Persons of all gender identities, races, ethnicities, economic backgrounds, and sexual orientations are encouraged to participate fully in every aspect of this community's life together.
At our Seers meeting on Saturday night, we looked briefly at this statement as a possible articulation of one of our core values as a community.
Despite the temptations inherent in laundry-list inclusion, I really wish we could add dis/abilities to that list, but. Inviting someone to church when they can't get in the door, hear the sermon, or share fellowship without going into anaphalactic shock is an empty invitation.
We shouldn't say that people are invited when we can't be fully hospitable to them. I think this is an issue this congregation needs to think about in terms of lots of issues, like race and gender identity, but I'd like to use this Three Things to open a conversation about dis/ability, since disability is a health issue as well as a welcome issue.
Before I ask the questions, two points from disability politics 101:
1. Many of the difficulties disabled individuals face are not inherent to their condition. They are caused by a society that is designed for (temporarily) able-bodied people. Disabled people face many daily impediments that are not inherent to their disability or chronic illness.
2. No one is able-bodied, full stop. If we have general freedom of movement, sight, hearing, etc, we are temporarily able-bodied. That could change at any moment.
So, three things!
1. What are three ways that our worship space is accessible to people with particular mental or physical disabilities? How are people with disabilities able "to participate fully in every aspect of this community's life together"?
2. What are three ways in which our worship space is not accessible to people with particular mental or physical disabilities? How are people with disabilities barred from full participation in every aspect of this community's life together?
Let's talk in this post especially about physical issues: the layout of the worship space, the movements throughout that space, the printed worship material, audibility issues, foodstuffs, etc.
