Intermountain Ministry

I had a wonderful time sharing Sunday worship with the fine folks of Choteau United Methodist Church. They are a congregation eager for God’s Word and invested in the ministry and mission of Intermountain. They are blessed to be very capably led by Pastor Jesse Bale, who graciously allowed me to fill the pulpit last Sunday and share a message from the life of Jacob in the book of Genesis. A highlight of the morning had to be when, after the sermon, a gentleman from the back of the sanctuary walked up to the front (interrupting Pastor Jesse, though I don’t think he minded!) and gave a special thanksgiving offering and announced that he was grateful for the role Intermountain played in his life: He lived at the Deaconess Home as a toddler from 1929-1930, was adopted by a family in Choteau, and he and his wife adopted a young girl from Intermountain in 1959! He has been connected to the work of Intermountain for 84 years… amazing! Other congregants told me about their membership on Boards in the 1960s and 1970s, others who helped Intermountain through two moves for its residential campus. It puts into perspective all of those “long-timers” at Intermountain who been around for “only” a few decades!

Clearly the ministry and mission of Intermountain depends on the faithful prayers and support of congregations like Choteau UMC. It was an honor to worship with them, and I hope to return again soon. Below you will find the sermon I shared with them on Sunday. I hope you enjoy it… make sure to click the “read more” button to get the whole story!

–Chaplain Chris

“From Trickster to Truster”

Thank you for this opportunity to come and share with you, not just my love for the children of Intermountain and our gratitude for your partnership in ministry with us, but also some insights from God’s Word this morning.

Before coming to Intermountain, I spent 15 years in parish ministry—teaching, preaching, and trying to relate the beauty of God’s Word to the lives of men, women and children. So it a joy to be here with you today. As we open our mind, hearts, and ears to what God’s Spirit would say to us through God’s Word, let us pray:

[prayer of illumination]

Sometimes there is an association of Intermountain’s work with the poor—children from low economic strata that have been abused or neglected. And, while that is part of our work, that is nowhere near the full story. You see, anger and loneliness come from families at every income level.

I would like to relate to you Charles’ story, as told by Liz Kohlstadt, our Chief Clinical Officer. Charles was a handsome, athletic, intelligent boy from a very wealthy, powerful family who counted a recent president as a close friend.  Charles’s mother was so sad and worried herself that she couldn’t tolerate her little boy’s need for affection and she locked her toddler son out of her room, despite his desperate pounding on the door.  Charles’ father was too absorbed in acquiring and strutting his wealth and power to pay attention to Charles.

So, Charles was parented by a succession of nannies.  He was given every possible luxury except the one he needed most – a mother who loved him and a father who cared more about him than money or power.  Charles turned destructive and willful – he destroyed property, bullied the hired help and even threatened his brother with a gun.  Read the rest of this entry »

I recently had the honor of taking a young lady out for a trip to Dairy Queen to talk about her stay at Intermountain. In particular, because she had been one of the first children I got to know when I came to work here as the chaplain, I was curious to know her honest assessment of the program and it’s part of her two-year stay. Addie is home now, and from all reports she is doing well reintegrating into her family. I was also able to talk at some length with her family as well, and will add some of their comments in this piece. Overall, it is clear that Intermountain made a tremendous difference for this family. You will see how clearly this is the case as you read on.

Here are some of Addie’s thoughts about her response to hearing that there was a chaplain’s program when she arrived at Intermountain:

“I was glad to know that there was a chaplain, even if I didn’t know exactly what that was. Of course, when I got here, it was Dana, not you! I grew up going to church, and even though at first I didn’t want to go to fellowship or chapel services, I was always glad once I got there. At home, I was used to going to church, and I would really miss it if there were no chaplain’s program.”

In regards to the best things about the chaplain’s program, Addie remarked:

“I really like you, Chris. You are fun and laid back… you make it fun and make the kids want to come. The games are a lot of fun, too. And, just a while back something “clicked” for me and I saw the connection between the games we played, what you were talking about with the Bible stories, and the stuff I was working on in the cottage. You come up with cool ways to connect all that. I know you were trying to make it connect all along, but I don’t think it really clicked for me until a few months ago. Then, I could see all the hard work you were doing to make these connections for us, and it made me want to come to chapel times even more!”

I asked Addie if any particular lessons we had done stood out to her:

“Yeah. One you did pretty early on about masks… I think it was around Halloween. It was a really creative way to talk about feelings, and how we can have masks up even when we know that God takes care of us. I remember that one a lot. Also, I liked the songs and the stories and the booklets you made that we worked through talking about Psalm 23. Oh, and I really liked the Bibles you got us to use in chapel… the Action Bibles? Yeah. I know we don’t use them all the time, but I really liked when we got those out for chapel.”

Addie said she would definitely come back and see the new chapel building once it is build, and here are some of her thoughts about what she’d like to see: Read the rest of this entry »

A few weeks ago, I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Family Outreach’s Family Support Specialist, Jackie Mohler. We met for about 40 minutes in her office at 1212 Helena Avenue, and talked about her experience in working with parents that have kids on the Autism spectrum, and how she coaches them to be advocates for their children in community settings. Family Outreach is on the web at www.familyoutreach.org. If you would like to contact Jackie via email, she can be reached at jmohler@familyoutreach.org.

In a previous post, I promised a “follow up” with a few other insights that I gained from our conversation. Again, I will pose these insights in a question and answer format, and though I am working from my notes and will represent the spirit of the conversation, none of these words should be understood as direct quotes.

Q: What might be a good way for pastors and church leaders to initiate a conversation with a family that has a child with autism, or they suspect the child is on the spectrum but might be afraid to ask?

A: Autism Spectrum is just that—a spectrum, or range of severity and abilities that the child might have. I think the most important thing would be to approach the family from a role of wishing to serve and support as best you can. There may be some families that would take offense, but I can’t think of many, if you simply approached them and asked, “We are so glad to have come to be a part of our church family! What can we do to make you feel at home and help [child’s name] be successful?” In this way, you have opened up the conversation from the position that you are willing to learn from them about their son or daughter, NOT that you have pigeon-holed them or their child and think you know how to handle or tolerate them.

Q: Great point, Jackie! That should be our approach, I would think, with all children. Can you think about things the church might suggest if the parent doesn’t come up with any ideas?

A: Well, in general, it is never a bad idea to think about what will set the child up for success. Consistency and knowing the routine and “landscape” of their world is important to children on the autism spectrum. Suggest that it might be helpful for their family to come into a classroom or worship setting at a time other than when worship or a program is going on. Have them meet with the pastor or teachers that will work with them and “walk through” the rhythm of a regular worship service or class time. If you have a visual schedule that reinforces this practice time. Find the bathrooms and let the child know how and when they will be allowed to use these. Do be aware, however, of making overgeneralized statements that might be confusing.

Q: I am sorry to jump in, Jackie, but could you explain what you mean by that warning?

A: Certainly… What I mean is this: children on the autism spectrum tend to be very black and white thinkers. If you tell them that the bathrooms can only be used after class, they might squirm and fuss because they don’t understand that you would make an exception for a child about to have an “emergency.” Think through Read the rest of this entry »

On Wednesday, June 26^th, I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Family Outreach’s Family Support Specialist, Jackie Mohler. We met for about 40 minutes in her office at 1212 Helena Avenue, and talked about her experience in working with parents that have kids on the Autism spectrum, and how she coaches them to be advocates for their children in community settings. Family Outreach is on the web at www.familyoutreach.org. If you would like to contact Jackie via email, she can be reached at jmohler@familyoutreach.org.

Before I get into specific strategies that Jackie suggested for faith communities that want to better accommodate the special needs of a family that has a child on the autism spectrum, I thought it was telling that she mentioned to me that I was the first pastor/minister-type that had ever contacted Family Outreach to talk about how to better minister to families with autism! Now, in our day and age, there are lots of avenues available to churches, pastors, youth ministers, and religious organizations… So, maybe the fact that Family Outreach had never had that contact with a congregation is not shocking. But, to my pastor friends that are reading this, please don’t under estimate the value of sitting down with those who are working with these families every day. Working with any sort of special needs family is as much art as it is science, and the conversations and relationships built up through creating a network of support for these families are a far more vital aspect of the ministry than the specific knowledge gained. Gain a healthy curiosity in the expertise that those in the school, mental health field, and social services have that you do not. Come humbly and ready to listen… I think you will find a great deal that resonates with your heart for your church, your community, and the families in it!

Now, on to a few “gems” of insight gained through this brief conversation. (I will pose these insights in a question and answer format, and though I am working from my notes and will represent the spirit of the conversation, none of these words should be understood as direct quotes.)

Q: What are some of the more practical tools you could see used in a church setting to help a child with autism, and their families, feel more embraced and included in the fabric of the congregation?

A: Autism Spectrum represents a wide range of children with varying abilities. One thing that can help ANY child in the classroom or youth group setting would be visual schedules. These can be anything from pictures of the areas or activities that the child will experience throughout their time under your care to symbols or pictures that represent different activities. These tools are helpful because children on the spectrum do not pick up on the visual cues that many of us do unconsciously in knowing how and when to anticipate a transition. The whole class could be cleaning up supplies from a craft or activity, knowing that this time is naturally wrapping up. But, for the spectrum child, the transition from crafts to Bible time, for instance, will seem sudden—jarringly abrupt—and, potentially disturbing. They have “missed the cues” that this transition was about to happen, and may not be appropriately prepared to make that transition with the class, youth group, or congregation. (a great example of a visual schedule from a church setting can be found at http://theinclusivechurch.wordpress.com/2010/10/03/teaching-children-with-autism-the-tangibles/)

Read the rest of this entry »

On June 23rd I had the pleasure of filling the pulpit at Laurel United Methodist Church. Both the building and the people were beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed the visit. The scripture passage I preach from was from Luke, Chapter 8. The message was how God seeks to use us IN our brokenness and hurt, not in spite of our brokenness… or, as is often our thinking, after we’ve been healed or gotten ourselves “back on track.” Our brokenness is a reminder that we are ALL in need of grace of God, and with this realization we can truly be used of God to share grace and love with others.

Through the service and in the Q/A session that followed, there was great interest in the on-going work of the church’s ministry as expressed through the chaplain’s ministry here on campus. There were a number of people especially interested in the expanding services at Intermountain and the plans for a new building for the Chaplain’s program. It’s plain to see that has been a strong connection between our ministries should only grow with time! Apparently, the Missions Committee is contemplating a visit to Helena in the future… I hope they come soon and can see all the amazing work our staff do each day with the children! Laurel is a ways away, but the ongoing ministry to children and their families keep us connected.

It was great fun being able to bring my family along for the trip and to be able to spend a good amount of time talking, meeting, and laughing with such a wonderful congregation. A special thank you to Linda Shelton and Rebecca Stewart for making sure everything went smoothly.

Chaplain Chris Haughee

As the Jewish Educator at Intermountain, Janet provides a safe, one-on-one environment for the Jewish children on campus to explore, relate to and develop their Jewish identity and understanding. This is accomplished in a variety of ways: through story-telling, song, holiday celebrations, discussion, the learning of Hebrew, prayer, bar/bat mitzvah training, and participation in Jewish community events when applicable and feasible within the treatment of the child. Janet is a tremendous asset to not only our Chaplain’s Program, but to the Residential program as a whole. She brings excitement, passion, and energy to the faith formation of Jewish children in residence and has been a great collaborator with Chaplain Chris for joint fellowship meetings around the holidays of Chanukah and Passover. We thought we’d let you hear a bit from Janet in this article about her role here at Intermountain:

“Judaism is a way of life as well as a religion. It focuses on Tikkum Olam (tea-kum o-lum) which means ‘Repairing the World.’ Judaism is about making the world a better place in which to live, emphasizing the need for compassion, justice, and kindness. Through stories, song, prayer and discussion, the children I am entrusted to work with at Intermountain grow in their understanding of Jewish thought and practice.

Most of the Jewish mentoring and education takes place on a one-to-one basis, but in some cases, depending on how many Jewish children are living on campus at any particular time, we may meet for small group and/or holiday celebrations. These sessions, whether one-on-one or in small groups, always take into account the needs of the children within their treatment as well as their prior knowledge of and interest in each activity.

Since the Helena Jewish community only comes together occasionally for holiday celebrations and activities, the children are afforded the opportunity to travel to   Missoula or Bozeman to participate in synagogue-based events. Again, this takes place within the context of their treatment as well as with their parent’s expressed desire and permission for such special off-campus activities to be included in their religious education.

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