Many congregations are overwhelmed by the amount of work, money and energy it will take to make their facility open to all. It’s rather like home improvement projects. Recently the shower fixture in my bathroom froze with accumulated mineral deposits from the water. I could no longer pull out the button and turn on the water for a shower. I called a plumber who came and cleaned out the debris and replaced a worn out part so that I could use the shower again. “Great,” I thought, “that’s fixed.”
The next week however, the oven wasn’t coming up to the temperature I had set. After I took out several items that were not fully cooked in time, I began to think about purchasing a new oven. In addition to the emergencies, like broken plumbing, I have a list of projects I would like to do around the house, new carpet, re-paint the bedroom and a new screen door. They cannot all be done at one time, I can’t afford that, therefore I have given my list priorities.
It seems that the work is never done. However, if I keep checking off items on my list each improvement will have a benefit.
Members of a congregation often refer to their church as their spiritual home or a sanctuary where they can depend upon the comfort of their church family.
Last year I participated in a lay led service at the UU church I attend. The participants in the service where all people who have a disability. We decided to build upon the successes of the congregation, highlighting the “Great, that’s fixed” positive feeling when a project is completed. The goal was to ask the congregation to create a list of things that would make our church home even more accessible. One of the participants, Fran Boyle said the following:
“After an automobile accident in 2004, I was no longer able to move about as before, but found my self relegated to a walker and motorized scooter. A proponent of universal accessibility for many years, I now saw it from a different perspective, I was the one requiring reasonable accommodation. Previously an activist for a variety of causes, my illness placed me in a position of making do and saying little. Simple activities became exhausting due to the lack of accessibility. Stairs, curbings, and the lack of parking were only a few of the obstacles baring me from what had constituted, in the past, routine activities.
One major loss in my life was the ability to regularly attend services and take part in the myriad of activities at my church. Since I was able to attend church only on an irregular basis, my concept of time was somewhat different from reality. Therefore, with each visit to church, my impression was one of magical change. Chairs rearranged, with aisles providing improved access to seating. An area was left open for those with wheelchairs, just perfect for my scooter. I was able to traverse the newly enlarged church campus using the many wide railing-lined ramps. Headsets were available for those requiring assistance hearing the service. One of the new meeting rooms became a remote sanctuary where congregants desiring accommodations other than those at the main service could worship together in a relaxed environment viewing the service electronically.
It is difficult to express the pride I feel when I look around our church campus where our members' commitment to provide a place of worship, accessible to all is there for everyone to behold.”
A few months after the worship service the congregation asked the local Independent Living Center to do a workshop to help the members appreciate the remaining barriers and prioritize the work that still needs to be done.
I am pleased to report that an automatic door opener into the church sanctuary has been installed and is the latest item to be checked off our accessibility list.
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