Dawning Future

The Unitarian Universalist Association is moving its headquarters, opening up virtual and physical space for communication, inclusion and engagement. The new headquarters offers opportunities for people, staff and volunteer lay leaders, with disabilities that were not possible before.

Rob Molla, UUA Director of Human Resources contacted the UUA staff liaison for EqUUal Access Mark Bernstein a few weeks ago. Mark met with Rob and had a preliminary conversation to discuss general issues related to accessibility as outlined by the EqUUal Access Board of Directors. Following this meeting, Rob said he would be back in touch with an invitation to representatives of EqUUal Access to tour the building and make recommendations.

On Tuesday, March 12, Suzanne Fast, Vice President of EqUUal Access, Carol Agate, EqUUal Access Treasurer, and Barbara Ceconi toured the new building. They identified a list of needed accommodations, which Rob documented, distributing copies to Peter Morales, Harlan Limpert, Kay Montgomery, Tim Brennen, and Mark Bernstein. Near the end of the tour, Rob indicated that there would be ongoing consultation with EA. The building has been gutted by the current owner, and the UUA is working with an architect.

UU Congregations Needed to Field Test Certification Program

Rev. Barbara F. Meyers, Chair of Certification Program team

EqUUal Access is pleased to announce the creation of a certification program for Unitarian Universalist Congregations, with the working title of Disability / Ability Action Program. The program was developed in partnership with the Unitarian Universalist Association.

In 2011 EqUUal Access published Accessibility Guidelines for Unitarian Universalist Congregations. The Disability / Ability Action Program assists congregations in developing and implementing a plan for accessibility.

The certification program was developed as a joint program of the UUA and EqUUal Access to provide UU Congregations the opportunity to certify that they welcome, embrace, support, and integrate people with disabilities and their families into our congregations. Its sacred covenant with congregations is that they fully recognize the humanity and gifts of all people.

The program will have a two-year field test scheduled to begin in June 2013. EqUUal Access is actively seeking congregations that will take part in this field test. We will select congregations in different categories: small, large, old building, new building, renting, etc. The deadline for applying to be part of the program is April 30, 2013.

Happy Valentine's Day

Bonnie Brown is the mother of Myra, a bright 15 year old who hopes to attend the University of Cambridge when she graduates high school.  Their relationship is a close and loving one…and an unusual one.  Bonnie has an intellectual disability. 

Bonnie has been employed by Wendy’s in the Philadelphia area for many years and is supported by Community Interactions, a local agency with which I have had some contact.  Their special relationship can be heard as part of the StoryCorps program sponsored by National Public Radio.

Bonnie and Myra’s story reminds us that love is the deciding factor in determining the ability of a parent to care for and raise a child.  Love trumps everything.  We are not defined by how we look or how we think.  Rather, we should be defined by our willingness to exercise empathy and compassion in our interactions with all who enter our lives.  It is what Unitarian Universalism is all about.

Mark Bernstein

CERG Growth Consultant and UUA Liaison to Equual Access

Hero Worship

What is the definition of a hero?  I like the quote by our own Ralph Waldo Emerson that, “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.”

You may have seen the recent news story about the Houston, Texas waiter who refused to serve a customer because he asked to move his family to another table to be further away from a child with Down’s Syndrome who was sitting nearby with his family.  Further, the customer reportedly said to the waiter, Michael Garcia, that “Special needs children need to be special somewhere else.” 

Garcia responded by telling the customer that he was not able to serve him.  He also asked him how he could say that “about a beautiful 5-year-old angel?”  Since the incident, Garcia has been the object of media attention, celebration and pats on the back from restaurant customers eager to thank him for his five minutes of bravery.

 Here’s a link to the full story:

http://www.today.com/moms/waiter-hailed-hero-after-standing-boy-down-syndrome-1B8038223#waiter-hailed-hero-after-standing-boy-down-syndrome-1B8038223

What was it about Garcia’s act of defiance that caused such an outpouring of love and support?  Could it be that they saw in Garcia what they could not see in themselves?  A willingness to take a stand?  The courage to risk retribution and possibly injury/loss of job/loss of prestige to do what they think is right?

As Unitarian Universalists, we are compelled to be heroes every day of our lives.  Our faith requires us to speak out against injustice in whatever form we find it.  It requires us to be brave five minutes at a time.

Thank goodness for people like Michael Garcia.  He reminds us of the hero in all of us and the need to stay true to our values and to ourselves.  As George F. Kennan wrote, “Heroism is endurance for one moment more.”

 

Mark Bernstein

CERG Growth Consultant and UUA Liaison to Equual Access

Looping Your Sanctuary by Carol Agate

Are you planning to build a new sanctuary or remodel an existing one? Now may be the perfect time to install an induction loop around the perimeter. The loop will allow people who wear hearing aids to hear all the voices coming from the microphones right in their ears.
You may wonder why they would need that if the sound is already being amplified. That's because loudspeakers distort sound. Our brains do wonderful things with the sounds our ears pick up and deliver to them. But when those ears lose the ability to hear well, the brain can't do a competent job of interpreting the sounds. The brains of people with normal hearing are capable of interpreting those distorted sounds and understanding what comes through the loudspeakers. But for the brains of people with hearing loss the amplified sounds remain distorted. An induction loop sets up a magnetic field and hearing aids that have telecoils pick up those voices and put the sounds right into the ears, just as though the speaker was one foot away.

You may already have installed an FM transmitter and have receivers that you distribute to congregants and guests. If so, good for you! But do you find your ushers don't know where the receivers are kept, the batteries are dead more often than not, or the ear buds or headset pads are to hard to keep clean or to keep changing? When people with telecoil-equipped hearing aids walk into a looped sanctuary, no equipment is needed. All they have to do is flip a switch on their hearing aids.

Even if you aren't remodeling you may be able to install a loop.

Politics as Usual

Former Senator Bob Dole, at right in a wheelchair, entered the Senate with his wife to support a United Nations disabilities treaty.

In late November of this year, a news story appeared in USA Today that received very little attention elsewhere.  The Senate rejected a United Nations treaty banning discrimination against people with disabilities.  This failure to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was purely political.  It was essentially done in by a coalition of Republican legislators who balk at anything that has to do with the UN.  This unfortunate happenstance represents a lost opportunity for the United States, who has led the way in creating greater opportunities for people with disabilities, to be seen as a champion for the rights of people with disabilities in the rest of the world. 

I contacted Bruce Knotts, Director of the Unitarian Universalist Association United Nations Office.  He responded promptly and informed me that..."we very much support U.S. ratification of all UN treaties.  It was shameful that the senate failed to ratify the UN Convention on the rights of people with disabilities."

While the Senate vote is disappointing, it is heartening to know that our UUA-UN office is advocating for people with disabilities and serving as our voice in speaking out on this critical issue.

Mark Bernstein

CERG Growth Consultant and UUA Liaison to Equual Access

Mental Health and People of Faith - Responding in a Time of Crisis

Dorothea Dix

Equual Access believes that associating mental illness with violence is harmful, especially for a religious organization.

First, it is not consistent with the facts regarding the origination of violence in our society.

Second, many people in a congregation are living with a mental illness in themselves or a loved one and come to church in part for hope in dealing with the situation. Hearing a religious figure immediately jump to the conclusion that violence must have been due to their mental condition may well keep them from seeking out help in a crisis situation as well as make them afraid of themselves or their loved ones. We do not need to make it harder for them to receive hope and support from their religious community.

Third, such comments continue the stigmatization of and discrimination against people with mental illness and violate our Unitarian Universalist principles.

The website of Equual Access offers a 3-Point Plan for Unitarian Universalists to use for reflection and action to counteract the harmfulness of dehumanizing and scapegoating people who have a mental illness.