The visual features a 3D rendering of a book with the title “PAST THE GRAY CURTAIN: My Road to Full Life as a Person with Disabilities” by Sarah Blake Larose. The book’s cover is black with a window and gray curtains letting in some light.
To the left of the book, there’s the following text:
“Sarah’s story is filled with moments of grace, joy and humor as well as reflections on disability, relationships, self-advocacy, and faith.”
AVAILABLE NOW in print, ebook and audio (Audible) format: Past the Gray Curtain
שָׁלוֹם
Shalom … and Welcome!
My personal mission is to empower people for spiritual growth, wellness, and life in community and service to God; to encourage them to persevere during times of struggle; and to equip them for successful participation in community life and relationships.
My greatest enjoyments are communicating through music and teaching the Bible, especially when I am able to incorporate something from its original language text. I’m glad you’re here and hope you’ll browse a bit and learn more about what I do.
I am delighted to share with you my new book, which tells the story of my early years growing up and finding my faith. It is called Past the Gray Curtain. A crisis can destabilize faith that is just beginning to grow if it hasn’t got its roots firmly planted yet. Good, mature mentors can help to keep it from crashing. In the book, you will meet some of the people who helped me along my way. Disability is the background to my story. It may not be the background to yours. Faith is the common ground that holds us together.
Ministry and Teaching
My ministry and teaching are fueled by my personal experience of living as a person who was hungry for God but who struggled to find ways to access biblical text. I was born blind, and I did not own a complete English Bible in a format that I could read until I was an adult. I learned about God through music and through the testimony of people who had strong, abiding faith during my early childhood and adolescence.
My first ministry activities were singing and songwriting; and I am still active as a musician and singer. Please visit my ministries page to learn more.
From 2015 to 2024, I taught biblical language courses at Anderson University School of Theology and Christian Ministry (SOTCM).. For the past three years, most of my students have been non-credit private studentswho wish to learn Biblical languages for personal enrichment. Currently, I am focusing on writing my research and reflections from my teaching years into a book that I hope may be useful to others.
The Need for Welcome for People with Disabilities
I interact with many people with disabilities who cannot get to church because of transportation barriers and who cannot participate fully in church activities because things are not accessible. It is important that churches learn to be authentic and vulnerable and to challenge their own biases when interacting with people with disabilities. If your church is seeking to become more welcoming to people with disabilities, I would be happy to talk with you about how I can help you.
Churches are a great concern to me because they are frequently places where I hear people say they don’t know how to respond to the needs of people with disabilities. I am also available to speak to professional organizations and community groups about disability awareness topics Please visit my speaker info page to find out more about how I can help your group.
Language Teaching
From 2015 to 2024, I taught biblical language courses at Anderson University School of Theology and Christian Ministry (SOTCM).. Some pages are still available on this site from my time teaching languages. Today, I devote a good amount of time to ensuring that people who are blind have access to original language texts. If you need access to Hebrew, original language texts in braille, please see information about my transcription services.
If you are looking for guidance on accessible options for language study for use in your own seminary courses, please visit my other web site, Night-Light Communications LLC, which provides information about accessible study of sacred texts, information for communities of faith about including people with disabilities, and information to help families who are living with chronic illness and disability.
A Personal Note
As you explore my site, you will learn that I live with blindness and other medical conditions. I write freely in my blog about these things. This is my way of helping the general public to understand what life with these conditions is like. It is also a way that I can help others in these circumstances to know that they can succeed. These things are not the center of my life. They affect my life as much as my height does. (By the way, I am not very tall. I own a step stool, and I am not afraid to use it.)
I have chosen to write about my everyday life amid my theological scriblings. I maintain ties to the disability community as well as the Church. I am also an unabashed cat lady, Star Trek fan, and NPR listener. Every so often, some of these things end up drifting into each other’s territory.
I live with my husband, Kevin, and our three cats. I have fond memories of 23.5 years spent living and working with a dog guide. I share my experiences with my cats and my working dogs in my blog. Many readers are especially interested in my dog guide FAQs and blog. I started writing this group of pages during my training with my fifth dog guide in 2013 and still occasionally update them. At the time of this note (Christmas, 2016), it has been two and one half years since I last held a harness. Perhaps I will again do so one day. In any case, to take down pages associated with such a long history in my life would be a betrayal of an integral part of who I am and how I came to be where I am today. Please read and enjoy.
If you would like to contact me, you may do so by sending an email.