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Interfaith Disabilities Network Advocates for Inclusion of People with Disabilities in their Faith Communities

An elderly long-term member of a congregation suffered a stroke. When he had recovered, he returned to his church the first Sunday he could in his wheelchair. He couldn't get in. A woman with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair has been a member of the same church for 50 years. Until it underwent a renovation and added an elevator, she couldn't get beyond the first floor. Children are unable to attend religious education classes because their congregations are not set up to handle their special needs.

There are dozens more stories like this, of people with disabilities who would like to be active members of their spiritual community, but can't. They are in wheelchairs and can't get up the steps; they don't hear well and can't hear the sermon; they don't see well and can't read the hymns in the hymnal.

Facts about People with Disabilities

• There are 54 million people with disabilities in the United States. One in five families have a member with disabilities.

• 84% of people with disabilities cite their religious faith as an important part of their lives. But only 47% percent attend services once a month, compared to 65% of people without disabilities, according to a 2001 survey commissioned by Harris Research and the National Organization on Disability. This gap is partly due to issues of access.

Interfaith Disabilities Network

Interfaith Disabilities Network was founded to provide resources to address these issues, and help every congregation include people with disabilities and allow them to practice their faith and use their gifts in worship, service, study and leadership.

Seventy congregations in the metro Atlanta area, including churches, synagogues and mosques, share information on being a more welcoming place for all people to practice their faith.

Linda Zimmerman of Congregation Beth Shalom is also president of Interfaith Disabilities Network. “We have always had a belief that every congregant should be included in all aspects of the congregation,” she said. When her congregation “renovated 15 years ago, we made sure that all entrances were accessible, and when we added a story, included an elevator. We have assisted listening devices; provide signers for the hearing impaired when necessary, and awareness training for the children in religious education, where children with disabilities are welcome. Interfaith Disabilities Network is a wonderful forum. We share the common goal of making our congregations accessible to people with disabilities,” she said.

Pat Kahn at Unitarian Universalist, works to include children with disabilities in all phases of their faith community. For one program, the religious education leaders borrowed a wheelchair for five weeks, and had each child ride in it and try to get in the building and get around. As a result, the children became more aware of the challenges facing their classmates with disabilities and also found some areas that still needed improvement. They wanted one classmate to be able to get to the playground, and to have some equipment to play on when he got there. Pat found a member of the church to take it on as his Eagle Scout project. The church also started a Special Friend program, where teenagers, who are members of the congregation, work as a special facilitator with the children with disabilities during Sunday School. “We want to be welcoming to every child,” said Pat. “And by extension, to every single family.”

Mark Crenshaw is the director of Interfaith Disabilities Network and says that becoming a welcoming church doesn't have to cost a fortune. IDN issued a document called “Hospitality on a Budget” with suggestions as simple as putting a cup dispenser near the water fountain so people in wheelchairs can get a drink, or putting long-handled hardware on doors, making it easier for anyone with impaired hand function to open the door.

“It's important just to start the process,” Mark said. “Let them know that it's something you're thinking about and that you care.” Mark has been with IDN for almost two years, and spends a lot of his time learning about more resources that are available and putting congregations in touch with each other.

“This program is unique not just because it is interfaith, but because we're creating an environment in which these folks use each other as resources,” Mark said. “A church may call a synagogue for help, because they are going through the same process. They all need the same things – a vendor to build a ramp or an architect to design an accessible bathroom.”

Mark hopes their work goes even beyond providing access. “In addition to helping people with disabilities have access to fulfill their spiritual needs, we hope we can have an even more profound affect. We want the members of the congregations that see this work to go out to their own businesses, and make them more accessible and more inclusive. It's about learning how we can all live in the world.”

Mark says the task is to build a community where we can all share our gifts. “I want people to think ‘What gifts are we missing because these folks aren't here?' We want to create a cycle of gifts.”

Resources

Web site: www.aadd.org/html/rdi.htm
List of congregations: www.aadd.org/html/idnwc.html
Mark Crenshaw, Director, Interfaith Disabilities Network, 404-881-9777x231 mark@aadd.org
Linda Zimmerman, Congregation Beth Shalom, 770-455-6565
Janet Fluker, LPC, Pastoral Counseling, Oakhurst Baptist Church, 404-636-1457 x.481, janet@fluker.com
Betty Thompson, long-time member of Oakhurst Baptist Church, bloopert@aol.com
Pat Kahn, Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, 404-634-5134