Author’s Guide: Disability Ministries Committee of the UMC
The VOICE of the United Methodist Disability Connection and the VOICE of the United Methodist Mental Health Connection Newsletter:
Our newsletter provides original, practical disability and mental health related information
and ministry ideas based on experiences of people in local United Methodist churches,
annual conferences, and agencies. Each issue has a theme with several related articles that
address the goal of the issue. We are always looking for stories of creative inclusive
ministries and their impact on the lives of all involved. We publish the disability newsletter
and the mental health newsletter electronically up to 4 times a year. Contact us at
information@umcdmc.org for a tentative schedule of topics and dates.
The UM Disability blog:
DMC Communications sends a weekly compilation of events and articles related to the UM
disability and Deaf ministries. Individual articles are welcome and published periodically.
Topics may include ministry approaches, disability theology, or an individual or church with
a notable ministry. See http://umdisability.blogspot.com/ for more ideas.
The DMC website:
The website at https://umcdmc.org/ contains a comprehensive set of United Methodist
disability ministry resources. We are open to submissions, but please send a query first.
Goal:
Our readers are pastors, lay persons, with disabled people, family members of people with
disabilities, and church members who might have limited disability awareness. Before you
write, decide who your target audience is and what you want readers to learn or do as a
result of reading the article. Are you trying to educate congregations about ways to be
more inclusive and accessible, or introduce a program that might be replicated by others?
Format:
Articles are concise so they can be easily read or skimmed by busy people. Aim for 500
words or fewer per article. Longer articles will be edited to shorten them or divided into
two related articles. Please refer to past issues of the VOICE, available in the Archives
(https://umcdmc.org/resources/newsletter-news-articles-archives-from-the-disability-ministries-committee-of-the-united-methodist-church/) to get a sense of our style. Use
identity-first language when writing about individuals or groups that prefer that style,
otherwise people-first language is appropriate. Consult online guides, e.g., APA
(https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/bias-free-language/disability) or the
National Center on Disability and Journalism (http://ncdj.org/style-guide/).
References and links:
Please include reference/source information whenever you cite a statistic or information
that is not original to you. Include permission for use if needed. Provide translation,
chapter, and verse for scripture citations. We prefer that you use NRSV or CEB. Please
suggest resources that support your article and are compatible with UMC theology per the
most-recent Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions. Please do not embed links, but
instead use this format: Text <link> or similar style for the URL.
Photos and graphics:
Color photographs of actual people or features of the ministry you are describing make the
text come alive. You need to have – on file – a photo release or permission for each
identifiable person in the photos so please request the release form. Submit photos as an
attachment to your email, using a jpg format. If you do not have a photo, please submit a
graphic, e.g., a ministry logo. Be creative in finding something that illustrates your article.
We seldom use stock photos.
GCORR Plagiarism Policy:
Plagiarism is the act of stealing the words or ideas of another and passing them off as one’s
own without giving that person credit. It is theft of intellectual materials and is a serious
offense. Any string of 8 words or more lifted exactly as they appeared from an original
source must be attributed to that source. Merely rewording the ideas of another without
crediting those ideas, however, is also plagiarism. The Internet and email make plagiarism
far easier and more tempting but no less serious. Copying and pasting material from a web
site or forwarded in an email constitutes plagiarism and may also be a violation of
copyright and put the General Commission on Religion and Race at legal risk of a lawsuit.
Not knowing who the original author of the material is does not relieve the user from
responsibility for diligently seeking to identify the author or from acknowledging that the
material is from an unknown source but is not original material.
Resources:
We share resources and information about upcoming events from UMC and ecumenical
sources. These may include books, articles, websites, DVD’s, and other information that can
be used by UMC congregations to build inclusive ministries. We promote upcoming
faith-based disability and mental-health conferences, and continuing education events.
Submission:
Submit your article to information@umcdmc.org electronically as a Microsoft Word
document. Please give your article a title and include your name, address, church
affiliation, email, and phone number. Add a short one-sentence byline that tells us who
you are, your title, and how you would like to be identified as author of the article.
By Deaconess Lynn Swedberg; Updated 02/16/24