We drove together (because God knows I would not have walked up to a group meeting I have never been to completely on my own!), and hauled our ass..ets all over the park trying to locate the one place we hadn't walked past (surprisingly) where the group was meeting. I anxiously said hi and gratefully followed someone's directions about filling out name tags and then spread out a blanket among the rest of them and sat to picnic with my girl. I remember that I left that event feeling loved, and understood.
Overwhelmed by the schedule of therapies, work, and school, it was months (I think 3 months?) before I was able to make it to an actual weekly meeting. I went all by myself this time, inspired by a desire to attend the sign language class they were offering that Friday morning, and an unprocessed need for community. I pulled myself up from my bootstraps, and talked myself down from a panic attack as I walked alone up to a random Church building looking for the group. I walked to the wrong side and a Church volunteer pointed me in the right direction and I finally spotted a little sign: "First Steps - Club 21." I was so anxious about figuring out what I was supposed to do and how it all worked and when I walked through the door - I'll never forget it - Rachel (one of the volunteers) greeted me by name.
It makes me cry when I think about it. I was a stranger, and yet they welcomed me as family. I felt known, understood, relieved to be around other children who are like my baby, and other mothers who have walked the same path. My heart rested. This was home.
I left that meeting completely filled to the brim with love, and excitement, and courage. I tried to explain it to my husband, through tears, on the long drive home. My husband, my parents... they were excited for me, they were glad I had found this group to participate in... but the didn't quite "get" it. I invited all three of them to come with me to a meeting (individually), on their own terms, and waited patiently until each one of them found the right time for them to join me. One by one, I watched each one of them fall in love with this new family I had found in the same way I did. Somewhere along the way, I realized what had happened:
We had found our tribe.
These families know first hand what it is like to hear the doctors tell you that your newborn baby, "is showing markers for down syndrome," and to spend the first few days of your baby's life flooded by confusion, fear, questions. They, too, have fought for their child to have access for services and therapies to help them to overcome difficulties that often are associated with Down syndrome. They know the highs and the lows, the ins and the outs, and they want to stand there with us, and we want to do the same for them.
I feel so grateful to be a part of club twenty one - both in the general sense, and in the specific-to-this-organization sense. ;) I can't speak for ALL of the things they do/offer, but I would like to share the things I know about:
Weekly meetups at each age group from Birth (expecting mothers) into adulthood
First Steps (0-3 meet up group that we attend) provides OT, PT, SLP, and Sign Language Classes monthly
Twice a month parent education classes
Mom support/ Dad support groups
Siblings group for the typical (non-Down syndrome) siblings
Social outings for teenagers/families
Community outreach
IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan) coaching/training
IEP (Individualized Education Plan) coaching/training/advocacy support
Family Support
And one last thing that I have to highlight because I think it is AMAZING:
Club 21 has developed, implemented, and administers a 3-day Teachers' training conference in which they present current, up-to-date research about Down syndrome, intelligence, learning, and education methods. They teach teachers how to better serve and educate students with Down syndrome! AND - they PAY the school district the sub stipend so their classroom can be covered for them to attend the conference! They have trained over 100 educators in over 50 different school districts. Think about the impact of a program like that!
Club Twenty One is founded on a principle of inclusion. Their mission statement is as follows:
Our mission is to provide the tools and resources that enable individuals with Down syndrome to be fully included in society. Our goal is for every individual with Down syndrome to have independence, access, and belonging.
I don't know about you, but THAT is a mission I can get behind. So, to support this mission, and give back to our tribe, we will be participating in their annual "Together Is Better Walkathon" to raise funds, and awareness. We're SO excited for this day of celebration and community.
If you would like to join us, you can find our Team page here.
You are welcome to join us for the walk which is Sat 10/22, and if you would like to donate to our team and help us meet (or exceed!) our goal. If you can't donate, you're still welcome to walk!
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| Photo credit: ADVTR Photography |
ReplyDeleteDear Catholic Crusader,
The essential substance of all Roman Catholic doctrine is called, Transubstantiation, and in this essay we will challenge you with 100 reasons why it is actually void of substance. While the essay is rather long, no one is asking you to read it in one sitting. The point is that the Word of God produces tremors like a ready to explode volcano, belching out an avalanche of evidence against this vacuous doctrine that it's enough to bury Transubstantiation like a lava-stricken city.
To find the answer, the mindset of an archeologist was employed to scratch not just the surface of the Bible, but to dig into even deeper depths to see if this doctrine is the “most precious treasure of all” as is claimed (Mysterium Fidei, intro). And yet, after going on this archeological expedition, we discovered the theological fossils did not at all fit the “mummified remains” of Jesus Christ being “buried” in the Eucharist. Rather, we unearthed 100 artifacts against it. To arrive at this "intellectual epiphany", our primary excavation tools were the unshakable Scriptures, which God likens to a hammer that smashes a rock into pieces (Jeremiah 23:29). Our thesis conclusion, set forth here at the beginning, is that the skeletal framework of Transubstantiation is a bone of contention that must be hammered into pieces.
Jesus commands us to be "fruit inspectors" (Matt 7:16-20). Even though the RCC "fruit tree" may offer "shade in the summer" in the forms of hospitals and soup kitchens, a naive person might conclude that because the fruit is genuine, the tree itself must be genuine also. But this is not always the case! (2 Cor 11:14). It is therefore vital to investigate and not just believe everything we hear (Prov 25:2; Luke 8:18; John 4:1). Either Transubstantiation is true, or it is an enduring deception that has run rampant, turning into a cataclysmic religious disaster which has "deceived the whole world” (Rev 12:9). Hence, it is crucial that we be “vigilant” (1 Pet 5:8).
The almost “romantic fidelity” to Transubstantiation springs forth from the opinion that consuming the “organic and substantial” body of Christ in the Eucharist is necessary for salvation (CCC 1129, 1355, 1359). Thus, if it’s true that in the Eucharist, Transubstantiation becomes the "center, source and summit of the Christian life" (CCC 1324, 1343), then we would agree the whole world ought to become Roman Catholic, and subsequently follow the intelligentsia of Rome which claims to be the center of all truth (CCC 834, 1383). On the other hand, if it is not true, then this doctrine becomes a devastatingly grim nightmare on the same level as those other false doctrines which Jesus says, “I hate” (Rev 2:15). Our burden here is to safeguard the gospel (Jude 1:3). If a religious system professing to be Christian is going to demand that something be done as a prerequisite for eternal life, it is vital to scrutinize this claim under the searchlight of Scripture and with “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16). Proverbs 25:2 says, "the honor of a king is to search out a matter". We shall do likewise.
Determined to test all things by Holy Writ (1 Thess 5:21; Acts 17:11, 2 Cor 10:5), the following 100 reasons have been compiled to an extravagant length to provoke you to consider the cognitive complexities of this doctrine which we conclude are biblically unbearable. We are so convinced the Bible builds a cogent, concrete case against this superstition, that we will not allow the things we have in common to suppress the more urgent need to confront the differences that divide us, such as Transubstantiation. We are told this issue directly impacts our eternal destiny, so it must not be ignored. The Lord Jesus came to divide and conquer by the truth of His word. He said, "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division" (Luke 12:51-53).
For the essay of 100 reasons, e-mail me at
Eucharistangel@aol.com