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Faith is something that people with disabilities have, just as nondisabled people do. Yet all too often we find ourselves denied equal access and opportunity to participate in the churches in America. We find ourselves facing a lack of acceptance from others in the church environments in this nation. I do not understand why, and while there are a number of faith perspectives I could attempt to write this particular article from, I choose to do so from the one that is most familiar to me.

Recently, a dear friend of Wendy and mine passed away from pancreatic cancer. I posted the eulogy I read in church at her funeral here at Disability Writer; it is titled, 'A Word for Suzanne.' In this eulogy I quoted something from the Bible that is very relevant to the lack of acceptance on the parts of some persons in churches today. The quote is as follows:

"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepard. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.' " Matthew 9:35-38

Let me state that while many people in America seem to have turned their backs on God entirely, I have not and will not. I also make no apologies for my faith. Jesus, in the quote above, clearly had no lack of acceptance in regards to persons with health conditions or disabilities in relation to the houses of worship He attended. He loved everyone He encountered in such places, and did what he could to assist them. He was a teacher, instructing His disciples and asking them to do the same as He had done.

In an article titled, 'Barriers of attitude block people with disabilities from full inclusion in churches,' by Bob Allen, the subjects of people with disabilities and church access and accessibility are approached. While I do not attend the particular church that Ginny Thornburgh, Director of an interfaith initiative for the American Association of People with Disabilities does, she makes some highly-relevant and excellent points in the article. Ginny states, “We have within us prejudices. We have negative stereotypes within us; we have false assumptions within us. And these things must be addressed, and they must be addressed over a lifetime.”

The prejudices and stereotypes that Ginny is referring to are ones that have been present in America for generations. They have been promoted by fear, the media, ignorance, and many other factors. Ginny is very correct, these prejudices and stereotypes are many times very deep-seated and ingrained, and they must be dealt with and addressed over a lifetime with the intention of eradicating them from not only the church life, but from our personal lives and faith. How are we to begin addressing and dealing with these prejudices and stereotypes? Ginny has something to say about approaching these as well.

Ginny's son, Peter, is a person who has both physical and intellectual forms of disabilities. Of her son in relation to church Ginny says, “There are no barriers in God's love. There should be no barriers in God's house.” I couldn't agree more. Jesus did not exclude the person with epilepsy he healed, nor did he exclude others who came to him. God knows even the number of hairs on your head.

The advice Ginny has for churches is that they form a task force or committee that includes people with disabilities. The purpose of the committee is to perform an audit of barriers to inclusion of every member of the church, as well as the development of both short and long-term goals with the intention of removing any barriers. Ginny asks, “Are there designated parking places? Is there a ramped entrance? Is it easy to get in the door? Is there an automatic door opener? Are there pew cuts so I can easily with my wheelchair or scooter slide in a spot and share a hymnbook with my husband? Is there a ramp to the chancel, a ramp to the altar? Is there an ADA-compliant restroom?” Ginny has made note of the fact that July 26th is the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

As I examine the church I attend, First Evangelical Free Church, I notice that we also have a lift to a portion of the church property that is on a lower level than other parts, making it accessible to people who use wheelchairs or scooters. There is a member of our church who has cerebral palsy; she is also a senior. This magnificent woman has a Masters degree and earned it after being told she would never pass the third grade. She travels on a consistent basis to foreign nations, teaching people about the word of God and disability issues. Another member of our church has multiple sclerosis, while I have epilepsy, osteoarthritis, and other forms of disabilities. Yet are there other church members who are feeling inhibitions about forms of disabilities they experience? It is hard to say; silence is just that, and unless they say something we may never know.

Communication, and the ability to do so, is an important issue for the churches in America. Barriers to communication may be solved in relation to disabilities through the presence of materials such as church bulletins in alternative formats like Braille or audio tape, according to Ginny. If there are church members with hearing impairments, a sign-language interpreter can mean everything to them. People with vision impairments can benefit from large print Bibles and other printed materials in large font sizes. It is also important to remember that as people age they often lose sensory capacities as well.

Another thing that is very important for churches to remember is that not all forms of disabilities are visible. I will use myself as an example. Epilepsy, PTSD, Osteoarthritis, and Diabetes are forms of disabilities I have; they are not as visible, many times, as disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy or Multiple Sclerosis. The fact that a disability is not visible; however, does not make it any less of a disability, and it is extremely important for the churches in this nation to remember this fact. There are forms of disabilities such as bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, and other mental health disabilities that are not readily apparent.

In regards to invisible disabilities Ginny states, “The hardest thing for folks in churches is that often the disability is not apparent. You don't know that a person who is quiet in the pew actually has chronic pain or has any number of other non-apparent disabilities.” She also says that older adults many times do not think of themselves as people with disabilities. “They'll say, 'I use hearing aids,' or, 'I use a walker,' or, 'I don't see as well anymore,' but they're not as comfortable as those of us who have worked in the disability field to the term disability.”

Disability is something that has been present in my life since I was nine years old, despite the fact that I was not aware of it until I was in young adulthood. After spending twenty-four years and a lifetime of living with and assisting fellow persons with disabilities, I know nothing else. For many people; however, disability is akin to learning a foreign language. As your church examines the attitudinal and more physical barriers that inhibit or prevent people with disabilities from participating, it is important to remember that Jesus at no point turned His back on people with disabilities, instead reaching for them with love. The churches in America need to do the same.