Description
“Won’t you be my neighbor?” is more than a kind invitation—it’s a theological call to love God, self, and others by creating spaces of belonging. In classrooms, group spaces, youth rooms, and worship spaces, we are surrounded by neighbors of all ages with beautifully diverse learning styles, communication needs, and behaviors. But even the most caring volunteer can feel overwhelmed or underprepared when faced with this diversity.
This workshop, Welcoming All Our Neighbors: Learning Educational Accommodations to Celebrate Every Child of God, invites participants into a neighborhood where every learner belongs. Whether you work with children, youth, or intergenerational groups, this session will provide a toolkit of accessible, customizable ideas to support learners with neurodiversity, sensory needs, attention challenges, and more. We will explore how simple accommodations—like visual schedules, flexible seating, calm-down spaces, or shared group norms—can radically transform a group’s sense of safety, participation, and joy.
Rooted in theology and hospitality, this workshop will be interactive and practical. Participants will engage with real-life scenarios, explore hands-on tools, and collaborate with others to adapt strategies for their own ministry settings. Together, we’ll learn how accommodations aren’t just helpful—they’re holy. They reflect the deep truth that every person is made in the image of God and deserves to be welcomed, understood, and celebrated.
Come ready to learn, share, and leave with a renewed sense of how to love your neighbor—not despite their differences, but because of them.
Presented by Rev. Lauren Slingerland (Associate Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Greenville, SC) and Rev. Dr. Andy Morgan (Director of Christian Education, First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, TN), co-owners of Little Bites, a children’s ministry division of Fish Food: A Faith Formation Resource Boutique.
Workshop Leader: Andy Morgan
Rev. Dr. Andy Morgan is the Director of Christian Education at First Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN. He has served as a UKirk pastor, Senior Pastor, and now DCE. Andy is passionate about faith formation that engages all ages through practice, reflection, and deep connection.
Co-Leader: Lauren Slingerland
Rev. Lauren Slingerland is the Associate Pastor for Children and Their Families at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC. A former special education teacher, Lauren is passionate about connecting kids to God, their church family, and inclusive ministry practices.