This access guide is a brief resource, designed to alert UCC Churches, Conferences, camps, and other UCC organizations to the most commonly over looked accessibility issues. Please consult this document before you begin planning your next worship experience, annual meeting, camp location or hospitality training. Using the basic accessibility principles presented here will enable people with disabilities to fully participate in the life of their church.

Information in this guide is based on the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) passed in 1990. Though the federal guidelines exempt religious organizations from compliance, we believe that faith communities such as the UCC are called by a higher authority to create environments “accessible to all”, thus the UCC initiative A2A. In addition, some states, counties and cities have passed local laws requiring religious organizations to comply. Since such local laws would provide greater accessibility than the federal law, they take precedence, requiring faith communities to follow them. California is an example of a state which does mandate that religious organizations follow the same accessibility requirements as all other businesses.