May Pastor's Note

For those in the K-12 system, the month of May is kind of like a fireworks finale: everything all at once, which overloads the senses while also signaling we are nearing the end. In our household, one of the May tasks is meeting with a student success team to discuss Micah’s 504 plan [1]. My experience with this is limited to Bluestone, but I have only wonderful things to say about their support for students with special needs. They understand that each child has unique gifts and needs, and they are ready and willing to offer support. It takes more time, money, and effort to do so, but it makes all the difference for Micah. It also reassures me that he is being nurtured in an environment by people who see him for the wonderful, unique person he is, and who are happy to have him in their community. Isn’t that what we’d want for the children who walk through our doors? And for the adults who have always felt at least a little bit on the outside, looking in? I’m so grateful to Centering Space for coordinating a wonderful nurture series and doing the follow up to help us become a more welcoming, inclusive community. Thanks to all who participated and shared from their own experiences, too. Please take the time to read more about our new liturgical library!

Grace and peace,

Stephanie

[1] Micah shared this in the nurture series on neurodiversity. A 504 is named for section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which provides accommodations to ensure equal access to

education. It is intended to remove barriers to learning that students may experience due to any disabilities, which can include many students under the neurodiversity umbrella. The 504

“travels” with a student, so future teachers will know more about the challenges facing students, and what accommodations are needed to support their success. The student support team - which consists of parents, classroom teachers, counselors, special education teachers, behavior specialists, social workers, and school administrators - meets each May to assess the current plan and make any adjustments to implement beginning with the next school year.

Liturgical Library

We recognize that our brains and bodies all have different needs when it comes to focusing, learning, listening, and worshiping. Based on what we have learned through our recent nurture study on neurodiversity, we are currently creating a “liturgical library” of resources and materials.

Our liturgical library, located in the main hallway near the mailboxes, makes space for a variety of materials to engage people of all ages during worship. The items included allow people to more fully connect with and engage in worship by regulating sensory inputs. 

Our library includes:

• Fidgets and sensory aids:  stress balls, infinity cubes, nee doh, thinking putty

• Creation Station with markers, pens, colored pencils, and crayons; clipboards and paper, wikki stix and pipe cleaners

• Engaging Resources: Moses’s tablets, lacing cards, labyrinths

  
  

How do you use the liturgical library?

Grab a bag and add items that you’d like to use to engage in worship. After worship, return your bag to the basket at the base of the library (keep any paper/creations you’ve made but return other materials with the bag). Following use during worship, we will clean and sort the materials to be ready for the following week.