Fr. Harry, Christ is Risen! This newsletter marks the final weekly resource recap for Autism Awareness month. We hope you have been edified by the resources offered in April which are meant to foster connections and understanding amongst non-autistic members of our communities with our autistic sisters and brothers in Christ. Please continue to utilize our webpage goarch.org/autism-awareness for pastoral, educational, and familial resources. We ask for your continued prayers as we build our ministry efforts toward full accessibility and belonging of all members of our church communities, and we are here to support your individual efforts to that same end. Christ is in our midst! He is and always shall be! In October of 2024, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Center for Family Care announced its awarding of a $1,250,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. for the establishment of a new initiative:On Behalf of All: Toward an Accessible Divine Liturgy for Children with Disabilities. The grant will provide funding for a period of five years for this project that has as its purpose to bring together people with disabilities, caregivers, priests, pastoral leaders, and others with disability ministry expertise, to chart and address barriers to participation, foster collaboration among parishes working toward this effort, provide education and professional development for clergy and pastoral leaders, pilot best practices, design and gather resources, and create replicable models for use in and beyond the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Read full press release here! The Mission of Fully Human: Toward Full Participation of People with Disabilities is to: ~ Provide support, resources and replicable ministry models ~ Remove misunderstandings about disabilities ~ Affect change toward full participation of people with disabilities and their families in the life of Orthodox Christian parishes. Find more information and resources at the Fully Human webpage. Additional resources include social media graphics and inspirational quotes; Family Matters/Fully Human podcast editions on Ancient Faith Radio; articles on community life, parenting, and theology; an archive of webinars; and a directory of Orthodox Christian retreats and camping opportunities for families with disabilities. Gathered as One Body: Disability, Accessibility, and Inclusion in the Orthodox Church Center for Family Care staff members just returned from the Gathered as One Body Conference held in Boston on May 1-3, 2025, and hosted and organized by the Huffington Ecumenical Institute. This event marked the official launch of our 5-year initiative On Behalf of All: Toward an Accessible Divine Liturgy for Children with Disabilities, funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., which will support 12 Pilot Parishes as they build greater accessibility for disabled children in the lives of their communities. The conference brought together Orthodox church leaders, clergy, theologians, caregivers, and disability advocates to explore practical and spiritual approaches to creating inclusive parishes. We will share the highlights of this recent, pivotal conference with you soon! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated on all our latest content! With hope in our Risen Lord, The Center for Family Care P.S. Have suggestions for what type of content you’d like to see from us in the future? Reply to this email or send us a message on Facebook!