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Rewatch: “Stop Talking About Supporting Spirituality. Start Doing Something”

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Illustrated webinar graphic showing two people in conversation outdoors, including one wheelchair user, promoting an AAIDD webinar on spirituality and intellectual/developmental disabilities on May 14, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET.

The AAIDD Religion & Spirituality Interest Network is glad to share the recording from our recent coordinated webinar with the Faith and Culture Network.

As part of its lunchtime webinar series, the Faith and Culture Network hosted a conversation designed to raise awareness and share knowledge about how we can better support faith and culture within the Developmental Services sector.

This session brought together members of a collaborative project team from The Centre for Civic Religious Literacy and partner organizations including posAbilities, Kinsight, BACI, and Curiko for a thoughtful conversation about spirituality and wellbeing in the lives of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Together, the presenters explored:

  • why spirituality is too important to ignore
  • what persons with IDD, families, and agencies are saying
  • some of the questions, tensions, and old confusions that still need attention
  • brave, creative, and practical ways to begin

This session shared emerging learning, invited reflection, and pointed toward further possibilities for the Developmental Services sector and faith communities.

If this conversation resonates with you, we encourage you to watch the recording and share it with others who may benefit from it.

Watch the recording here: https://youtu.be/xXG2RDV4SbM

We are grateful to the Faith and Culture Network of Ontario and all the partners involved in making this important conversation possible.

Joohi Tahir Named Recipient of the 2026 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award

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The AAIDD Religion and Spirituality Interest Network is pleased to announce that Joohi Tahir has been named the recipient of the 2026 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award.

Joohi Tahir: Co-Founder & Executive Director of @muhsenorg, championing inclusion for Muslims with disabilities! Boston University grad with 20+ years in corporate & global marketing, but her greatest inspiration? Her daughter on the autism spectrum.For 18 years, she’s led initiatives advancing accessibility & acceptance across North America. MWA 2015 Inspiring Women’s Award winner, recognized as Top 7 Muslim American Women to Celebrate in 2017, and TRT World Citizen Award 2026.

This award recognizes leaders whose work has significantly shaped the spiritual lives, inclusion, and belonging of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It honours those who expand access to faith communities, deepen understanding of spiritual gifts and needs, and foster meaningful participation in religious life.

Joohi Tahir serves as Executive Director of MUHSEN (Muslims Understanding & Helping Special Education Needs), a pioneering organization dedicated to advancing inclusion within Muslim communities. Under her leadership, MUHSEN has developed innovative programs that support accessibility, awareness, and full participation for individuals with disabilities and their families across North America and internationally.

Central to Joohi’s work is a commitment to reimagining what inclusion looks like in faith communities. Through initiatives such as the MUHSEN Masjid Certification Program, accessible religious education, and supported participation in pilgrimage, her leadership has helped reshape both practice and understanding. Her work reflects a sustained integration of faith and action, ensuring that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are not simply accommodated, but welcomed as full participants in community life.

Joohi’s influence extends beyond any single organization. She has contributed to broader interfaith and collaborative efforts, helping to build bridges across communities and deepen shared commitments to dignity, belonging, and mutual learning.

The award will be presented in connection with the AAIDD Annual Conference, June 22–24, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois, during the Religion and Spirituality Interest Network forum.

Please join us in celebrating Joohi Tahir and her ongoing leadership in advancing spiritual inclusion and belonging.

Original Martha Perske Prints Available to Support the AAIDD Religion and Spirituality Interest Network

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The AAIDD Religion & Spirituality Interest Network works to foster opportunities for spiritual growth among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Original Martha Perske prints are available as one way to support that work.

Martha Perske was renowned for her black-and-white artistic drawings of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Many of her drawings were used as illustrations for books authored by her husband, Bob Perske.

These drawings have also been described as among the first to catch the beauty of people’s faces and their humanity as many people were coming out of institutions and being mainstreamed in schools.

Martha Perske in black and white with her bird.

These last remaining copies of the original prints were given to the AAIDD Religion & Spirituality Interest Network and are being made available for individuals, organizations, or congregations. Prints have been offered at $50 each, or 5 for $200.

If you are interested, view the PDF below for information on contacting Bill Gaventa with the prints you are interested in to first check whether they are still available and to receive payment instructions. Availability varies.

Sales of the Perske prints have previously helped generate funds for the network, and this offering provides a meaningful way to support its ongoing work.

Gaventa – Last 6 Remaining Original Copies of the Martha Perske PrintsDownload

AAIDD Annual Conference Scholarship for a Self-Advocate

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The AAIDD Religion and Spirituality Interest Network is committed to including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the AAIDD annual national conference. We have funds to provide a $500 scholarship for one adult with intellectual or developmental disability who is involved in self-advocacy and is interested in attending the AAIDD Annual Meeting.

You can learn more about the annual meeting here: https://www.aaidd.org/education/annual-conference 

We are particularly interested in self-advocates who have an interest in religion and/or spirituality, including how people with disabilities experience belonging, meaning, or participation in faith or spiritual life. Being part of a faith community is not required.

You may fill this out on paper, type your answers, or record audio or video responses. You may also get help from a family member, friend, or support person.

Apply Here
Accessible Application

AAIDD Religion & Spirituality Interest Network Contributes to CQL Resources on Non-Traditional Spirituality

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The AAIDD Religion & Spirituality Interest Network recently contributed to a Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL) webinar and companion article on non-traditional spirituality, expanding how organizations understand and support spiritual expression among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Tammy Besser and Sharon Coutryer, both members of the Interest Network, along with Michelle Johnson and representatives from Camphill Communities Ontario, presented on CQL’s webinar Non-Traditional Spirituality: Putting It Into Practice.

Their discussion centered on the lived reality that spiritual life often unfolds outside institutional religion. People express spirituality through nature, creativity, meditation, music, service activities, or community rituals. These practices support meaning, purpose, and connection even when they don’t look like formal worship.

Tammy Besser’s CQL article, Supporting Non-Traditional Spirituality, outlines the core themes that shape spirituality: connection to something greater than oneself, the search for meaning and purpose, and  connection to or experience of the divine.  Essential to understanding spirituality is that the individual defines what is sacred or holy for them. These themes helped frame both the article and the webinar. The article and webinar describe how activities such as gratitude jars, community gardens, drumming circles, open mic nights, or neighborhood clean-ups function as spiritual practices when they help someone orient toward meaning or transcendence.

The Interest Network’s contribution highlighted practical examples from diverse service contexts. Michelle Johnson shared her personal spiritual journey, and Camphill Communities Ontario described how ritual and meaning are woven into daily life. Presenters also demonstrated how staff education, discovery conversations, and creative problem-solving can reduce barriers to spiritual expression, especially for people who do not find resonance in traditional religious settings.

This work aligns closely with the mission of the AAIDD Religion & Spirituality Interest Network and with broader quality-of-life principles. Spirituality remains essential to personal well-being, yet organizations often limit support to formal, traditional, religious activity. Recognizing non-traditional pathways creates space for people to explore the practices that genuinely sustain them, whether through art, community, nature, service, or reflective disciplines.

Both the webinar and the article offer concrete guidance for organizations seeking to broaden their approach. They also demonstrate the influence of AAIDD R&S IN members in shaping national conversations about inclusive spiritual life.

Rev. Dr. Sarah McKenney Named Recipient of 2025 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award

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Photo of Rev. Dr. Sarah McKenney with AAIDD RS Logo and text, "Congratulations to Rev. Dr. Sarah McKenney, recipient of the 2025 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award!

Rev. Dr. McKenney will be presented with the 2025 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award by the Religion and Spirituality Interest Network of AAIDD at the Network Forum on June 23, 2025.

We are pleased to announce Rev. Dr. Sarah McKenney as the 2025 recipient of the Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award! This award recognizes the creative ways she has promoted opportunities for people with disabilities for personal spiritual growth, developing enriching relationships, and participating in spiritual or religious community.

As Spiritual Support Coordinator at Stone Belt Arc, Rev. Dr. McKenney leads the organization’s first-ever Spiritual Support Program. Specifically, she developed and led an innovative Spiritual Engagement Coach pilot program that paired trained coaches with people to support their spiritual goals. The program has shown measurable outcomes in belonging, joy, and well-being, with many participants transitioning to natural community supports. She created a replicable model that is designed to be a potential Medicaid Waiver service, and now hopes it gets picked up as such.

In addition to this groundbreaking work, Sarah accompanies people through grief and end-of-life care, training both staff and families to walk alongside them during major life transitions. She earned her Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Disability and Ministry in 2024 and her Master of Divinity (M.Div.) in 2012. She brings over fifteen years of experience and currently serves as Vice President of the Religion and Spirituality Interest Network of AAIDD. As someone with disabilities herself, Sarah brings a unique and embodied perspective to her work, experiencing the world through the lenses of dyslexia and ADHD.

We are grateful for Rev. Dr. McKenney’s bold and compassionate leadership in reimagining spiritual support, and we look forward to celebrating her work at this year’s forum.

Famed Health and Spirituality Physician to speak at the Religion and Spirituality Interest Network Forum

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Dr. Christina Puchalski, Director of the George Washington University Institute on Spirituality and Health (GWISH), will be the guest presenter and conversation partner at this AAIDD Religion and Spirituality Interest Network’s annual Forum. It will take place on Monday, June 23, 2025, from 1-4 pm during the pre-conference program.

For decades, Dr. Puchalski has been a leader and advocate in growing attention to and developing research and practice on the impact of spirituality on health and wellness in health care settings. GWISH provides training for multi-disciplinary health care professionals as well as chaplains and clergy. It also publishes a weekly newsletter summarizing research findings from around the world.

The Forum, entitled Spirituality and the Health and Wellness of People with IDD. is an opportunity for those of us who work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to learn more about how spirituality is being addressed in general health care and research, as well as an opportunity for Dr. Puchalski to learn more about initiatives with people with disabilities. Her presentation will follow the awarding of Religion and Spirituality’s Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award to Rev. Dr. Sarah McKenney, Spiritual Support and Volunteer Coordinator Stone Belt Arc in Bloomington, Indiana, who will share outcomes from her recently completed pilot program of Spiritual Engagement Coaches.

The final part of the Forum will be a dialogue with Dr. Puchalski, Erik Carter, Ph.D. Director Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities, David Ervin, MS, CEO, Makom and Bill Gaventa, MDiv. Founder and Director Emeritus, Institute on Theology and Disability, Rev. Dr. McKenney along with forum attendees addressing strategies to enhance spiritual supports in disability services. Deborah Fisher, Psy.D., Deborah Fisher Consulting and Past President of the Network, will preside.

The Forum is co-sponsored his year by CQL, NADSP and Makom.

If you are attending in person, please register on the AAIDD Conference website here. There is a $35 fee.

Following the Forum there will be a short business meeting. At 6, please join members of the Religion & Spirituality Interest Network for dinner at Ted’s Montana Grill, 2200 Crystal City Drive, Arlington, VA (down the street from the conference hotel.) When registering, please indicate whether you will join us for dinner so we can provide the restaurant with a headcount.

Rev. Dr. Erin Raffety Named Recipient of 2024 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award

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Erin Raffety will be presented with the 2024 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award by the Religion and Spirituality Interest Network of AAIDD at the Network Forum on June 10, 2023.

We are pleased to announce Rev. Dr. Erin Raffety as the 2024 recipient of the Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award! This award recognizes the creative ways she has promoted opportunities for people with disabilities for personal spiritual growth, developing enriching relationships, and participating in spiritual or religious community.

Rev. Dr. Erin Raffety is a Practical Theologian who uses ethnographic methods to study Christian congregations and communities. Raffety is currently a Lecturer in the Princeton Writing Program where she teaches on disability justice. She is ordained as a Teaching Elder in the PC(USA), holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology, is a proud parent of a daughter with multiple disabilities, and a disability advocate.

At Princeton Theological Seminary, Raffety serves as the Senior Researcher on the Isaiah Partnership, the Empirical Research Consultant on the Imagining Church, and the Associate Research Scholar for the Institute for Youth Ministry. She is also currently the Scholar-in-Residence for the Missing Voices 2.0 grant at Flagler College that is working to develop practical and scholarly resources for youth workers in ministry with disabled youth (2023-2025). From 2020-2023, she served as a Research Fellow at the Center of Theological Inquiry, where she built and studied a Minecraft video game for disabled Christians and their congregations, and conducted a study on worship access for Christians living with Long COVID and chronic illness.

She is also the author of two books, one on disability ministry in the United States, From Inclusion to Justice (Baylor, Sept 1, 2022), and the other on disability and foster care in China, Families We Need (Rutgers, Nov 11, 2022), as well as numerous academic and popular articles.

Karen Jackson Named Recipient of 2023 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award

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Karen Jackson will be presented with the 2023 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award by the Religion and Spirituality Interest Network of AAIDD at the Network Forum on June 5, 2023.

UPDATE: Read the announcement on the AAIDD Website, here!

We are pleased to announce Karen Jackson as the 2023 recipient of the Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award! This award recognizes the creative ways she has promoted opportunities for people with disabilities for personal spiritual growth, developing enriching relationships, and participating in spiritual or religious community.

Black-and white photo of a smiling white woman (Karen) looking at the camera with medium-length hair, a pearl earing and a light-blazer.
Karen F. Jackson

Mrs. Jackson lives in Norfolk, VA with her husband Scott and daughter, Samantha. She graduated from the Eastman School of Music with a BM in Music Education and Clarinet Performance and from Temple University with an MM in Music Education. She has been a professional music educator for 33 years and is currently Director of Bands and Fine Arts Department Chair at Norfolk Christian Schools.

Karen’s experience in the faith and disability community began 15 years ago when, while searching for a congregation that would welcome her daughter who is severely affected by autism, she began advocating in congregations in her community. In 2007 she accepted a position as her Catholic church’s first Parish Advocate for persons affected by disability. This volunteer position led Karen to found Faith Inclusion Network in 2008.

In addition to leading Faith Inclusion Network for the organization’s first 14 years, Mrs. Jackson has spoken at a variety of conferences, including the AAIDD Annual Meeting, TASH Annual Conference, the Summer Institute on Theology and Disability and the AUCD Annual Conference.  Her published writing includes articles in The Catholic Virginian, U.S. Catholic, TASH Connections and for various websites.  She also contributed to the book, Amazing Gifts: Stories of Faith, Disability and Inclusion by Mark Pinsky and is the author of her own book, Loving Samantha published in 2015.

McNair Named Recipient of 2022 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award

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Dr. Jeff McNair was presented with the 2022 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award by the Religion and Spirituality Interest Network of AAIDD. The award was presented at the Network Forum on June 13, 2022.

McNair is professor of Special Education at California Baptist University (CBU). After receiving his BA in Christian Education (Wheaton College), he completed an MA (Cal State LA) and a Ph.D. in Special Education (University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana). He went on to teach at Cal State San Bernardino for 15 years and has been at CBU since 2004 training teachers to educate students with extensive needs. While completing his education, he and his wife Kathi have been involved in disability ministry at the local churches they attended, starting in 1974.

Over these years, Jeff increasingly saw the connection between community integration and the potential of the local Christian community. Study of the Bible led to a growing understanding of a Biblical perspective on disability resulting in writing, lecturing and teaching about this perspective. He also worked for ten years for the Joni and Friends organization allowing him to teach about disability ministry/theology in 21 countries on 5 continents. Jeff founded the Disability Studies MA at CBU arguably the first grad program in disability ministry. He has delivered numerous sermons and has over 60 publications on these issues. His weblog disabledChristianity has resulted in two books.

For the last 30 years, he and Kathi have facilitated The Light & Power Company, a ministry that includes adults with developmental disabilities at Trinity EV Free church in Redlands, California also resulting in the publication of curriculum for adults with intellectual disabilities most recently on Philippians. Jeff has also been involved with his son Josh producing father/son travel videos the most successful on Route 66 which has ten million views (Through My Lens). Second only to his love for his family, the passion of Jeff and Kathi’s lives has been that the Christian church would truly love their neighbors with disabilities.