Nashville, Tennessee (AP) • Jerry Lam couldn’t get his wheelchair into the church line. it wouldn’t fit. Even sitting in the aisle couldn’t block the path awkwardly.
So he adapted. It’s a regular part of his new life with restricted mobility, requiring near-constant reckoning on how to navigate a world no longer set up for him. It also included his longtime church in Camden.
Instead, on Sundays, they worshiped at the Nartex behind the Camden First United Methodist Church, away from the rest of the congregation, with their families seated in folding chairs. Lam, 66, who had struggled to walk since 2019 because of a deteriorating spinal condition, was “already over it.”
However, the new pastor, Pastor Adam Kelchner, said: “
So Kerchner made something that could. He secured approval from the Board of Trustees and hired a company to cut out some seats and create space for Rams and others using wheelchairs or walkers to worship with the rest of the congregation. I got
“It blew us out of the water,” Ram said.
Except for employers, religious groups are exempt from the Americans with Disabilities Act, a 32-year landmark civil rights law that includes public space access requirements. Nonetheless, most of the time they make their buildings accessible in some way.
But there is a lot of room for improvement, says Scott Tamma, professor of sociology of religion and director of the Hartford Institute for Religion.
Thumma also co-led Faith Communities Today, a research project that surveyed over 15,000 US religious groups for its 2020 report, and found that 76% are wheelchair accessible. Thirty percent provide large print worship materials and nearly as many have hearing aids.
“It’s not terrible. But when you start asking questions how are you coping with all the other challenges and obstacles? …then it pretty much drops,” Tamma said. “They do not make perfect accommodations so that all people can actually worship to the fullest in worship.”
Reverend Kelly Colwell, who leads the digital and hybrid ministry at Berkeley’s First Congregational Church, said the pandemic and the ensuing massive increase in online worship were a catalyst for a broader understanding of what it really means to be an accessible church. It is said that it became United Church of Christ in California.
She had an eye-opening virtual coffee chat early in the pandemic. The Multiple Sclerosis congregation explained that an online event-filled calendar allowed her to participate in ways she otherwise wouldn’t have been allowed. Colwell realized that the church has always excluded people with accessibility problems.
Today, Colwell continues to assess whether churches have equal physical access to all congregations.
“We are not providing individualized and unequal service for those who cannot come in person,” says Colwell.
Maria Towne, president and CEO of the American Association for the Disabled, is making progress. She notes that the congregation has added inclusion her events and playgrounds for all, and an activist-created translation of the Koran that is easy to read for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Did.
“I think more and more organizations are starting to realize that this is necessary, albeit slowly. And more and more people with disabilities actually say, ‘We deserve to be here. I hope so,” Towne said.
Omer Zaman, a Muslim wheelchair user near Chicago, is one of the disability believers promoting inclusion and accessibility. He focuses on inclusion in mosques as a volunteer and board member of MUHSEN, a non-profit seeking consideration and understanding of disabilities in his community of Muslims.
“Individuals with special needs can join the board. They can contribute. They can give you perspective,” said Zaman, 37, who has muscular dystrophy. is not defined by our special needs, it’s just a part of who we are…but we are so much more than that.”
MUHSEN recognizes mosques making progress through phased masjid certification. To earn it, you must meet requirements such as Disability Awareness Events, Support Groups, Professional Childcare, Braille Quran, and Ramps.
“It’s not just lamps,” says Jerry Lamb, who has faced accessibility issues at various venues.
(John Amis | AP) Jerry Lamb, who has a spinal condition, speaks with Pastor Adam Kerchner at Camden First United Methodist Church in Camden, Tennessee, Thursday, December 8, 2022. Some seats have been cut in half so Jerry and others using his wheelchair, walker, or other assistive device can sit with the rest of the congregation.
Lam wants to invite policy makers on what he thinks will be a spectacular excursion in a wheelchair. He said they would experience firsthand how difficult it is to perform basic activities such as walking.
His family also sacrificed what they thought was their forever home in order to move into a fully accessible home. They skipped church for a while, juggled the pandemic with lamb health issues, and took on new duties as foster parents.
“It wasn’t even the fact that the church didn’t have a place to sit in his chair. It was difficult for us. We were just learning this new kind of lifestyle,” says his wife Laura. Ram said.
Accessibility also requires dignity, said Amy Asin, vice president of congregational engagement and leadership experiences at the Reform Jewish Federation.
“Anyone who has had to go through the kitchen to get to the sanctuary has experienced what the congregation needs to do,” Asin said. Some are about making sure there is dignity on the road.”
Accessibility should not be treated only as an issue for the disabled community, she said.
“Even if we had the blessing of living long enough, we would all be disabled. .
Accessibility updates can be costly, but so are other needs of the congregation, Asin said. These projects can also go through an annual budget process. We know that depending on the time of year, replacing a leaky roof or other important needs will take precedence.
In some cases, financial assistance is available. Asin said donors may be interested in funding specific accessibility projects.
ENCORE Ministries is providing grants to congregations that house older members at the Western Kentucky Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church, said executive director Kent McNish. Of the approximately 1,000 congregation at the conference, more than 60 percent of his congregation is over the age of 60, he said.
ENCORE is trying to change that with training and resources. For example, we fund sound systems that make worship services easier to hear and screens that are easier to read than hymns.
At Camden First, the layout of the Sanctuary conveys an important message. “This is a place where we have carefully decided to invite people who need mobility assistance,” Kerchner said.
Lamb rejoined the Sanctuary congregation this fall. As it happened, the new halves of the pews were near the former regular Sunday seats before all that changed. “It felt like coming home,” said Jerry Lamb.
AP’s religious coverage is supported through a partnership between AP and The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.
