Newsletter Articles

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Is Your Church’s Seating Accessible?

Let’s think about ways to provide access to the main sanctuary and make our spaces welcoming, including accessible seating. This may include extra room to use a walker or cane, while others experience pain with certain movements or have limited mobility.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Praying for People With Unique Challenges

The Scriptures tell us we are fearfully and wonderfully made… If we are not careful, we can perceive people with various challenges as not being whole or complete, that there is something broken in their lives that needs to be fixed. That they are somewhat flawed because of their challenges.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Awareness Does Not Always Mean Acceptance

Although society is coming around and has become more aware of people, both children and adults with special needs, the sad truth is that they are still uncomfortable. So families learn to blend in, to mask and compensate for the sake of others.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Invisible Diagnosis

So many of us and our family members confront the battles of invisible disabilities on a daily basis. We never know what someone has gone through just to get out the door on any given day.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

My Invisible Companion

Yet, every year, starting around September, my brain and body grinds to a halt. Sometimes I need the help of a therapist, and every year I need to take something to help boost my mood. It provides mental strength and the capacity to respond with kindness and grace to those around me. It also gives me the ability to get out of bed, go to work, and do all the things that need to be done.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Flexibility is Key

When it was time to try out church camp, I had a lot of hesitation and even more questions. I offered to accompany him at the camp to be his personal para to assist him. My son attended church camp as a day camper, and he and I spent our overnight time at a nearby hotel.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Visual Supports

By providing information in a visual way that is easier to process and refer back to, we can create communication systems that support and provide structure while helping to prevent challenging behavior.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Caregiver Fatigue

There's a difference between feeling tired and feeling burned out. A tired person can feel refreshed after a nap or a weekend away from work. People who are experiencing burnout will not feel refreshed, may feel uptight or edgy, and can also have anxiety or depression. They can become too tired to take care of their affairs and just aren't who they used to be.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

The Story of Two Baptisms

My children wanted to be baptized at the same time. I talked to them about it, but I questioned how much they really understood. During the conversation, when Benjamin thought I would not let him go, he cried and said, "but Mom, everybody gots to be baptized."

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Church Camps, VBS, and Retreats

Summer is here and with it comes warm weather, late evenings, vacation Bible school (VBS), and church camps. If you are a caretaker of a child with a disability, and she is interested in attending VBS, church camp or a youth retreat, the preparation process is the same:

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

A Good Rabbit Never Gives Up

"There is a zero percent chance that he is going to stay in Sunday school today," I said to as we headed out the door to church. My forecast had steadily decreased from 50 percent over the last twenty minutes.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Living With Seizures

One afternoon I remember feeling faint as my body collapsed on the floor of my best friend's house. That moment changed my life forever. I couldn't go anywhere alone, and my independence was completely taken away.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Teaching Children Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

My name is Elizabeth Koren, and I am a Sunday school teacher. I am also blind.

Some people wonder how hard it is to teach a blind or visually impaired child in Sunday school. Even if a child cannot see, it does not mean they cannot do crafts, memorize verses, or even play games.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Hold On

I laid on the floor of my small office in my home feeling hopeless and despondent. I screamed, cried, and pleaded with the Lord, desperate to feel His presence, but the heavens were silent.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Church Attendance

"We haven't seen them for a while!" "They never come to church anymore." "Why did they stop coming?" The answer is different for many families, but the bottom line answer is always the same: because they can't figure out a way to go to church and provide care for their loved one at the same time.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Never Stop Praying

My mother never, ever stopped praying for her son. I do remember the agony of thinking "here we go again" when he would be prayed for and they would gather around and make him walk around as they held him up, an extremely exhausting task for him.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

The Promise is For Your Children

That night God gave us confirmation that He will keep every one of his promises. If there is ever a day that I am struggling, I remember that night when God miraculously filled two autistic boys with the Holy Ghost!

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Our Church Doesn’t Work for Our Family

Sometimes it feels like we live in two worlds. In the first world, our church doesn't work for our son.

He wears noise-canceling headphones every time we approach the building. The sound of someone worshipping loudly, emphatic preaching, loud amens or music above 90 decibels causes him to panic.

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

God Can Put a Cherry on Top

Four years ago, she wanted to be baptized and afterward, prayed to receive the Holy Ghost. She prayed many times but never received it. When she was told the Holy Ghost is a gift, she would ask, "So where is the gift?"

Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26 Stephanie Gossard 6/19/26

Wheelchairs, Walkers and Ramps

After renting for a number of years, we purchased a building. Unfortunately it had no off-street parking and all eight entrances had stairs. There were three people in our congregation who had trouble with stairs.