All (Well, Most) Are Welcome To Worship!

ANNE STRAUB has MS, and for several months of Sundays she parked her electric cart on the sidewalk in front of her church and sat there for the duration of the service because she couldn't negotiate the 8 steep "handrail-less" steps leading up to the door. She also had to get word to the usher: "I am out here; please bring me communion." Her church, due in large part to her dedication and vision, is now accessible.

THRUST INTO ADVOCACY

In 1987, Mrs. Straub--a wife, a mother of two grown children, and a former social worker and counselor--and her family began attending St. Boniface church, which had an imposing front stairway, no handrails, and then a few more steps into the church. The first thing she told the pastor and staff was, "Our parish mission statement says, `We are a welcoming community,' but I don't feel welcome. The church is not accessible to me."

SPIRITUAL INACCESSIBILITY 

Many people with disabilities have spiritual needs that are not being met because their places of worship aren't accessible to them. When the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed in 1990, it provided equal opportunity for people with disabilities and guaranteed that they wouldn't be denied employment or promotion because of disabilities alone. It also promised access to transportation services and public accommodations. But it doesn't--as yet--apply to houses of worship.

THE PLAN/THE GLITCH

Anne joined a church committee of like-minded people, and they drew up preliminary plans to make the church accessible. Then they contacted the Open Congregation Group, an organization that helps places of worship become more accessible. But the issue of available funds reared its ugly head. Although the staff at St. Boniface sincerely agreed about the need for access, ultimately, nothing was done. That's when Anne Straub started parking out in front. Finally, she gently told the church pastor and staff: "If it was one of you who had to use a wheelchair or cart to gain entry to the church, there would already be a ramp in place."

THE OUTCOME

Because Mrs. Straub didn't give up, her church is now accessible, with a ramp from the street right up to the front door. And there have been other, more recent changes: sanctuary access, a listening system for the hard of hearing, large-type print for programs and bulletins to help the visually impaired--and permanently affixed pews are being replaced by chairs, so that people with disabilities can sit wherever they want, instead of in a wheelchair ghetto.

CHANGE IS IN THE WIND

Now, religious leaders and the National Organization for Disability (NOD) want to add "accessibility to places of worship" to the Americans with Disabilities Act, to expand the participation for 54 million Americans with disabilities in all aspects of community life.

2000 IN THE YEAR 2000

Congregations of every faith are being enlisted in the Accessible Congregations Campaign, sponsored by the Religion and Disability Program of the NOD. According to Lorraine Thal, coordinator of the project in Washington, D.C., some 1300 congregations have made the commitment to remove barriers of architecture, communication, and attitude. Its goal is to have 2000 Committed Congregations by December 31, 2000. "Access to worship for people with disabilities is just as important as access to education, employment, transportation, health care, and recreation," she said.

BROADENING THE REACH

There are other goals and themes to this campaign. Lorraine Thai commented: "One of the most important accommodations that you can offer to a person with a disability is friendship. Another is to create an atmosphere of love and acceptance, so that there will be no shame attached to having a disability. We hope to create a comfortable atmosphere in places of worship where someone can ask for assistance without feeling like a nuisance or a burden."

The Accessible Congregations Campaign's motto is: Access: It Begins in the Heart, and, as Anne Straub proves, "If you build it, they will come."

For information on how your religious organization can join this movement, contact Lorraine Thal. Tel: [phone]; Fax [phone]; (TDD 202-293-5968) or use the Web <www.nod.org>.

Karen Zielinski, a Franciscan sister, is a birdwatcher, jazz fan, and a publicist for her religious community. She has lived with MS for more than 2 decades.