In four weeks, Joni Eareckson Tada celebrates her 61st birthday, an incredible milestone for a quadriplegic. Currently recovering from treatment for breast cancer, Joni still lives in southern California and remains quite active in ministry. She has a strong link to Wisconsin.
During the National Congress on the Church and the Disabled, held at Wheaton College in 1988 and sponsored by her Joni and Friends ministry, she convened a meeting of leaders to form the Christian Council on Persons with Disabilities (CCPD). CCPD was based in Walworth, Wisconsin, at the facilities of The Christian League for the Handicapped (now known as Inspiration Ministries – still based in Walworth).
CCPD sponsored annual educational conferences for about 15 years, up until 2004. For a time CCPD also had a regional chapter based here in southern Wisconsin. CCPD no longer exist, but instead has become Lift Disability Network, which is based in Florida. There is a Midwest Disability Summit on the Joni and Friends calendar. It will be held October 9, 2010, at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, IL.
Joni’s incredible ministry and her daily challenges are profiled this week by Kim Lawton, on the Religion & Ethics Weekly television news program, which is seen on WHA TV at 9:30am on Sunday mornings. You can also see the story online.