The Beacon Monday, April 11, 2011
Local churches
compared with that experienced by
children with special needs. They are
rarely included socially because of their
condition, but that does not mean that
they don’t have a desire to fellowship,
make new friends, and be just like the
“Just because they
cannot speak, that
doesn’t mean that
they don’t have
something to say.”
- Denise Briley
“cool kids” along with everyone else.
“They’re looking through the world
as a ‘what’s wrong with me lens?’” says
Professor Emory Twoey at PBA. “They
see that they’re behind and they know
it.”
Twoey has been working the field
of special education for 25 years and
teaches elementary educators class-
room management and behavior mod-
ifications.
Briley says that they want relation-
ships just like we do. At Graceview,
she takes the majority of special needs
children and adults she has to regular
worship at church.
Alex Wainer, associate professor of
communication at PBA, is the father
of 17-year-old Ben, with high function-
ing autism. He acknowledges his son’s
need for acceptance.
“He needs to form friendships… he
wants to be with neuro-typical kids.”
Jones says that special needs chil-
dren can have a connection with other
children that she can’t really do. “I like
the idea of her being with other chil-
dren.”
ley
way WHAT DO WE NEED TO
hillips
UNDERSTAND?
“The opportunity for the other stu-
dents to learn and redefine what’s nor-
mal is important,” says Jones.
As a church leader, Knebel, says,
“We get caught up in our rat races.
Sometimes we just have to slow down
and connect with someone like that.”
Before starting her ministry, Bri-
ley was burdened for the need of the
church to become more welcoming.
As an expert, her perspective is: “The
church should the easiest place for
families to go and sometimes it is the
hardest,” says Briley. “My favorite part
is seeing churches open up those doors
even for just one child can make a dif-
ference.”
Twoey’s perspective as a teacher is
that these kids are experiencing major
frustrations. They will try to accom-
plish their tasks at hand, but due to
their disabilities they cannot compete
with normative people in the speed of
learning.
“Fairness doesn’t mean that one size
fits all; it means that everyone gets
what they need,” says Twoey. “You
have to build in allowances for the
learning curve. They need more atten-
tion and resources.”
Twoey reminds his students daily
of differences in lenses that we look
through and the lenses that people
with special needs look through. “The
major point that we try and drive
through is to see the world as special
needs children do,” he says.
LISTEN TO THEIR VOICE
There are many things that norma-
tive people do not grasp about those
with special needs.
“I wish people could see the love they
show because they can’t show it how
we show it,” says Phillips.
Knebel becomes emotional at the
joy she has experienced each week
through her ministry. “You start to
have an actual connection with them…
you miss them when you’re not there
one week.”
As a result of her brother’s testi-
mony, Phillips wants to devote her life
to working with disabled kids as the
teacher that “furthers their potential
and loves on them.”
“I always assumed God would take
Wesley out of this world in a peace-
ful, painless manner but his death was
painful,” says Phillips. “He was hooked
into machine after machine with IVs
“I wish people
could see the love
they show because
they can’t show it
how we show it.”
- Meaghan Phillips
in his neck, arms, and legs. The nurs-
es noticed weak little Wesley’s huge
fight for his life; he battled. Nurses in
the ICU who see death every day were
sobbing when Wesley finally passed.
Wesley suffered, just as Christ did, so
that he could witness to just a few more
lives in that hospital.”
Children and adults with spe-
cial needs try to use their voice daily
through music, affection, and asso-
ciation. There is such a need for these
voices to be heard. When listening, our
eyes will be forever opened to ways that
Wesley and others express themselves
along with embracing their story.
For students who are
looking for Workship
hours or have an interest
in working with special
needs here are some
opportunities for you:
> Special Needs
Ministry
Grace Fellowship Church
contact Tina Knebel
(561) 719-6929
> Special Needs
Ministry
Christ Fellowship Church
(561)799-7600
gochristfellowship.com
> Local Affiliates
Seagull Industries
in West Palm
(561) 842-5814
Visit readmybeacon.com
for more pictures from
Grace Fellowship.
features 5
prepare for Easter
By Andrea Preciado
Staff Writer
As spring arrives, iconic sights of marsh-
mallow peeps, chocolate bunnies, pastel
grasses, and Easter eggs arise as the sweets
from Valentine’s Day and Christmas are for-
gotten and replaced. Yet, as the stores stock
their shelves and fill their storage rooms
with bunnies and eggs, many people prepare
to remember and celebrate the anniversary of
Christ’s victory over the grave.
At First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach,
in addition to the normal Sunday services,
services will be offered on Good Friday
with an Easter morning sunrise service
on Sunday. There will also be a com-
munity-wide Easter egg hunt at the
South Olive Community Center, held
by First Baptist’s children ministry, to
celebrate the joy of Easter.
To remember the sacrifice Jesus
made on the cross, the Catholic Church
participates in a 40 day preparation
called the Season of Lent. During Lent,
the Catholic Church reflects on the im-
age of the desert as a time to grow clos-
er to God while giving up or fasting
from something in your life for the 40
days. The service readings are geared
towards compassion and reflection
leading up to Easter Sunday.
Lent includes Ash Wednesday, Holy
Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Satur-
day, and Easter. On Ash Wednesday
and Good Friday, people are asked to
abstain from eating meat. People are
also encouraged to do some fasting,
some good deeds and some form of
almsgiving. Ash Wednesday includes
a service where a priest places ashes
on the head of the attendee of the ser-
vice. This is done to mimic the ancient
Near Eastern tradition of pouring
ashes on one’s head as a symbol of re-
pentance before God.
At Christ Fellowship CityPlace,
the Christ Fellowship church fam-
ily is participating in a 21-day prayer
and fasting event in April called “the
Daniel fast.” It’s called the Daniel fast
because the participants abstain from
eating meats and focus on only eating
vegetables and whole grains, follow-
ing the fast that occurred in the book
of Daniel.
The group will focus on prayer to
draw closer to God at this time. When
the event finishes on April 21, Easter
weekend begins. As Easter arrives,
Christ Fellowship’s multiple cam-
puses expand their service schedules
to celebrate Jesus’ sacrifice and resur-
rection.
Charlotte Rakestraw / Graphic Arts Editor
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