Opening Your Heart

A couple of years ago, I attended a worship service at a wonderful church in Pennsylvania.  I arrived a few minutes late and found the congregation standing for the opening hymn.  I took my place in one of the pews and stood along with the rest of the congregation.  We proceeded to stand for the next several minutes while the minister made several pronouncements and we sang a second hymn.  I grew a little tired and began thinking about how good it would feel to finally sit.  I looked around the sanctuary and saw other members who I imagined were thinking the same thing.  I also reflected on those in the congregation who were physically unable to stand and how they must feel, having to sit all this time while everyone around them was on their feet.

This was one of many moments I have had in congregations across our region where I questioned our sense of hospitality toward those who have varying abilities…in mobility, functionality, and interrelatedness.

One of the keys to growth in our congregations and in our faith movement is our willingness to be more accessible and more inclusive of people with varying abilities.  According to the National Organization on Disability, people with disabilities are very likely to say their faith is important to them, but are more likely to not attend services due to accessibility issues. With the aging of the American population, they point out, the situation is becoming an increasingly significant factor in worship community vitality.

Part of the problem, certainly, is physical barriers.  Steps that people can’t climb; sound systems that people can’t hear; hymnals that people can’t read.  According to Ralph Adams Cram, architect and critic of American church design, places of worship... “were to be spiritual oases, set apart from their pedestrian environment through substantial, soaring walls and monumental stairs approaching impressive entrances well above the street. Unfortunately, our legacy is daunting stairs, heavy doors, and soaring walls. Much as our hearts may want to welcome everyone to enter our halls 'as a homecoming' the reality is that we are sometimes confronted with architectural designs that make hospitality a difficult undertaking, to say the least.“

While it may be cost prohibitive to make large structural changes, most accommodations require little or no outlay of money.  The biggest investment is not in money, but in the effort to find creative ways of enhancing the worship experience.  Make sure there are spaces in the sanctuary for wheelchairs; invest in assistive listening devices (they’re not as expensive as you may think); have several orders of service in large font available; ensure that you have enough accessible parking spots near the building; ask people during the worship service not to stand, but to “rise in body or in spirit” or introduce more “seated” hymns.

Here are some additional ideas for creating a more hospitable and inclusive environment:

·        Always use microphones (even if someone says they don’t need one)

·        Encourage speakers, worship associates, etc. to speak loudly and clearly

·        Raise the pulpit so that all can see

·        Make sure there is accessibility to the pulpit so that people with mobility limitations can speak or lead the service

·        Have a wheelchair or two donated and make it available

·        Wear name tags all the time for people with memory problems

·        Record services and make them available. Often a CD can be created instantaneously; or have them available on your website.

·        Hand out printed versions of the sermon.    

In his book, Year of Our Lord: Faith, Hope and Harmony in the Mississippi Delta, T.R. Pearson tells the story of Lucas McCarty, a young white man born with severe cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair but also gets around by walking on his knees with the help of knee pads worn over his blue jeans.  He shouts and makes vocal sounds, but for the most part communicates through an electronic language device.  Lucas became a member of the Trinity House of Prayer, a small, poor African American congregation.  He was embraced by the congregation and was in no way considered out of place or disruptive.  Lucas even joined the choir.  Pearson writes, “Without exception, Trinity’s members treated Lucas with unstudied compassion. At no financial cost to the congregation — no special programs, no architectural alterations— they demonstrated that making people with disabilities, even severe disabilities, feel a part of them is within reach of every house of worship. Sometimes it's not about building a ramp. Sometimes it really is about opening up your heart.” 

May it be so.

Mark Bernstein

CERG Growth Consultant and UUA Liaison to Equual Access