Скачать или смотреть Everyone’s Welcome — Faith Inclusion Network

Ever wonder how faith community disability inclusion initiatives get started, thrive and grow? Meet Karen Jackson, founder of the interfaith Faith Inclusion Network (FIN), and Michelle Munger, Interim Executive Director. FIN has transformed the interfaith community of Norfolk VA, and now is poised to become a national organization. How did their personal experiences as parents of children on the autism spectrum become the impetus for creating FIN and guiding it to be a community asset? Join us to be inspired by Karen and Michelle, Inclusion Champions!

About Karen Jackson, FIN Founder and Board Chair: Karen’s experience advocating for her daughter Samantha who has autism and her work as a parish Advocate at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Norfolk, VA, led to founding Faith Inclusion Network in 2008. Karen served as Executive Director until June 2021 and now is the board chair of FIN. Under Karen’s leadership, FIN hosts a bi-annual faith community disability inclusion retreats for national and international leaders in the field and has held bi-annual conferences featuring local and national speakers. FIN is now poised to become a national organization. Karen’s articles on faith and inclusion have appeared in numerous publications. Karen is the author of Loving Samantha, and she contributed to the book, Amazing Gifts: Stories of Faith, Disability and Inclusion by Mark Pinsky, published by Alban Institute. Karen and her husband Scott live in Norfolk and are the parents of Joseph, Samantha, and Jacob. She is also the band director at Norfolk Christian Upper School.

About Michelle Munger, FIN Interim Executive Director: Michelle Munger is the parent of two young men with autism. She and her husband Steven were married in 1996, weathered the active-duty military lifestyle, and settled in Newport News, Virginia. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Family Development from American Military University and a Masters in Religious Education from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. She has served in a variety of military and civilian church staff positions including Ministry Assistant, Director of Religious Education (serving both Catholic and Protestant chapel congregations), Youth Director, and Preschool & Children’s Ministry Director. She is an award-winning author of Margins of Grace: Becoming Champions of Faith and Family in the Midst of Disability. Michelle has been involved with Faith Inclusion Network for many years and now serves as the Interim Executive Director.

Everyone’s Welcome is hosted in partnership with Inclusion Innovations.