>> I'm also god T-America is churches are more welcoming to people with disabilities. <<
Most are. I've seen it in a handful of other places, but this is among the most dramatic and charming. The People of Jesus Nondenominational Church and Interfaith Center in Bluehill runs a soup kitchen (open to all) in the basement. When they realized that Turq couldn't come indoors to eat, they took a tray out for him.
In T-America, for every person who would call the cops on Homeless Jesus, there are probably ten who'd say, "Hey, buddy, are you okay?" There's just more fellowfeel there.
Another aspect is that they're more aware of what people with disabilities can contribute.
Churches want them because they remind everyone that diversity and compassion are important. In this particular case, Christians are mandated to care for the poor and disabled; Jesus was extremely concerned with such people. So in T-America, people are less focuses on the book and more focused on doing what Jesus did. Which actually works pretty well.
In health care, it's a different angle. They want people to be healthy. Despair wrecks health. If a person with a newly acquired disability sees someone on the job with a disability, then the feeling is more likely to be frustration than despair. Plus a counselor with a disability is very well equipped to help other people overcome challenges and adapt to new limitations without giving up more than necessary. That improves the chance of better outcomes. What would happen if everyone did this? Well, when you have a whole hospital system employing several hundred or several thousand people -- or better yet, society as a whole -- the presence of employees with disabilities just gets into people's heads and cushions the "my life is over" effect because as soon as the initial freakout wears off, they'll remember seeing those folks and will start to wonder how they do things. One of the scenes I haven't written yet is Ragno talking to a nurse who only has one arm, and it helps him adapt. *chuckle* Supervillains even have a handbook, The One-Armed Bandit, about that disability.
>> My best friend M would love to go back to church, but her problem is that people would try to heal her. <<
That sucks.
>> Her attitude is that if God wanted her healed it would've already been done, (A) and if you're trying to heal her, that means that she isn't accepted as she is, (B) and she doesn't like that. <<
Well reasoned.
>> She also, most days, can't deal with the 'shugar sweet' tone that some people affect while around us. <<
Yeah, that sucks. One of the best ways to make them quit, or at least leave, is to mirror it back at them. They hate that.
The problems described are much worse in Southern culture than Northern culture, and similarly, in the more spiritualist than the more rationalist church styles. Your friend might have some luck exploring different flavors of church, because they're definitely not all the same. Some are awful like that while others are inclusive. But if her taste is for Southern style ... well, try searching things like "mass for shut-ins." The services are often accessible even if the community is not. :/
Thoughts
Yay!
>> I'm also god T-America is churches are more welcoming to people with disabilities. <<
Most are. I've seen it in a handful of other places, but this is among the most dramatic and charming. The People of Jesus Nondenominational Church and Interfaith Center in Bluehill runs a soup kitchen (open to all) in the basement. When they realized that Turq couldn't come indoors to eat, they took a tray out for him.
In T-America, for every person who would call the cops on Homeless Jesus, there are probably ten who'd say, "Hey, buddy, are you okay?" There's just more fellowfeel there.
Another aspect is that they're more aware of what people with disabilities can contribute.
Churches want them because they remind everyone that diversity and compassion are important. In this particular case, Christians are mandated to care for the poor and disabled; Jesus was extremely concerned with such people. So in T-America, people are less focuses on the book and more focused on doing what Jesus did. Which actually works pretty well.
In health care, it's a different angle. They want people to be healthy. Despair wrecks health. If a person with a newly acquired disability sees someone on the job with a disability, then the feeling is more likely to be frustration than despair. Plus a counselor with a disability is very well equipped to help other people overcome challenges and adapt to new limitations without giving up more than necessary. That improves the chance of better outcomes. What would happen if everyone did this? Well, when you have a whole hospital system employing several hundred or several thousand people -- or better yet, society as a whole -- the presence of employees with disabilities just gets into people's heads and cushions the "my life is over" effect because as soon as the initial freakout wears off, they'll remember seeing those folks and will start to wonder how they do things. One of the scenes I haven't written yet is Ragno talking to a nurse who only has one arm, and it helps him adapt. *chuckle* Supervillains even have a handbook, The One-Armed Bandit, about that disability.
>> My best friend M would love to go back to church, but her problem is that people would try to heal her. <<
That sucks.
>> Her attitude is that if God wanted her healed it would've already been done, (A) and if you're trying to heal her, that means that she isn't accepted as she is, (B) and she doesn't like that. <<
Well reasoned.
>> She also, most days, can't deal with the 'shugar sweet' tone that some people affect while around us. <<
Yeah, that sucks. One of the best ways to make them quit, or at least leave, is to mirror it back at them. They hate that.
The problems described are much worse in Southern culture than Northern culture, and similarly, in the more spiritualist than the more rationalist church styles. Your friend might have some luck exploring different flavors of church, because they're definitely not all the same. Some are awful like that while others are inclusive. But if her taste is for Southern style ... well, try searching things like "mass for shut-ins." The services are often accessible even if the community is not. :/