United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries » 2006 » December
Three resources on web accessibility:
Church website design tips: things to DO
Here are three guidelines for legibility from
1. Exaggerate lightness differences between foreground and background
colors, and avoid using colors of similar lightness adjacent to one another,
even if they differ in saturation or hue.
2. Choose dark colors with hues from the bottom half of this hue circle
against light colors from the top half of the circle. Avoid contrasting
light colors from the bottom half against dark colors from the top half. The
orientation of this hue circle was chosen to illustrate this point.
3. Avoid contrasting hues from adjacent parts of the hue circle, especially
if the colors do not contrast sharply in lightness.
(from the work of Aries Arditi, PhD, Senior Fellow in Vision Science,
Lighthouse International)
The following publications about making buildings accessible are available at Partners for Sacred Places :
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L: We welcome you, “(Dog’s Name).”
P: We give thanks to God for your gentle yet determined personality.
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A Reading the Signs column . . . A Can-do Forum about accessibility for the whole church family.
By guest writer, the Rev. Ross Tyler, Vine Congregational Church, UCC, Lincoln, NE
To have an elevator from the lower church school classrooms level, to the south entry atrium level, and up to the sanctuary/narthex/church office level was the dream of the planning committee for Vine Congregational Church UCC in 1989.
An elevator shaft completed as a part of the new construction proved too small for equipment outlined by new state ADA requirements. The fund drive fell short for purchase of the original equipment ($43,000). Momentum died. The barriers were unresolved for some eight years.
In those intervening years, several uniquely gifted adults struggled around the barriers to total access by parking behind the church for entry at the same level of the narthex and sanctuary. They gained access to lower classrooms by going outside and around to east entry doors by way of the parking lot and connecting drive ramp (weather permitting or not).
Shane and Pam Cuttlers joined Vine in 1993. In 1996, they were blessed with the birth of their daughter Morgan, a bright eyed, curly blond youngster who steals your heart with a quick smile and wrinkling nose. The church and her parents quickly realized that Morgan would teach them the skills necessary to care for someone with glutaric aciduria, a condition affecting the body’s ability to process protein. For Morgan, this means weak muscle control and involuntary movements.
Carrying Morgan and her stroller up and down stairs while she was small was an easy, loving task. As she required larger conveyances, this became harder and even dangerous.
Because Shane is a Lincoln firefighter, Pam often needed others to help with the wheelchair or she wheeled Morgan outside to get to the lower level church school. Church folk as well as visitors became aware of the absolute need for a vertical lift for this spirited child.
The purchase of an Access Industries Porch Lift, model PLS-144 ($24,970) With added shaft preparation and other material expenses ($1,925) was proposed at the Congregational Annual Meeting on.February 17, 2002.
Following a unanimous vote, gifts of more than S30,000 came in, including substantial donations from Clark Hoover General Contractors of in-kind labor. Other generous cash donations by members raised more than $15,000 before the end of the meeting!
Following the worship service on September 15, 2002, the congregation gathered so that Pastor Ross, Morgan and Pam Cuttlers could formally dedicate the new elevator lift. Morgan had already been using it as well as other summer guests since its state approval in June.
The church is deeply grateful to God, to its exceptionally generous members and friends, and to those special individuals whose vision and tenacity have truly lifted the spirit of equal access for all!
You can contact Ross Tyler at
This column may be reproduced.
A Reading the Signs column
I no longer recall which came first, the fall on an icy sidewalk that necessitated a lesson for Treasure in how to dog guide a walker-using partner or the timely Christmas letter from Rachel Scott. My friend of years is a retired nurse/instructor in gerontology who has mastered the graceful art of using a wheelchair.
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A Reading the Signs column written by Jo Ackerman, Pastor at Clay Center, NE
When I have complained to others about my failing eye sight and how frustrated I am with cooking directions that are printed in the smallest of type on the “side” of the box or the struggle to read information that is printed with black ink on red paper, I get comments of agreement and learn that others also have this frustration.
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By Jo Ackerman, Pastor of Clay Center, Nebraska
The Nebraska Conference is proud of its churches that are making an effort to be accessible to all of God’s people. The term “accessible,” as used in many of our churches, means being able to gain entrance to the building. Some churches have constructed ramps and installed elevators; others consider a rear entrance sufficient.
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The second Sunday of October, Access Sunday, launches Disabilities Awareness Week. Consider incorporating into worship this blessing of tools that bring fullness of life to individuals and your church.
Hint: Mention the blessing in newsletter and church so folk can determine what objects, architectural changes, and other devices bring them freedom.
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What inspires a flock of geese to shape a V or a church to focus its energy?
“The greatest thing is a matter of dignity,” said Wayne Heathers, member of First Congregational Church UCC of Curtis, NE. “You might not understand that, if you have never been shut out from something.”
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Lincoln, Nebraska’s Northeast Community Church views things differently because of Scott Pigsley and Diana Coberly. Scott, 13-year-old son of Gina and Jerry Pigsley, knows God sees the person inside his body with spina bifida. “When God looks at me, God looks over that I’m in a wheelchair and sees a normal person.”
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Bipolar Brain Disorder
The genesis point of our religion is God’s looking at each creature and seeing, first, that it is good.
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A Reading the Signs column by Jeane Tyler
“We have something to say. We want to be heard. Communication is what a church is about.
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From Reading The Signs . . .
A can-do forum about accessibility for the whole church family
“Today, I knew what was happening. It was like a Thanksgiving song,” Sherryl Yokel’s voice greeted her pastor. Later, Mrs. Yokel added, “I feel more comfortable in church now. I understand the [choir's] songs and what Bob says.”
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Newspapers, Periodicals, E-Periodicals
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Children’s Book written by Daryl Green
This engaging story opens up the difficult theme of being different in ways that are easily related to by both children and adults
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Twelve easy-to-read Turtle Books provide a non-threatening, storytelling bridge of understanding with friends and siblings of children with physical and mental disabilities.
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Patricia McMahon, text, and John Godt, photography
Homesdale, PA: Caroline House of Boyds Mills Press, Inc., 1995
This is David’s story as he goes to kindergarten in a local public school.
Written by Gina and Mercer Mayer
Racine, Wisconsin: Golden Books Publishing Co., Inc., 1992
One of a serieis of books about disabilities attitudes
Written by Lorraine Aseltine and others
Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Co., 1986
A frustrated deaf boy who feels alone, afraid, mad, and sad until Brian, 17 and wearing hearing aids, visits his classroom. – Vera Losh, Reviewer
Tricia Brown, text, and Fran Ortiz, photography
New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1982
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this book tells volumes about special children. – Vera Losh, Reviewer
Paul has adjusted to artificial limbs.
Written by Bernard Wolf
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Lobbying for our denomination and carrying our concerns to and from Washington, the Public Life and Social Policy Ministries in the Justice and Witness is compiling a list of constituents willing to participate in letter writing whenever an issue related to disabilities comes to their attention. If interested, contact the Justice and Peace Network at
Janet Rieck is a vision consultant from Albion, Nebraska
Youngsters with vision impairment are simply youngsters whose perspective is a little different. To a child blind from birth, color has no meaning. Knowing that salt is heavier than pepper may be far more critical.
In a world friendlier to persons with good vision, my students work harder and longer than any other child on a school project to get results comparable with their classmates’. Even ordinary tasks of daily living take longer when performed without vision. My students develop persistence.
It takes courage to compete with others who have advantages unavailable to oneself; to attempt what no one seems to believe one can do. In a group that strives for conformity, to be the only one that cannot see well is lonely and calls for daily, sometimes hourly, demonstrations of courage.
Perspective, persistence, courage . . . . Are these not qualities we can all benefit from practicing? Among my students are the strongest and best people I know, perhaps because they began honing their character earlier than most, out of necessity.
From UCC DM Newsletter Archive
Giant Print NRSV Bibles.
Visit www.amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com or download, enlarge to readable size, and print lectionary-based scripture from /divinity.lib.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary
The Rev. David C. Johnston Library Bequest
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Second edition
Authors: Richard Nelson Bolles and Dale Susan Brown
Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2001.
For audio copy, contact Library of Congress Talking Books at
Written by James E. McReynolds
Published December, 2003
ISBN: 0-595-30610-1
Story of success in living with bipolar disorder, a mental illness.
Dr. McReynolds serves as minister of the First Christian Church in Weeping Water, Nebraska, and as a therapist for Valley Hope Treatment Services in Lincoln and Omaha.
Review at
Film. Steven Schacter, Director
TNT Films, 2002
The story of Bill Porter, award-winning salesman despite cerebral palsy, portrays Bill’s “patience and persistence,” sense of humor, and ability to relate well to people. A good story about a person with a disability! – Bob Dell
Written by Christopher Reeve
New York: Random House, 1998
The fictional journey of a man and his dreams versus his real life from the spiritual abyss created by the devastation of his body by a horse-riding accident to a remarkable realization. Teens and older. – Jan Rieck
Christine M. Smith , Ed.
Cleveland: United Church Press, 1998
Brings together diverse voices from eight cultural/ethnic communities. What is included from the perspective of the Native American, the Korean American, the lesbian and gay, the disability, the African American, the Filipino American, the Hispanic, and the Jewish communities is educational, theological, painful, and hope-filled. This volume views preaching as an art grounded both in the community from which it comes and in what the editor calls, “the sacred art of listening and knowing.” – Robert L. Loffer
Written by Patricia MacLachlan
New York: HarperCollins, 1999
A wonderful story of a little boy who pays attention to the perspective of his grandfather, who is blind, and learns that the world is much more than that which can be seen with the eyes.
Robert Perske’s mystery (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990), unfolds a story about how caring is born, giving life to all individuals rather than thinking about them as a group.
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Serious Brain Disorders – Family
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A Handbook for Family, Friends, and Caregivers
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Written by Jennifer Shifrin
Available from Pathways to Promise
A Book of Help and Hope for People with Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Phobia
Written by Jerilyn Ross
New York: Bantam, 1994
Compiled by Enid Peschel and others
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992
Kernodle, William D. Panic Disorder: The Medical Point of View. There Is No Need to Suffer! Richmond, Va.:1995.
A Complete Guide to Its Diagnosis and Treatment
Written by Donald E. Klein and Paul H. Wender
New York: Oxford University Press, 1993
A Manual for Families, Consumers, and Providers
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Understanding and Response
Written by Crystal Horning, MS, NCC, Mennonite Mutual Aid Mental Illness Consultant
Published July, 2001
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The Mental Illness Network, UCC, gathered in Hartsburg, Missouri, prior to General Synod (2001). Read the rest of this entry…
Compiled by Doris Zames Fleischer and Frieda Zames.
Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 2001
This book is a virtual encyclopedia about the topic covering the rise of the movement with detailed information on issues, organizations, and leaders.
Religion and its contribution, however, is unmentioned even though it has had a significant impact. Notes of interest include the fact that talking books predated LPs by 14 years and the increasing role of health care to baby boomers. Called a “stealth” movement, there is a constant need for informed and youthful leadership to be recruited for the disability rights movement.
UCCDM and MIN Exhibit Hall Booths
Captioned with the theme, “It’s About Time,” a three part display with “Yesterday” a tribute to Rev. Virginia Kreyer. “Today,” illustrated with photos showing UCCDM volunteer activities, and “Tomorrow,” showing the vision for Read the rest of this entry…
Edited by Diane Driedger and Susan Gray
This unprecedented collection of writings from seventeen countries discloses the world each of these women face, a world that has imposed false and constricting images upon them. What is it like to be blind in Pakistan? How is a woman with a disability treated by her family in Japan? What are the effects of female genital mutilation in Nigeria?
The women who tell their stories in this book convey a spirit of hope and optimism in the midst of their struggles. The writer articulate their needs, fight for the right to be equal members of their communities, and document their endeavors to form alliances.
If not available from your local bookstore, Imprinting Our Image can be ordered from gynergy books; P.O. Box 2023; Charlottetown PEI- Canada CIA 7N7.
This seventy-eight page manual addresses attitudinal and architectural access in inclusive and helpful way.
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Author: Dallas (Dee) A. Brauninger
Publisher/Date: Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 1994
ISBN: 0-7880-0099-3
Inclusive, multi-generational worship resource for Advent/Christmas Eve. Connecting past with the present journey, this resource offers a “You are there†and “You are here now†variety of reflections on the symbols of the journey: the star, faith, place, family, and nany Jesus plus a banner design.
The Rev. Dr. Dosia Carlson, a member of the wider United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries community and a recipient of the United Church of Christ Antoinette Brown Award for excellence and pioneering in ministry, contracted polio the day she was to have entered high school.
To read the story of her spiritual and career journey go to www.ucc.org/women/finding.html
