This summer, I sprained my ankle the day before one of my big trips. Temporarily unable to put any weight on it, I made my way through airports with the help of electric cart drivers and wheelchair pushers — a whole population that had heretofore been largely invisible to me. They were always there; I just hadn’t thought about them much before.<\/p>\n
Often “out of sight” does mean “out of mind.” I’m reminded of a past visit to a beautiful church built in the 1920s. To use the main entrances, however, one had to climb several flights of stairs. I asked a member how parishioners who used wheelchairs entered the church. “Oh, we don’t have any here,” he said blithely.<\/p>\n
To be fair, such a situation can be challenging, particularly with older buildings that have little room for modifications. I’ve served in multiple churches where the music ministry has led from a choir loft, accessible only by a narrow set of stairs. If and when you’re unable to climb the stairs, you’re essentially unable to participate in music ministry. I was thoroughly stymied early in my career by a musician who used a wheelchair — and I had no answer for her, which I regret.<\/p>\n
Making a church accessible is a challenge because of the many ways that people have for coping with limitations — physical, sensory, and otherwise. We’ve all become used to ramps in tandem with stairs. I’ve seen railings installed on the sanctuary stairs and shorter pews that leave room for wheelchairs. Large-print hymnals are reasonably common, and there’s been great growth in the number of sign-language interpreters. What other ways have you seen to accommodate parishioners? Have you seen particularly creative or elegant solutions?<\/p>\n
I’ve also heard complaints about most of these types of accommodations — the ugliness of a railing, say, or the distraction of an interpreter. Are these fair complaints? What can our response be to people who raise them?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Steps and sound can pose obstacles for people who visit our churches. How can we make sure that all who would like to worship with us are able to? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,187],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art-and-architecture","category-social-justice"],"yoast_head":"\n