Seymour church members take part in 'Mission Sunday'

The Little Church With a Red Roof Is Making a Big Difference

SEYMOUR - Great Hill United Methodist Church has as its mission statement “We are a community of faith committed to sharing the love of Jesus Christ.”
On April 28 more than 100 church family members worked to fulfill that mission through its words and actions, by actively participating in the church’s first ever “Mission Sunday.” 

Beginning with a light breakfast followed by a worship service featuring an anthem by the choir entitled “Wake Up Church” the 100 plus “missionaries”aged six to 96 headed out to fulfill their commitments by “making a difference.”

This event included several children ages 5-6 and several church members in their 90s along with several participants from Seymour United Methodist Church.

A wide range of mission projects was offered.
Choir members performed two 45-minute concerts at Crosby Commons and Wesley Heights in Shelton  Both performances featured the musical score from “Fiddler on the Roof”  and were well received. Some of the senior church members visited Shady Knoll Health Center in Seymour, and chatted with residents.
Several ladies stayed at the church and prepared a celebration luncheon for the returning “missionaries” as well as fulfilling the church’s commitment to provide a monthly dinner for Spooner House in Shelton. 

Five mission work teams also spread out to complete two elderly assistance projects in Seymour, repaired and landscaped the cemetery at the Seymour United Methodist Church and completed two additional clean-up projects for some of the church’s elderly members.

Many of the younger members, along with Boy Scouts from the church sponsored Troop,

cleaned up the road area from the church up Great Hill Road and from the Rotary down

Route 188 to Route 34.
Infant and child care was provided for participating parents. The Mission Sunday concluded with a Celebration Luncheon for all participants and an opportunity to share their experiences.

This post is taken from a press release.

Seymour church to hold 'Mission Sunday' April 28

SEYMOUR - Great Hill United Methodist Church has as its mission statement “We are a community of faith committed to sharing the love of Jesus Christ.” 

On April 28 the entire church family intends to fulfill that mission through “its words and actions” by participating in the church’s first “Mission Sunday.”

Beginning with breakfast at 8:30 a.m. in Fellowship Hall, Great Hill’s “missionaries” will participate in a brief worship service before heading out in the Valley community to fulfill their mission commitments.

The event, designed to provide a mission opportunity for every church member, will include several youngsters ages 5-6 and several church members in their 90s.
To make sure that each church member has an opportunity to make a difference, the event planning committee will offer a wide range of projects.

Choir members, joined by others who like to sing, will perform two 4- minute concerts at the United Methodist Homes in Shelton.
Some of the senior members will visit Shady Knoll Nursing Home in Seymour to visit with the senior residents. Several ladies will stay at the church to prepare a celebration luncheon for the returning “missionaries” as well as prepare a monthly dinner for Spooner House homeless shelter in Shelton.

Mission teams will spread out to complete two elderly assistance projects in Seymour and three projects for some of Great Hill’s elderly members.
Many of the younger members will join with the church’s sponsored Scout troop to clean up the road from the Route 188 rotary to the cemetery on Holbrook Road, Seymour.

Infant and child care will be provided so that young parents can also participate in the mission project of their choosing.
Mission Sunday will conclude with a Celebration Luncheon for all participants and an opportunity to share their mission experiences.

The church is at 225 Great Hill Road.


This information is taken from a press release.

Educator describes meeting 'miracle' teen

By Lois Knapton
Director, Special Education
Derby Public Schools


Whew, what a week.
Part of the development of a new disability education program is outreach to parents, so we did one impromptu session last week on Friday.
We let the parents know that is ok if you have a child with a disability, and you can contact the CHE (Community Health Evangelism) disability worker in your school to get some help.

Lois Knapton

As an outsider, I use the current resources they have here, and I do not include myself in any of the sustainable systematic changes I am trying to develop.
After our outreach meeting, a mother came to the school and said she has a son who needs help. In this culture, this is brave step for her to take. So, on Monday morning we were led by the mother, through the Huruma  slums, to her house.

This is what I can only describe as the Miracle of Moses: His mother explained that Moses is 16 and cannot do anything by himself. He is deaf, he does not speak, and has been in the house for 10 years and bedridden most of the time.


 When we got inside the house we noticed a lump on the bed, covered by a blanket. Our team included me, with two social workers, Isabella and Margaret, and an occupational therapist, Mitch, and a physical therapy assistant, Michelle (how convenient) and kinesiology graduate named Laura, from the Flip-side church in California; they were here on a short-term mission trip for one week.

We started asking questions of the mom, then we decided it was time to see Moses. The mother woke him and dragged him over the back of the couch. I immediately noticed Moses climbed over the couch and landed in a sitting position on the couch.
He was clearly startled and confused, but alert. We talked and assessed him, the OT and PT tried to stand him up and take a few steps supporting him. Moses tolerated it.
We thought that was a miracle.
But there is more...Mom said she needed help for his skin and we told her to bring him to the clinic, a 10-minute walk; she said it was impossible.
We left and told her we would try to bring a nurse back with us the next day.

       As the team was eating lunch at the school and preparing for afternoon community work, the mom shows up at the clinic with Moses on the back of a bike.
I can only assume that she felt some hope and gained some courage to get more help for her and her son.
The  team members who visited him in the a.m. were in tears. We could not believe our eyes - she brought him to the clinic.

Then, as I was sitting near Moses, I saw his eyes start to track, and he found Laura, the redheaded student.  And then, he simply stood up, walked over to her and sat down. It was a 25-foot span. No one said a word.  If I had not witnessed it  with my own eyes, I never could have believed where this child was functioning in the a.m and where he was now.
           We visited Moses every day this week, and every day he improves. It is not easy, we spend a lot of time teaching mom techniques to teach her son.
 On Thursday his mom turned to me and said, "So he can learn?"  I said, "Yes, absolutely."
We are teaching him to put on his shoes and on Thursday he held a spoon and fed himself for the first time.

 
      His mom is learning very quickly how to teach Moses. She has two other younger children and I explained to her it is like teaching an 18 -month old how to do things.
I believe Moses will continue to make great strides.
In addition to visiting Moses, we saw nine other new clients this week in the community.
The word is quickly spreading throughout the  village that you can get help for your children who are disabled.
        Next week, I will work with Isabella and Margaret to train some teachers to do informal assessments to see which students need extra help to be successful in school.

We will also be doing teacher training to help the teachers understand that all children can learn.
We certainly have our work cut out for us.
Thank you for joining me on my journey. I am sure there are many more miracles awaiting.

Knapton is contributing weekly posts about her three-month mission trip to Nairobi, Kenya.   

Derby educator files first post from Kenya

May 29, 2012

By Lois Knapton

Director, Special Education

Derby Public Schools

Knapton

OK, so I feel like I am trying to make chocolate chip cookies by starting with grinding the flour.

I have been in Nairobi for four days, two at work. 
Talk about a culture shock….not to mention the large monkey running along the stonewall outside the house.
I am so glad I do not have to cook or clean, but that means I eat what is offered. Breakfast was bread, peanut butter, (but nothing like peanut butter from America), bananas, hot milk, and ground meal.
Lunch was kale, ugali (a mix between rice and mashed potatoes, but very thick) and mystery meat stew with potatoes. Dinner was ugali, kale, rice, and fish.

Thankfully, I am rationing my chocolate!
So back to the chocolate chip cookies: I am working with a social worker over here trying to develop a sustainable system of referral and assessment for students with special needs.

With no laws to guide the process, I am pulling from American federal laws, IDEA, and my background in special education, to shape this Kenyan system.
Let’s see what day three brings!

Note: Knapton left Friday for a three-month mission to Kenya, where she will be working at a private school to help develop a system to assess special needs students. She plans to contribute updates about her experiences on a regular basis.