NEW AUTISM MINISTRY
Autism Santa: Reservations are all filled as of November 12.
December 6, 2025, 10am to 1:30pm.
All ages are invited to attend this free event.
- If the thought of seeing Santa in a crowded, noisy mall is scary, come meet our calm and friendly Autism Santa.
- Interact with Santa in the usual way (sitting on his lap or beside him). Or you can lay on the floor facing him, or stand facing him, or whatever you need to feel more comfortable.
- Siblings can also visit with Autism Santa.
- Free photos will be taken with cell phones & sent to the contact person.
- Reservations are required. Please contact us by email with the contact's name, email address, phone, and the first names & ages of the persons who will be visiting Autism Santa. [churchfccavl@gmail.org]. Please let us know if you are running a little late; we know that happens sometimes.
Autism Santa
December 6, 2025, 10am to 1:30pm.
All ages are invited to attend this free event.
- If the thought of seeing Santa in a crowded, noisy mall is scary, come meet our calm and friendly Autism Santa.
- Interact with Santa in the usual way (sitting on his lap or beside him). Or you can lay on the floor facing him, or stand facing him, or whatever you need to feel more comfortable.
- Siblings can also visit with Autism Santa.
- Free photos will be taken with cell phones & sent to the contact person.
- Reservations are required. Please contact us by email with the contact's name, email address, phone, and the first names & ages of the persons who will be visiting Autism Santa. [churchfccavl@gmail.org]. Please let us know if you are running a little late; we know that happens sometimes.
Welcome autistic persons, their families, & friends!
We seek to be especially welcoming to autistic persons of all ages and their families and friends. If your family was asked to leave a church because your child was “too disruptive”, or if you were overwhelmed by lights and noises at a previous church, we invite you to give us a try!
- The lights are softer.
- The noise levels are reduced.
- We have a sensory room with items to stimulate sight, hearing, scents, & touch.
- In the sanctuary we have a dark, quiet space with a beanbag chair, to remain nearby but not be overwhelmed.
- For borrowing on Sunday mornings, we have sunglasses & noise-cancelling headphones for adults & children. These items are sanitized before & after use.
- We have a wiggle seat to borrow & don’t mind fidgeters.
- Our building is wheelchair, walker, & stroller friendly.
- Our members won’t try to hug you or pat you on the back without your permission.
- If you need bulletins with the Order of Worship in graphics/pictures, we can accommodate many options.
- The sanctuary has a side door to the outside if you want to avoid the lobby.
- Hand sanitizing stations are near all exit doors.
- Handicap parking and entrances are on the right and left sides of the building.
Take a tour of autism-friendly rooms and furnishings
Prayers for Autistic Persons, Their Families, & Others
Autistic Persons
- Pray for autistic persons who are overwhelmed by their schedule disruptions & shortages due to hurricane damages.
- Pray for older & aging autistic adults.
- Pray for autistic people who are non-speaking or may need additional communication support.
- Pray for autistic individuals who require 24-hour care & may struggle with harmful or self-injurious behaviors.
- Pray for families facing provider shortages of developmental-behavioral pediatricians.
- Pray for autistic teens & adults who also have problems with alcoholism and/or drug addiction.
- Pray for autistic teens & adults who are suicidal, that they may receive help & comfort.
- Pray for autistic persons who are struggling to understand & accept their differences, & to be proud of their strengths & accomplishments.
- Pray for autistic persons who hunger & thirst for righteous that they may find God in their own capacity.
- Pray for autistic persons who are learning to make eye contact.
- Pray for autistic persons who are learning to speak their first words.
- Pray for adult autistic persons who are job hunting that they will find the right fit of independence & support.
- Pray for autistic persons who are learning life skills to be more independent, such as doing their own laundry, preparing simple foods, & making their own beds.
- Pray for teenage autistic persons who are dealing with autism, raging hormones, & growth spurts -- all at the same time.
Parents
- Pray for parents of an autistic child that they may have enduring physical strength, patience, & wisdom.
- Pray for autistic children’s parents who miss more workdays than normal, that they may have financial stability & understanding employers.
- Pray for autistic children’s parents that they may have a balance of caring for themselves & their spouse & all their children.
- Pray for autistic children’s parents that they maintain hope.
- Pray for autistic children’s parents that they connect with resources with a minimum of red tape & frustration.
Brothers & Sisters
- Pray for autistic children’s brothers & sisters that they learn coping skills to tolerate & to help if the sibling has melt-downs.
- Pray for autistic children’s brothers & sisters that they may have no jealousy or resentfulness toward their sibling who gets much more of their parents’ attention.
- Pray for autistic children’s brothers & sisters that they learn coping skills to tolerate & to help if the sibling has melt-downs.
- Pray for autistic children’s brothers & sisters that they may have patience, tolerance, & a soothing influence on their sibling.
Workers
- Pray for those who work with autistic persons that they may pace themselves in order to avoid burnout.
- Pray for those who work with autistic persons that they may have extra insight in how to care for & to teach their clients/patients.
Our Autism Ministry
- Pray for our church’s autism ministry that we connect with great resources for starting & sustaining this ministry for autistic persons & their families.
- Pray for our autism ministry to be good stewards of the designated funds.
- Pray for our autism ministry to be prepared & understanding when an autistic person has a meltdown.
- Pray for our autism ministry that each member participates in the ministry in his/her own way.
Easter Egg Hunt for Austic Chilldren
All ages are invited to attend this free event
Saturday, April 19, 2025
First Christian Church of Asheville
470 Enka Lake Road, Candler, NC 28715
3 sessions for 5 families each. If children are in multiple age groups, choose any session.
10am = ages 2-5
11am = ages 6-8
12pm = ages 9-12+
After each hunt, children can play in the Sensory Room. Snacks will be provided in the Fellowship Hall.
More Fun -- Bring a paint smock or old shirt for each person who wants to decorate an Easter cookie!
REGISTER: Send an email to ChurchFccAvl@gmail.com. Include names of parents, children, phone number, & preferred session.
Free photos will be taken with cell phones & emailed to the person or to a family member.
If the weather is rainy, the egg hunt will be inside the church.