For the love of Reality Ministries
Tax deductible
Reality Ministries is an organization that fosters friendships among among people with and without disabilities. 7 years ago, I brought a new friend to a Reality Ministries gathering for the first time. We spent the evening eating, talking and singing in a crowded noisy church fellowship hall. As we left, I casually asked what she thought. She sputtered, "What is this? Who... who's who in there?" She tried to voice her expectation that she would at least know who the people with disabilities were and who the helpers were. "But I couldn't tell who was who!"
That mutuality is the heart of Reality Ministries. We hold weekly large and small groups, summer camps, host special events and run an incredible farm. Relationships at Reality are marked by mutuality, authenticity and the reality of God's love for us all. When I first started volunteering a decade ago, I quickly discovered that here I could be fully myself. It didn't matter if I laughed super loud, or forgot someone's name, or danced silly when everyone was looking. All my quirks were welcomed. You come as you are, to love and be loved. Nothing was normative, except acceptance.
I understood God’s unconditional love in a new way after my three little boys were born. As they grew, I began to see that they did not fit the mold, that their strengths and struggles and superpowers didn’t map with what I read in my baby books. After several years of sadness and confusion, we received needed diagnoses that helped me see my boys with clearer eyes. But I had already learned from Reality that a diagnosis does not define a person's rich humanity. And that in our family I don't want anything to be normative, except acceptance. My boys came as they are, to love and be loved.
In 2014, we moved our family into the North Street community , an intentional residential community created by Reality Ministries. We live together with other neighbors of all abilities in supportive relationship with one another. My neighbor Tommy, pictured laughing with my boys below, loves to carry my groceries in for me when I am herding toddlers and taming tantrums. For a time (probably during sleepless nights with some struggling child), I regularly forgot my keys in the door. Tommy would check every time he walked by to be sure those keys were brought safely inside.
In this community, I regularly witness the kind of beautiful mutuality that I believe we are all made for. Reality Ministries is transforming the world by teaching us all the power of self-acceptance. We all exist with distinct abilities and struggles, and we desperately need one another. In the Reality community, we don't have to earn love or prove worth. This is the world I dream of, the world I will dedicate my life to sharing with all who need it.
Reality needs to raise much-needed funds to continue to love all our friends in our isolation and to ensure our doors can reopen once it's safe to do so. Many people with disabilities are more susceptible than most to particular medical risks, and, at the same time, are more likely to experience isolation and loneliness. Since our programs shifted online, we've been working harder than ever. We meet in small groups over Zoom. We lead exercise classes, sing-alongs and storytimes over youtube. We call everyone. No one falls through the cracks. For some of our friends, this is the only personal contact they get all week.
Will you join me in donating to this incredibly valuable organization, a mission that has transformed my life and my family? It would mean the world to us. To help make your donation even sweeter, we, as a Board, have agreed to match all donations that come in up to $71,000 through June 30. We're more than half-way there!
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Some photo evidence of our neighborhood and community fun:
Me tap dancing on the stage of the Durham Performing Arts Center (where I saw Hamilton!) with my across the street neighbor Micaiah (2nd picture, middle) at the Reality Ministries annual Talent Show.
You've GOT to watch this video that captures just a bit of the magic of the Talent Show:
Christmas party with the women of North Street: (yes I'm definitely wearing my robe... here, you come as you are!)
James and I receiving a royal welcome on the red carpet at our annual "Kings and Queens dance," and breaking it down on the dance floor (2nd photo below)
That mutuality is the heart of Reality Ministries. We hold weekly large and small groups, summer camps, host special events and run an incredible farm. Relationships at Reality are marked by mutuality, authenticity and the reality of God's love for us all. When I first started volunteering a decade ago, I quickly discovered that here I could be fully myself. It didn't matter if I laughed super loud, or forgot someone's name, or danced silly when everyone was looking. All my quirks were welcomed. You come as you are, to love and be loved. Nothing was normative, except acceptance.
I understood God’s unconditional love in a new way after my three little boys were born. As they grew, I began to see that they did not fit the mold, that their strengths and struggles and superpowers didn’t map with what I read in my baby books. After several years of sadness and confusion, we received needed diagnoses that helped me see my boys with clearer eyes. But I had already learned from Reality that a diagnosis does not define a person's rich humanity. And that in our family I don't want anything to be normative, except acceptance. My boys came as they are, to love and be loved.
In 2014, we moved our family into the North Street community , an intentional residential community created by Reality Ministries. We live together with other neighbors of all abilities in supportive relationship with one another. My neighbor Tommy, pictured laughing with my boys below, loves to carry my groceries in for me when I am herding toddlers and taming tantrums. For a time (probably during sleepless nights with some struggling child), I regularly forgot my keys in the door. Tommy would check every time he walked by to be sure those keys were brought safely inside.
In this community, I regularly witness the kind of beautiful mutuality that I believe we are all made for. Reality Ministries is transforming the world by teaching us all the power of self-acceptance. We all exist with distinct abilities and struggles, and we desperately need one another. In the Reality community, we don't have to earn love or prove worth. This is the world I dream of, the world I will dedicate my life to sharing with all who need it.
Reality needs to raise much-needed funds to continue to love all our friends in our isolation and to ensure our doors can reopen once it's safe to do so. Many people with disabilities are more susceptible than most to particular medical risks, and, at the same time, are more likely to experience isolation and loneliness. Since our programs shifted online, we've been working harder than ever. We meet in small groups over Zoom. We lead exercise classes, sing-alongs and storytimes over youtube. We call everyone. No one falls through the cracks. For some of our friends, this is the only personal contact they get all week.
Will you join me in donating to this incredibly valuable organization, a mission that has transformed my life and my family? It would mean the world to us. To help make your donation even sweeter, we, as a Board, have agreed to match all donations that come in up to $71,000 through June 30. We're more than half-way there!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some photo evidence of our neighborhood and community fun:
Me tap dancing on the stage of the Durham Performing Arts Center (where I saw Hamilton!) with my across the street neighbor Micaiah (2nd picture, middle) at the Reality Ministries annual Talent Show.
You've GOT to watch this video that captures just a bit of the magic of the Talent Show:
Christmas party with the women of North Street: (yes I'm definitely wearing my robe... here, you come as you are!)
James and I receiving a royal welcome on the red carpet at our annual "Kings and Queens dance," and breaking it down on the dance floor (2nd photo below)
Organizer
Amanda Diekman
Organizer
Durham, NC
Reality Ministries
Beneficiary