a special
PURPOSE
Dr. Crawford G. Clark, pastor at Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill and at Roxborough Presbyterian Church, has written books on relationships/marriage, workplace issues and the role faith plays in both.
The book covers subjects including: knowing how to clearly understand your children, since they can’t always articulate what they are thinking; challenges with discipline and how to discipline; financial issues; and how God views disabilities.
His third and latest book, about parenting special needs children, really hit home for him. The book, “Called According to His Purpose – A Journey into the World of Parenting Special Needs Children,” is about his and his wife’s journey of raising children with disabilities, sharing the mental, emotional and spiritual battles their family has faced. The couple have a daughter Danielle, 29, and a son, David, 26.
Pastor Clark hopes the book will shed light on an issue not many people openly talk about but are going through with their own family members.
The book was published last November. Pastor Clark spoke about it with Masonic Village residents in April. He also gave a talk at church and on a local radio show.
“I write as a clinician and a pastor, as well as a parent,” he said. “I kind of mix all three of those perspectives in the writing and talk about the different issues we’ve had to deal with along the way.”
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Summer 2022 Issue
“It’s a look inside the family life of raising kids with special needs and their struggles,” he said. “It’s a caretaking situation. It’s constant – it never stops. People don’t see that. A lot of times we don’t tell people what we’re going through because they have their own things to worry about. It’s not secretive, but we sometimes keep it to ourselves.” Pastor Clark said he was inspired to write the book during the COVID-19 pandemic. He completed it over a period of five months.
