AbleFaith emerged as a way to share words and ideas about faith and spirituality at the intersection of disability. It is still emerging and evolving. It has changed from a professional presence to include more of my personal thoughts and ponderings.

I am Lida. I have lived all of my life in upstate New York State, US. Since my middle school years I have intentionally sought relationships with people who have disabilities. My faith is part of my identity so it also is naturally part of my relationships. That is the intersection of faith and ability/disability. AbleFaith.

My career has always been in some sort of relationship with people with developmental/intellectual disabilities (DD/ID) or aging. I have decades of relationships and  experiences in direct support of people. the last 20 plus years I have lead a team that supports the faith and spiritual exploration and expressions of people with DD/ID. Primarily the people I support have a Christian background. I am also a Christian. I believe is supporting people of all faiths to have relationships with their Creator in their chosen faith communities.

Tidbits you might want to know about me: I married my high school sweetheart many years ago. We have five adult children and several grandchildren. I have a Master of Theology degree from Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan College. My hobbies are gardening, seeking ways to reduce my use of single use plastics, sewing, bicycling, and reading. I serve as a local hire assistant pastor at a vibrant, small, rural United Methodist congregation. In April 2018 I fell and sustained a concussion. After over a year of PT, OT, speech therapy, and vestibular therapy I have regained skills and kind of figured out how to live with Post Concussive Disorder, a minor traumatic brain injury.