discussions were valuable and fun, though too short. I could have spent a morning on the one with medical issues. Covid played havoc with plans, I assume. I think more breakouts and round-tables were on the initial schedule, but it was just too uncertain ahead of time to schedule more. Maybe next session. Or maybe if demand is high, an off year mini-session focused on round-tables and an emphasis on seeing nature might be a possibility. I would certainly be interested.
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What did they say about disability?
We had discussion questions, available about how the church can better serve and be served by those in the disabled community. We recommend listening to Lamar Hardwick’s conference talk on this topic for more information.
Our own discussion was mostly centered around @KateKnut’s own experiences, and I also got to snuggle her baby. 
I’m so jealous!
I would love to know about the round tables. I don’t think those made it to the virtual conference.
Feel free to PM me, if you’d prefer.
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It was certainly wonderful to hear from Lamar Hardwick amongst Christians. Usually, there’s a misunderstanding and an eternal consequence attached. I think the point I tried to make at the round table was that churches have been accommodating physical handicaps, but teachers and preachers (in my experience) don’t understand how a message impacts a neurodiverse congregation.
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I used disability generally there, referring to the segment that Lamar Hardwick led, Disability, Dignity, and the Image of God. I only represent my brand of ADD and it’s co-morbidities, which to me is only disabling in the socio-cultural sense. Tension resides where church communities believe they are only biblical and not influenced by anything sociological or psychological (because that sounds like science). But it makes me wonder how much we’re (the church communities I’ve experienced) missing out on the humans that make up the church because we’re only ok with them being there to look like diversity, without their full inclusion.
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And not just that the church misses out on the different members, but that lack of wholehearted inclusion hurts the individuals who are meant to strengthen the church with the very qualities they’re likely ostracized (or just under appreciated) for.
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Gee, I think Paul might have addressed that. Sounds vaguely familiar. 
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