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Work at Summer Camp!

BETHESDA CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION

George Boer, PresidentJody Siebert, Executive Director

105-2975 Gladwin Rd, Abbotsford BC V2T 5T4Ph: (604) 850-6604 Fax: (604) 850-7242

Toll free: 1-866-455-2231Email: Life@BethesdaBC.com

We invite you to become a memberBecoming a member of Bethesda Christian Association signifies support and understanding of the work of Bethesda’s ministry, as well as a shared personal faith in Jesus Christ as presented in our Statement of Faith.

To become a member, fill out the Membership Application Form on the Donations and Membership page on our website

www. BethesdaBC.com

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Lend-a-Hand Campaign

2017Being One in Spirit and of One Mind ‘ not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of the others.’

Philippians 2:4 NIV

Inside this IssueFull Citizenship

Self AdvocacyCitizenship in Action

A Story to InspireFinding Work You Love

Spring Newsletter 2017Support these critical services by donating to our

Lend-A-Hand CampaignGive online at www.BethesdaBC.com or mail your gift directly to:

Lend-A-Hand CampaignBethesda Christian Association105-2975 Gladwin Rd, Abbotsford BC V2T 5T4

Provincially funded services only go so far and often aren’t there in those times when the need is greatest. Through generous donations, we are able to support people with intellectual disabilities and their families when they most need it.

• Helping families navigate government service delivery systems• Advocacy to help families secure needed services/supports• Connecting families in a safe and confidential setting• Being there during periods of transition or crisis• Summer camps - overnight and day camps

Artist: Rod Barker

It’s true…working at camp may possibly be one of the most demanding jobs you will ever have. But it’s where you have the chance to make a real difference in the lives of people with disabilities and their families. And guaranteed - it will be unforgettable.This is for you if you are:

• energetic, responsible, engaged, and mature• looking for an amazing summer job working with people with intellectual

disabilities• at least 19 years old, enrolled full-time in a relevant field of study, and able to

obtain a Class 4 driver’s licenceYou will gain more than you ever thought possible:

• hands-on experience in Special Education, Healthcare, Social Work, Church Ministry, and more

• making a positive impact on kids and adults with intellectual disabilities • growing and developing as a person and a Christian

Find out more about our overnight and day summer camp jobs at www.BethesdaBC.com

Send in your resume by April 28, 2017

Without a doubt, working at summer camp will be the most fun job ever!

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalms 139:14Connecting Donors, Charities & Ministries

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serving customers and bussing tables. Working over the busy lunchtime hours has been great and regular customers look forward to seeing Stephen and his great welcoming smile! If you are in the area, stop in to say 'hi' and have lunch!

Finding LoveYoshi and Joanne are engaged! In a surprise move, Yoshi proposed to Joanne at Vedder Terrace's New

Years Eve party. They are planning an August 2017 wedding and everyone is so excited to celebrate with them!

Congratulations, Yoshi and Joanne!!They look forward to making a home together at Vedder Terrace after they are married.

Making Friends in the CommunityCathy and Mary-Ann met at a neighborhood tea hosted by the folks at Vedder Terrace. They quickly discovered they shared several common interests, including swimming. They started a weekly morning swim at Cheam pool followed by getting together for a coffee and visit. It’s a highlight of the week for both of them!

Message from JodyWhat do you think of when you reflect on what full citizenship means for you? According to Dr. Simon Duffy, from the Centre for Welfare Reform, citizenship can be defined as:

• BEING RESPECTED – being able to hold your head high & getting respect from those around you.

• BEING EQUAL – we all have the same fundamental worth of dignity; the same privileges, rights and responsibilities.

• BEING DIFFERENT – we are not identical. We have many different gifts which we bring together to build a better world.

The 7 keys to citizenship (Inclusion BC)

1. LOVE – having friends and family, loving and being loved.

2. LIFE – living fully and making a difference, giving something back.

3. HOME – having a place where we belong.

4. FREEDOM – taking charge of your own life, making your own decisions.

5. COMMUNITY – being active and valued in our community.

6. PURPOSE – setting your own direction.

7. MONEY – having enough to live well; gives us the means to independence.

The most important thing we can do is to start thinking and talking about what full citizenship looks like. Not just for us but for everyone. Promote full citizenship for people with disabilities. Believe the truth that we are all created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and that every one part in the body has equal value. We are different by design, and each of us has a unique God-designed purpose in our communities (I Corinthians 12).

Melissa has been working as a Deli Assistant at Mad Butcher in Chilliwack since last May. She works a couple times a week packaging food, slicing deli meats, labeling salads, and has started to serve customers. Melissa loves her job – donning her Mad Butcher’s apron and stepping behind the counter fills her with

pride. Her co-workers look forward to when she is working because she has a great sense of humor and her radiant smile lights up the shop. “We all feel a little more love when Melissa comes in!”Jenn, who has been training Melissa, talks about what a gift it is to have Melissa on their team, “Melissa has a fabulous work ethic and is always asking for something to do. She takes care of the details that others do not have the time for.” It does

not matter what they ask Melissa to do; she responds with “absolutely I can do that for you!” They all look forward to the days when Melissa comes in.Melissa’s job provides her with the means to express herself. It’s not just a paycheque with which she can buy things. While working symbolizes the ability to meet her own needs, more importantly it allows her opportunities for expressing her love and generosity to others. One day Melissa surprised her Mom and two sisters with tickets to see Cavalia’s Odysseo in Vancouver. The drama and excitement of the show plus sharing it with her family, made for the greatest girls’ night ever. What a nice way to start your working life - good job, Melissa! May this be the first of many successful years!

What is Self-Advocacy, and why is it so important? Self-Adv ocacy is learning how to speak up for yourself, making your own decisions about your own life, learning how to get information so that you can understand things that are of interest to you, finding out who will support you in your journey, knowing your rights and responsibilities, problem solving, listening and learning, reaching out to others when you need help and friendship, and learning about self-determination. (www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/priority-selfadvocacy)Why is Self-Advocacy so important?So that you have the knowledge needed to succeed and are given the chance to participate in decisions that are being made about your life.How do we support Self-Advocacy at Bethesda?A question we are starting to ask ourselves is how do we promote self-advocacy and full citizenship with the people we serve? How can we work with the people we serve to reach their goals of love, life, home, freedom, community, purpose, and money, by what we do? The key is to shift our thinking from ‘doing for, to doing with’ and to start talking about what full citizenship looks like for each person we work with.For decades, our sector has had a strong focus on custodial care. Recently, while attending a workshop called, A Reflection of Some Key Unresolved Leadership Challenges by Michael Kendrick, he challenged us with the following statements:

• We have plateaued as a sector and as a social change movement.• We still have a substantial reliance on service models that had their origins 50 years ago.• What dominates our priorities? Custodial (looked after) vs. Developmental (have a life) priorities. • Do we unintentionally contribute to learned helplessness or learned disability by ‘creating an overdependence on others to do for

them, what they could do for themselves’ (When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert)?• Sustain momentum: Life building vs. custodial existence.

As you can imagine, the room ‘buzzed’ with conversation in response to these challenges. Going forward, I think the key is to have the attitude of a humble learner through the process of:

• ‘Thinking about’ and asking ourselves some challenging questions, • Engaging the people we serve in the conversation, and • ‘Starting small by looking at what we are already doing to determine if there are some ways to make it more developmental’ (When

Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert).The reality is we will likely ‘learn as we go’ but the most important thing we can do is to keep the conversation alive.

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Enjoying Home, Freedom and LifeVedder Terrace is an ‘Intentional Community’ in Chilliwack. It offers affordable, flexible and individualized housing for people with and without disabilities. Everyone works cooperatively to create a lifestyle that reflects their shared core values and needs. Since June 2016, 14 people have made Vedder Terrace their home. With their unique contributions and their individual dreams and goals, they have created a dynamic and vibrant community. At Vedder Terrace each person is free to make choices about how to live, when and who visits them, if and where they work, which activities to participate in, how they decorate their home, what they eat, and which friendships and relationships to pursue. They know they have the support of a loving, caring community that will be there with them through life’s joys, as well as life’s challenges. As Mary-Ann noted about her neighbours, “They help me and when they need help, I’m there for them.”In less than one year, Vedder Terrace has emerged as a positive presence in the community. Mayor Sharon Gaetz emphasized the contribution Vedder Terrace is making to the Chilliwack community, “I am grateful to Bethesda for its vision, passion and tenacity. Thank you for investing not only in bricks and mortar, but also in our most valuable asset - people."Residents get out and participate in day-to-day activities, some have found nearby jobs, friendships have blossomed, and all are optimistic about the possibilities awaiting them. It is with gratitude and pleasure that we share a few of their stories.

Living with Purpose and Earning MoneyStephen has recently been hired at Hofstede’s Country Barn in Chilliwack. Stephen works in the kitchen and dining area

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Employment Services: Finding Work You Love

BC Elections 2017 May 9, 2017

Vedder Terrace Citizenship in Practice

Kevin and Meredith Pastoor have been part of the Bethesda story for many years. Both participate in our Supported Independent Living services, while Kevin has been participating as a member on our Board of Directors for the past 12 years.We featured Kevin and Meredith in a previous newsletter story about how they met and married. Five years later, we continue to be inspired by this bright couple. It’s hard not to be affected by their accomplishments and dreams for their life together. They work, keep a household, contribute to the community, have many friends and belong to various social groups. Who better to learn about what it means to be a self-advocate?Kevin and Meredith met with us recently to share their perspectives about self-advocacy. As Kevin explained it, self-advocacy is about being able to make decisions for himself. What he hopes people understand is that a decision he and

Meredith make “is something we need to do; we might need a little help with some of the details, but we don’t need someone making the decisions for us.”This is the balance that can be challenging to find for the person with a disability and the people who care about them: how to assist without overstepping? In noting the risks in making her own

decisions, Meredith comments that “even if we fail from time to time, it’s how we learn”. Family and friends must allow a person to make their own decisions, because as Kevin reflects, “once they get their feet on the ground, they’ll run”. This has certainly proven true in Kevin and Meredith's experience.

Both Kevin and Meredith knew early in their lives that they had interests they wanted to pursue. For Meredith, that meant completing a Social Services diploma at the University of the Fraser Valley, then leaving her home in Abbotsford to work with YWAM for five years; first in Ontario, then in Kelowna and finally going abroad to serve in Scotland. The years traveling with YWAM were invaluable to her growth as a self-advocate. As she recalls, ‘I learned a lot about what independence means while I was traveling’. She presently teaches piano using her talents as an accomplished pianist. Kevin’s path led him into studying to be a radio programmer, following up on a childhood ambition of being a broadcaster. He works in a variety of roles including a researcher in a real estate management firm, marketing for a disabilities consulting group, and his first love, co-hosting a radio program out of the University of the Fraser Valley. Since getting married in 2011, Kevin and Meredith continue to grow as a couple. They are blessed with rewarding work, travel to exotic places, dreams of home ownership, and a full and engaging social life with family and friends walking alongside them throughout their journey. The value of their personal network is a theme that comes up over and over in conversation.They point out that their social network didn’t just happen; that they have “created belonging for themselves” by actively seeking and participating in social groups, by sharing their musical talents, and giving of themselves. The satisfaction they get from their busy lives is obvious, but it’s also clear they delight in being together in the tranquility of their home. What we are learning from Kevin and Meredith is that self-advocacy is empowering for people of all abilities. It may not always be simple to stand up for yourself, or for others to know how best to support someone, but it is essential for us to figure it out together.

Get the You Can Vote Toolkithttp://iamvoting.arts.ubc.ca/you-can-vote-tool-kit/inclu-sion-bc-you-can-vote-toolkit/

Full Citizenship

I am Voting 2017

Call for NominationsBethesda's Board of Directors is elected by the Membership to govern the Association. The Board is now calling for Members who would like to serve as a Director for a 3-year period. Board members are able to serve no more than two consecutive 3-year terms.The Board meets regularly with its manager, the Executive Director, to review such information as necessary to ensure that the mission of Bethesda is being carried out throughout the agency. If you are interested, please email President George Boer at Life@BethesdaBC.com and a Nomination Committee member will call you for further discussion.

Self Advocacy: A Story to Inspire

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