Power Grid Blog
The Power of Stories
November 13, 2012 | Evan Petrone
Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have to change attitudes about the gifts and needs of people with disabilities. Stories captivate audiences and bring people to a greater understanding of their subjects and those who tell them. Through storytelling, we can help others understand and appreciate the uniqueness of every human being.
In Virginia, The Faith Inclusion Network (FIN) seeks to help people with disabilities and their families find welcoming and accessible faith communities. One way FIN promotes inclusion in religious communities is through its biannual interfaith disability conferences, That All May Worship- 2013, to be held in Norfolk on March 14 and 15, offers resources for sharing stories as a means of building community. FIN is a revolutionary grassroots network, and its work to assist faith communities in welcoming people with disabilities and their families is fundamental to the larger efforts of the interfaith disability community.
‘That All May Worship- 2013’ will offer several breakout sessions where participants are educated on how to build and share their own stories. One of the keynote speakers at this year’s conference is religion writer Mark Pinsky, whose most recent book, Amazing Gifts: Stories of Faith, Disability, and Inclusion, is a collection of 64 stories shared by members of the interfaith disability community across the country. Amazing Gifts illustrates how faith communities show love, care, and friendship through embracing and celebrating members with disabilities.
Sharing stories is one of the best ways to engage an audience that may not understand who we are, the challenges we face, and the intensity of our faith. Stories linger and inform way beyond the moment. Stories stay with us and those with whom we share them.
AAPD’s Interfaith Initiative works to support people with disabilities and their families as they seek spiritual and religious access. For many, spiritual and religious access is just as important as access to education, employment, healthcare, transportation, and community services.
It is important to remember that not everything happens on Capitol Hill. Real change and real progress happens by changing hearts. Everything else will fall into place once we begin to enlighten our attitudes and the attitudes of others, and we can do this best through sharing our stories.
Comments
Submitted by jo24da at 10:46 PM on December 3, 2012