{"id":11460,"date":"2012-02-28T16:26:07","date_gmt":"2012-02-28T21:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=11460"},"modified":"2012-03-12T14:05:20","modified_gmt":"2012-03-12T18:05:20","slug":"pastor-pairs-love-of-church-people-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2012\/pastor-pairs-love-of-church-people-with-disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Pastor Pairs Love of Church, People with Disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Courtesy Bluffton University<\/em><\/p>\n

Having an adopted brother with tubular meningitis has made a huge mark on the Rev. Paula Snyder Belousek\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarly on, I became interested in what role people with disabilities play in the church setting,\u201d she said last week at Bluffton University.<\/p>\n

While majoring in special education<\/a> and psychology<\/a> at Eastern Mennonite University, she sought out how to pair her love for people with disabilities and her love for the church.<\/p>\n

Her answer came during voluntary service in Fresno, Calif., when she gave her first church sermon accompanied by a person who had a developmental disability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat church claimed and made me their own; that was something I really appreciated and helped define my walk,\u201d said Belousek, now pastor of Salem Mennonite Church in Elida, Ohio.<\/p>\n

She visited nearby Bluffton from Feb. 21-23 as part of its minister in residence program, sitting in on classes, lectures and lunches, as well as speaking at the university\u2019s weekly chapel service.<\/p>\n

As a pastor, Belousek has used her experience and interest in people with disabilities by trying to speak in a way that appeals to a variety of listeners, and by being creative.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love shaping worship and helping people see their own calling and giftedness,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m always seeking new ways that I can involve teenagers or other age groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ministry was a calling she didn\u2019t recognize initially, the native Canadian acknowledged, but as a pastor, she feels she has learned a lot about herself and others. \u201cPeople know when you\u2019re being real with them and, when your intentions are right, they will grow to trust you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Belousek also has advice for college students studying religion. \u201cStart testing it with a community of people, and ask yourself if this truly is God\u2019s calling for you,\u201d she said, adding, for female religion students in particular: \u201cTrust the voice of God, even if there are barriers. Trust God that he gave you your gifts, and he will make a way to use them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Eastern Mennonite graduate, who now has several Bluffton alumni in her congregation, encourages high school students to pursue Mennonite higher education. \u201cI highly value Mennonite education because I know how it\u2019s helped shape my own life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Courtesy Bluffton University Having an adopted brother with tubular meningitis has made a huge mark on the Rev. Paula Snyder Belousek\u2019s life. \u201cEarly on, I became interested in what role ... read more about Pastor Pairs Love of Church, People with Disabilities<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":11463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,5594,5603],"tags":[13780,7640],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-11460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-education","category-psychology","tag-psychology","tag-special-education"],"yoast_head":"\nPastor Pairs Love of Church, People with Disabilities - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2012\/pastor-pairs-love-of-church-people-with-disabilities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pastor Pairs Love of Church, People with Disabilities - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Courtesy Bluffton University Having an adopted brother with tubular meningitis has made a huge mark on the Rev. 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