Sblendorio Family When I look at faith I think of a congregation of people coming together to help each other out in times of need. I think of kindness, support, understanding, tolerance, not judgment and alienation. It saddens me that families who have real issues in life to deal with and turn to faith cannot receive support, especially a family like ours who does everything in their power to help others around us. Let’s hope that in the future this changes. That people in our area choose to think of others and not just themselves and realize that faith in whatever denomination has a different meaning than just showing up to mass each week. Children with autism deserve the chance to be included, loved, and most definitely respected. Luckily, we finally found a parish that embraces our son and situation.
Creating Sanctuary: A Clergy’s Guide
Rabbi Geoffrey Haber
The diagnosis of a child with autism can engender a crisis of faith that causes parents to withdraw from participation in their faith community and particularly their house of worship, which is a symbol of religious expression and God’s presence in their lives. These parents need to give and receive support from one another, explore their faith-based assumptions, and find a place of acceptance within their faith community in order to better cope with their life situation and retain their connection to the organized religious community. Here are ways in which pastors and rabbis can make their congregations more accessible: 1. “You shall be holy, for I, the Lord Your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2): The first step requires transforming the congregation into a sacred community. Schwarz defines a sacred community as one that provides its members with a sense of acceptance and love, warmth and belonging. 4 To create a sacred community people cannot be strangers – cold and indifferent – to one another. They must make the effort to reach out and get to know the wonderful families and individuals who make up their special faith community and by welcoming those with differences into their hearts and homes. Here the pastor/rabbi can teach the value of welcoming through sermons, classes and by example. Creating an environment that welcomes families that have children with disabilities is perhaps the biggest hurdle of all. Setting a tone of welcoming will go a long way to overcoming that obstacle. 2. “God said: ‘Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness.’” (Genesis 1:27): All people are unique, and that difference in each person makes sense not only psychologically but theologically as well. The Hebrew Bible states that all human beings are made b’tzelem Elohim, “in the image of God.” If God is infinite, then every creature made in God’s image will reflect a different, finite, aspect of that infinite Source of life. The fact that each new person presents a new aspect of God’s image is a consequence of God’s creative energy. Aware of this reality, the house of worship—as a religious and spiritual institution—and its members must respect each individual for his or her special qualities and are, therefore,
Val Sblendorio at his communion
commanded to imitate God’s attributes of love and kindness. After all what else can it mean to “walk in God’s ways?” Creating an atmosphere where parents of children with autism can gather in safety and honesty will enable the synagogue/church to successfully put into practice its noble calling and, as a result, present an opportunity to add value and meaning to the lives of its congregants well beyond the group.
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Autism and Faith
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