Disabilities Connections Team
Morningside United Methodist Church is committed to making our church a comfortable, accessible place for everyone. We continue to work toward complete accessibility and currently offer:
Handicap accessible parking spaces
Entry ramps to both upper and lower floors
Automatic door on main level
Wheelchair accessible restrooms
Wheelchair spaces within the pews (including space for service dogs and mobility equipment!)
Large-print worship bulletins
Assisted listening devices
Gluten-free Communion and coffee hour
Disabilities Connections Videos
Morningside’s Disabilities Connection Team has produced several videos they hope you will find helpful during these new times we find ourselves living in. We hope you find them informative…
Mask-Wearing Tips for Children and People with Disabilities (DCT)
Videos Especially for Kids
Grammy Reads to Robinson about Tragedies (Carol Gray)
A Mask Story (Grammy Reads to Robinson)
Disabilities Connections Reading Recommendations
The following books are available through the Salem Public Library system for checkout. The are also available through the Oregon Talking Book Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled. They are written for different age groups and would work well for a book club, pleasure reading, or a student book report. We hope you will join the Disability Connections Team in learning more about people with disabilities and things that impact their lives. We’ll continue to add suggestions to the list and are open to additional topics you would like to read more about.
Disability Ministries – Connection to the United Methodist Church
Being part of a connectional system of ministries within the United Methodist Church provides even greater resources that we have access to locally. The church’s Disability Ministries website included a broad range of information and resources related to all types of disabilities. Check out their website and CLICK below for a link to their most recent newsletter.
Disability Ministries Committee of the United Methodist Church
The Disability Ministries Newsletter
Disabilities Awareness Sunday
Every year we enjoy developing an annual Disability Awareness Sunday worship service celebrating God’s Divine light in people with various disabilities. These can include vision, hearing, mobility issues and other hidden disabilities such as mental health, environmental sensitivities, autism, PTSD, and Alzheimer’s.
We’re always looking for new topics! Please contact one of the co-chairs if you have an idea for a future service.
Disabilities Connections Team Co-chairs
Please email us if you have any questions and use “DCT” in the subject line so we can be sure to get back to you.
Deb Freels
Phone: 503-581-4151
Email: dkfreels@comcast.net
Nancy O’Loughlin
Phone (TTY): 503-743-2743
Email: wheels4access@gmail.com
Books You Might Enjoy…
Doctor Dogs: How our Best Friends are Becoming our Best Medicine
by Maria Goodavage
This book explores how doctor dogs are becoming our happy allies in the fight against dozens of physical and mental conditions. It goes behind the scenes of cutting-edge science at top research centers and into the lives of people whose well-being depends on their devoted, highly skilled medical dogs.
A Dog Called Hope:
A Wounded Warrior and the Service Dog who Saved Him
by Jason Morgan
This is the memoir of a former Special Forces soldier. Wounded badly and told he would never walk again, Morgan’s recovery was long. At this lowest point, a special service dog named Napal entered his life. Be aware: This book contains some violence and some strong language and therefore may not be appropriate for all readers.
Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero
by Michael Hingson and Suzy Flory
When one of four hijacked planes flew into the World Trade Center’s North Tower on September 11, 2001, Michael Hingson, a district sales manager for a data protection and network security systems company, was sitting down for a meeting. His guide dog, Roselle, was at his feet.
Blind from birth, Michael could hear the sounds of shattering glass, falling debris, and terrified people flooding all around him. But Roselle sat calmly beside him. In that moment, Michael chose to trust Roselle’s judgment and not to panic. They were a team.
Air
By Monica M. Roe
This is an action-packed, empowering middle grade novel about a twelve-year-old girl who has to speak up when her wheelchair motocross dreams get turned upside down. Yes, it is written for young people, but don’t we all have a twelve-year-old inside of us?
