History of Bridge Ministries
(1-22-04)
Bridge Ministries
for Disability Concerns (as it was originally titled) was founded
by Rev. Hendrik (“Henk”) Wapstra, a Presbyterian minister.
In his role as pastor, Henk had become aware of the large percentage
of our population who were living with disabilities. He discovered
that it was the exclusion and isolation that people were experiencing
as a result of their disability that was often far more painful
to them than their disability itself. Through his attentive listening
to their stories of marginalization, Henk felt called by God to
found a ministry that would “respond to the needs encountered”
by persons with physical and/or developmental disabilities and their
families. And so Bridge was born on November 9, 1987, as Henk shared
his vision with people who enthusiastically embraced it and became
the first Board of Directors. It was to be a Christian, ecumenical
50l©3 organization, that took as its guide Luke 4:18-19: “He
has anointed me to preach good news to the poor . . . to proclaim
freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to
release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favor.”
Henk’s
charisma, enthusiasm and collegial style of ministry soon attracted
many others to Bridge. The first person he invited to join him in
his new venture was Sharon Black, who, herself had a disability
and had a background in social work. So with Henk attending to chaplaincy
and pastoral care for the “persons they served” and
Sharon providing community connection resources, together they began
to build a community-based ministry out of the basement of Henk’s
home. Soon, Harry Woodrow, joined them, and began to build the equipment
program and Linda Sky became the first Office Administrator. As
the ministry grew, they moved to an office in downtown Redmond and
then to somewhat larger accommodations a few blocks away.
Jeannine King,
a developmental disabilities specialist, joined the staff on February
1, 1991. Her role was to expand Bridge’s ministry to include
court appointed guardianship services for persons who have developmental
disabilities, little or no family involvement and would otherwise
be wards of the state. She grew the program until 1994 when the
number of guardianships required the addition of another Guardianship
Administrator to the staff. Jeannine’s and Henk’s vision
embraced much more than court reports and documents, it included
the building of relationships that honored and valued the persons
for whom Bridge is guardian, monthly visits and outings, essential
involvement in all aspects of the person’s life and constant
on-call access to the Bridge guardianship administrators.
It was in on
Good Friday, 1993 that Harry Woodrow received a phone call notifying
Bridge that Sharon Black had been killed in a car accident while
delivering Easter food baskets to a person we serve. It was a terrible
shock, not only to the staff and Board, but to the many persons
she served with such caring compassion. Her absence is felt to this
day by all who knew her and were the recipients of her compassionate
understanding.
After her death,
the direction of the ministry shifted slightly, as chaplains Mary
Galvin, an NACC certified chaplain, and Rev. Bruce Knofel joined
the staff to expand Bridge’s capacity for pastoral care, as
well as church and community connections.
Just as it was
becoming apparent that the expanding services of Bridge required
more office space, a generous donor stepped forward and made it
possible to purchase our own building near downtown Kirkland in
1993, where we are presently located.
Since its founding,
volunteers have always been essential to Bridge in every aspect
of the ministry. By the mid 1990’s it had become apparent
that we needed to develop a stronger volunteer program rooted in
a comprehensive, more formalized foundation. An advisory committee
met for about one year to develop an exemplary Volunteer Ministries
Program. Our first Volunteer Ministry Coordinator was hired in November,
1998.
About the same
time in 1998 Bridge was invited to participate in a study sponsored
by The Center for Community Support. The purpose of this study was
to explore the dynamics of how Circles of Friends can impact the
lives of persons with disabilities and their families. Bridge welcomed
this opportunity to expand relationships of respect among the persons
we serve and members of the community. Our number of Circles grew,
as did the waiting list for them! One of the keys to the program
has been the one-on-one relationship-building, as well as the continuing
direction, support, and training provided for the Circle facilitators
at monthly gatherings. After the study was completed, Bridge was
presented with the TASH 2000 Collaboration Award “For working
together to craft a positive vision for the future through the Circle
Way Project”. Circles are among the key ministries through
which mutual relationships of respect among persons we serve and
members of the community are made available.
Meanwhile,
Bridge’s Medical Equipment Program was burgeoning! Most of
the few local suppliers of used medical equipment were closing down
and donating their inventory to Bridge. We were bursting at the
seams with donated equipment that needed cleaning, sorting, and
restoration before it could be given out to the myriad of persons
with disabilities on our waiting lists who could not afford to buy
the assistive equipment that is so critical to their quality of
life. God was with us once again, when we were offered a vacant
warehouse (for a $1.00/year rent) to process and store the vast
amounts of equipment that were coming in. Our volunteers are indispensable
in maintaining this urgently needed service.
In January of
2000, after thirteen years of inspired visionary and collegial leadership
Rev. Henk Wapstra retired. His legacy of relationship-building among
persons with disabilities, with churches and with the community
is exceptional. The ministry he had begun thirteen years earlier
had become the model of a community-based ministry that has become
so effective that many people have requested its duplication in
other parts of the country.
During the interim
between the time of Henk’s retirement and his replacement,
the Board and staff reviewed how far the Ministry had come since
its inception and how God might be inviting us to move forward into
the future. There was a consensus that Bridge had entered its “adolescence”
and was ready for the next level of development. This was a time
of intense reflection and visioning for the future by both Board
and staff.
Rev. Bruce Knofel
was the Acting Director during this interim until the new executive
director was hired. Henk’s immediate replacement held the
position from February 2001 to July 2002. During this time the name
“Bridge Ministries for Disability Concerns” was shortened
to “Bridge Ministries.” Then in December, 2002 Bruce
Knofel assumed the position of Executive Director, with Rev. Donna
Whitmore as Associate Director and Chaplain of Volunteer Ministries.
One of the fruits
of this discernment was the formulation of a process whereby churches
could be encouraged in their efforts to welcome persons with disabilities.
Some of this had already been done through our monthly Sunday Evening
Celebrations co-hosted with various churches, our disability awareness
presentations to churches and our one-on-one introductions of persons
we serve to the church of his/her choice. But the new Church Connection
process has been a much more comprehensive approach to enabling
such connections that include the mutual visioning of the chaplains
with a Core Team and the development of a comprehensive menu of
approaches and services that can meet the unique needs of respective
faith communities. It is a privilege to witness the excitement as
various congregations are discovering that they receive far more
than they give in welcoming persons with disabilities into their
communities. They find that they themselves are blessed in dramatic
ways by the often prophetic gifts of the very persons whom they
seek to serve! The Body of Christ is no longer incomplete! It has
been exciting to experience the synchronicity of this approach as
widespread interest is continuing to grow!
Awards/Recognition
Received:
- The Medina
Foundation Management Excellence Award (received twice)
- The Seattle
Foundation Chairman’s Award for Innovative Programs
- The TASH
2000 Collaboration Award (for participation in “The Circle
Way” study)
- Featured
as a community ministry model in the book Spirituality and Intellectual Disability edited by William C. Gaventa Jr., M. Div and David
C. Coulter, MD
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