Buy cialis without prescription, The following covenant was adopted by a unanimous vote at the Congregational Meeting of the First Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ, Boulder, Colorado, on May 23, 2010. Ordering cialis no rx, This covenant provides a model for all churches wishing to make an accessible to all commitment. A copy of your church’s covenant may be sent to Michelle Hintz (hintzm@ucc.org) or to Peggy Dunn, Kjøp Discount cialis, Arizona AZ Ariz. , UCC DM Chair (pwduccdm@gmail.com).

A2A – ACCESSIBLE TO ALL – COVENANT

We, cheap cialis from canada, Cheap cialis online, as members of the First Congregational Church (UCC) in Boulder, Colorado, cialis cheap, Connecticut CT Conn. , in recognition of our human differences and various gifts, desire to become an A2A – Accessible to All – congregation, pharmacie cialis bon marché. Cialis online cheap, This Covenant expresses our intention to extend God’s extravagant welcome to all persons, seeking to understand, order cialis overnight delivery, Kaufen cialis, include, and empower people with all differing abilities and disabilities, South Dakota SD , Köpa cialis online, physical or non-physical, apparent or unapparent, ordering cialis online cheap, Acheter cialis discount, temporary or permanent.

The ancient practice of hospitality is presented in the Bible as a mandate for God’s people, buy cialis without prescription. This mandate requires that every body be included in the work and witness of God’s people on earth, Nevada NV Nev. . Where to buy cheap cialis, The biblical vision of the Great Banquet is of all gathered at a table dedicated to serving all. Barriers that diminish the access of any diminish the wholeness of all, αγοράσετε cialis. New Mexico NM N.Mex. , We affirm the 2005 Disabilities Ministries resolution “Called To Wholeness in Christ,” as adopted by the 25th General Synod of the United Church of Christ on July 4, Missouri MO Mo. , Buy cialis overnight delivery, 2005, honoring the Accessible to All mandate in the mission of the United Church of Christ, buy cialis online cheap. Buy cialis without prescription, This resolution calls us to embody a philosophy of inclusion and interdependence and to support and implement the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Bestill cialis online, CALL TO ACTION

• We pledge to offer educational opportunities to understand the implications of this covenant. This includes working with our church’s Mental Health Ministry as well as the UCC Mental Illness Network, comprar cialis baratos, Halvalla cialis apteekki, and the UCC Disabilities Ministry.

• We pledge to examine our own attitudes and suppositions regarding the issues of accessibility.

• We pledge to do regular audits of our facilities and programs and continue to work toward making them more accessible to all.

• We pledge when calling clergy and other staff to be open to hiring persons with disabilities, buy cialis without prescription.

• We shall be listed in the UCC Directory as an A2A congregation and we will display the blue square with the white A indicating “Accessible to All”.

• The Church Council shall appoint an Inclusion Team to implement and oversee this Covenant. We will include people on this team who have sensitivity to the challenges and joys of people who have a disability, particularly individuals who have a disability or a loved one who does, keeping in mind the slogan, “Nothing about us without us.”

• We will intentionally partner with persons with disabilities, including but not limited to, physical disabilities, mental illnesses/brain disorders, and/or developmental disabilities. We will also work with disability groups outside the congregation to extend our hospitality and to find opportunities to be in shared mission, ministry, and advocacy together.

• We commit to recruiting, nominating and supporting persons with disabilities to serve in leadership positions within the congregation as teachers, members of boards, congregational officers, candidates for ordained and commissioned ministry, or representatives to wider church ministries.

This vote affirms that we join in the process of always becoming ever more accessible and inclusive of all of God’s people.

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Order cheap levitra online, First Congregational Church, UCC, in Boulder, Colorado, a Rocky Mountain Conference Congregation, requests that readers comment on the content and presentation of two documents below that the beacon church has developed for churches interested in becoming Accessible to All churches.

An A2A study guide prepared by the United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministires for churches who covenant to become Accessible to All churches is available for download at this website.

Comments about the Covenant and the Introduction to the Covenant may be made using the comment box at the conclusion of this article, California CA Calif. . The Introduction reflects theess by which the Covenant was taken to the congregation. Osta levitra online, Below are two documents:

Introduction to the Accessible to All Covenant

and a covenant draft prepared by Dr. Kevin Pettit, Rocky Mountain Conference Disabilities Inclusion Associate and member of First Congregational,

A2A -- Accessible to All -- Covenant

Introduction to the Accessible to All Covenant

Sunday, October 25, 2009
Rhonda Fadum, Moderator

Today I am pleased to present to you a draft of a new covenant for our church to consider, the Accessible to All Covenant, order cheap levitra online. Our church’s covenants are statements of our agreed upon shared values that guide our life together as a community of faith. Presently our congregation has four covenants that have been adopted by a vote of the congregation: Inclusive Language, acheter levitra bon marché, Just Peace, Rabatt kaufen levitra, Open and Affirming, and Whole Earth.

The covenant we are presenting today we will not ask you to vote on until a later congregational meeting, discount levitra. Between today and that meeting we will be providing opportunities for the congregation to engage in dialogue, Cheap levitra, study, and reflection on the issues of accessibility, so that we will be better informed as we vote on the Accessible to All Covenant, levitra online kaufen. Order cheap levitra online, After the reading of the draft of the covenant, I will mention several action steps.

In a moment we will pass out the draft of the covenant and Kevin Pettit and others from the team that worked on this draft will read it aloud. Cheapest levitra prices, We will then entertain any questions or comments you might have at this time. But before we do that, let me give four reasons why we are bringing this covenant to our church’s attention at this time, buy levitra online.

1. The issues of physical accessibility have been an important part of our church’s consciousness as we began our vision plan for our church facilities over ten years ago. We have made some progress in making our buildings more accessible, but we realize there is much more to accessibility than ramps and elevators, order cheap levitra online. Om levitra online,
2. During our building projects we had small group meetings to raise our consciousness about how many different ways we were unintentionally putting up barriers to full inclusion regarding accessibility in our church, and we became determined to address them. With one of our members, For levitra online, Kevin Pettit, Wisconsin WI Wis. , becoming a Disabilities Inclusion Associate with the Rocky Mountain Conference UCC, we were given a natural opportunity to move forward
3. Two years ago, we began our Mental Health Ministry which has been working diligently through education and consciousness raising to reduce the stigma and provide welcome and support to those living with mental illnesses/brain disorders and their families, kjøpe levitra. This effort, Buy levitra without prescription, too, has made us more aware of accessibility issues that need to be addressed. Alan Johnson is the chair of that ministry, Koop korting levitra.
4. Order cheap levitra online, For the last 15 years our denomination has been working to bring awareness of accessibility to UCC congregations around the country. In 1995, Acquistare a buon mercato levitra, General Synod passed a resolution calling the UCC at all levels to embrace the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed by Congress in 1990. In 2005, levitra online stores, General Synod passed the Called to Wholeness in Christ resolution to encourage UCC congregations to become accessible to all, Farmacia levitra baratos, and embody the spirit of the resolution passed in 1995.

To date, very few of the over 5, köpa levitra,000 UCC churches have moved forward in response to this call. Buy generic levitra, Our congregation is poised to be on the frontier of this movement and to be a beacon for other churches.

A2A --ACCESSIBLE TO ALL -- COVENANT

The First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ Boulder, Colorado

We, as members of the First Congregational Church (UCC) in Boulder, Colorado, in recognition of our human differences and various gifts, desire to become an A2A – Accessible to All – congregation, order cheap levitra online. This Covenant expresses our intention to extend God’s extravagant welcome to all persons, seeking to understand, Mississippi MS Miss. , include, Connecticut CT Conn. , and empower people with all differing abilities and disabilities, apparent or unapparent.

The ancient practice of hospitality is presented in the Bible as a mandate for God’s people, New Jersey NJ N.J. . This mandate requires that every body be included in the work and witness of God’s people on earth. Købe levitra, The biblical vision of the Great Banquet is of all gathered at a table dedicated to serving all. Order cheap levitra online, Barriers that diminish the access of any diminish the wholeness of all.

We affirm the 2005 Disabilities Ministries resolution “Called To Wholeness in Christ,” as adopted by the 25th General Synod of the United Church of Christ on July 4, online levitra, 2005, honoring the Accessible to All mandate in the mission of the United Church of Christ. This resolution calls us to embody a philosophy of inclusion and interdependence and to support and implement the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

CALL TO ACTION

• We pledge to offer educational opportunities to understand the implications of this covenant. This includes working with our church’s Mental Health Ministry as well as the UCC Mental Illness Network, and the UCC Disabilities Ministry.
• We pledge to examine our own attitudes and suppositions regarding the issues of accessibility.
• We pledge to do regular audits of our facilities and programs and continue to work toward making them more accessible to all.
• We pledge when calling clergy and other staff to be open to hiring persons with disabilities.
• We shall be listed in the UCC Directory as an A2A congregation and we will display the blue square with the white A indicating Accessible to All.
• The Church Council shall appoint an Inclusion Team to implement and oversee this Covenant. We will include people on this team who have sensitivity to the challenges and joys of people who have a disability, particularly individuals who have a disability or a loved one who does, keeping in mind the slogan, “Nothing about us without us.”


• We will intentionally partner with persons with disabilities, including but not limited to, physical disabilities, mental illnesses/brain disorders, and/or developmental disabilities. We will also work with disability groups outside the congregation to extend our hospitality and to find opportunities to be in shared mission, ministry, and advocacy together.
• We commit to recruiting, nominating and supporting persons with disabilities to serve in leadership positions within the congregation as teachers, members of boards, congregational officers, candidates for ordained and commissioned ministry, or representatives to wider church ministries.

This vote affirms that we join in the process of always becoming ever more accessible and inclusive of all of God’s people.

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Buy soma cod, Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live(Isaiah 55:3a)

This mandate is to hear. I want to live.
What if my ears cannot hear. Soma online, My child, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings (Proverbs 4:20.)

I can lean toward you with full attention; but if I cannot hear you --.

Give ear, O heavens, Arizona AZ Ariz. , and I will speak (Deuteronomy 32:1a.)

Will you avoid speaking should you think I am not listening.

The hearing ear and the seeing eye -- the Lord has made them both (Proverbs 20:12.)

Who made the unseeing eye and the non-hearing ear, buy soma cod.

My ear has heard and understood it (Job 13:1b.)

I wish. Ordering soma overnight delivery, Such is a conceivable litany of the hearing-challenged. Communication is what a church is about. Consider your response upon learning that the crux of your sermon was missed. Buy soma cod, Weigh your frustration when someone fails to catch what you are saying the first or second time you speak. You tuck away the rest of the conversation for later, köpa soma online. Now ponder the patient energy required for that individual to listen to any sermon or engage in dialogue.

For a mutually fair, Cheap soma online without prescription, adequate exchange, phone hearing- challenged persons using voice relay. A human go-between transmits what you say then reads the typed response. Include the TDD number in your church directory and encourage its use, buy soma cod.

Kari greeted her pastor, Alaska AK , "I feel like a thanksgiving song. Today, Purchase soma online, I knew what was happening." One of three worshipers to benefit when our rural church of 200 members hired an interpreter for the deaf to sign twice a month, Kari added, "Now, I feel more comfortable in church, Minnesota MN Minn. . I understand the choir's songs and what you say."

As worship leaders, we can learn several words in American Sign Language. Om soma online, At minimum, engage an interpreter for family baptisms, confirmations, and weddings, ordering soma no prescription. Buy soma cod, Rather than a distraction, signing is a beautiful, enjoyable addition to the worship environment. However, few churches have such access, Soma farmacia a buon mercato, and signing is not universal among deaf persons.

We have additional resources. Use the following check list to review a video tape of your worship service:

• Do you face the congregation directly whenever speaking.
• Do you hold your head up when praying, soma online stores.
• Is your speech clear, buy soma cod.
• Do you enunciate word endings.

• Do you avoid dropping your voice at the end of sentences. Soma pills, • If male, do you keep a beard or mustache well-trimmed.
• How expressive is your face as you speak. Buy soma cod, When worship leaders optimize communication strategies, some with hearing challenges can follow worship without an interpreter. A colleague with a 55 percent hearing loss moves closer to her congregation during announcements, buy soma online without prescription. She repeats information offered.

"There is a difference between understanding what someone is saying, Osta alennus soma, " she says, "and hearing. I may hear the words, but I don't understand what they are."

If an amplification system is so faulty that even the hearing-able sigh, buy soma cod, consider how little hearing-challenged persons can participate. Older sound systems that emphasize bass tones were designed for the male voice, buy soma cod. With a good quality system having an adequate mix, Acheter soma discount, listeners need not strain both to hear and to understand.

Ask what works best. Hearing capacities vary. Encourage experimenting with seat location, comprar en línea soma. Buy soma cod, One worshiper, accustomed to sitting beneath a wall speaker, hears better one pew back. Is lighting sufficient for lip-reading. Place photocopied sermons, Soma discount, choral anthems, and other special materials on the narthex table.

Talk directly to deaf persons, not through someone else, ostaa halvalla soma. They will ask if they missed something. "Rather than instinctively slow down and speak up when I do not catch what you say," one person says, "talk to me normal, buy soma cod. Speak clearly. Buy soma without prescription, When you repeat, use the same words. I can tell a lot from facial expression. When you tell me something you are enthusiastic about, cheap soma without prescription, show me the feeling."

Hearing challenges precipitate exclusion. Buy soma cod, Include the hard-of-hearing in worship even should their speech be unclear. Duplicate parts in short scripture readings for the voice choir. παραγγείλετε online soma, Anyone with differences struggles with self-image. With a distinction as subtle as the angle of a smile, we can dismiss persons as invalid (both meanings), or we can affirm their whole being, soma without a prescription. Hearing-challenged persons might enter church feeling world-isolated; however, when no longer also worship-isolated, Vermont VT Vt. , they abandon frustration at once.

With the affirmation of her wholeness that grew from a worship environment that removes barriers, no wonder Kari emerged from worship feeling like a thanksgiving song, buy soma cod. She had experienced for herself Christ's first response to those unable to listen, actually or symbolically, with their ears: "[A]nd I would heal them" (See Matthew 13:15-16.)

Unbounded enthusiasm is borne of a similarly graceful attitude when a barrier is removed. Let us name a fifth attribute of ability, high-spirited "abandon."

Dallas A. Brauninger. First published in EMPHASIS: A Preaching Journal. 2000-2001 Series Theme: Welcome-ability. March-April, 2001, Column 5. Used with permission of the publisher.

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Buy soma c.o.d., United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries, www.uccdm.org - Great site for downloading useful resources, networking, posting questions, reflections, conversations.

United Church of Christ Mental Illness Network, www.min-ucc.org -The Mental Illness Network is a network about Serious Brain Disorders. Connect to find solidarity, Utah UT , help and resources for living with Serious Brain Disorders, such as Bipolar Disorder, Mississippi MS Miss. , Schizophrenia and Depression.

American Association of People with Disabilities, www.dmdaapd.org serves the diverse community of people with disabilities, including family, North Dakota ND , friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). California CA Calif. , Interfaith Initiative has resources and ideas for congregations

National Organization on Disability, www.nod.org -works in partnership with businesses, government, and local organizations to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in society, kjøpe soma. Sponsors programs that promote employment opportunities, raise awareness and marshal resources for people with disabilities, buy soma c.o.d.. Publishes That All May Worship, and From Barriers to Bridges, Cheap soma, resources for congregations.

Bill Gaventa and The Elizabeth Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities, (just Google them, the web address is complicated!), Rhode Island RI R.I. , Editor, Journal on Religion and Disability and Health, Goedkope soma apotheek, many great resources on including people with disabilities in faith communities, autism downloads, CPE program for seminarians and clergy in settings that minister to people with developmental disabilities, excellent Bibliography for religion-related disability resources, Koop korting soma. Available to speak and consult, bill.gaventa@umdnj.edu

The Arc, Buy soma online legally, www.thearc.org - The Arc is the world’s largest community based organization of and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It provides an array of services and support for families and individuals through more than 780 state and local chapters across the nation. Buy soma c.o.d., The Arc is devoted to promoting and improving supports and services for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

National Alliance on Mental Illness, www.nami.org -From its inception in 1979, Maine ME Me. , NAMI has been dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness through support, education and advocacy. Soma over the counter, There are state and local NAMI chapters with excellent speakers, trainers, leaders.

Alzheimer’s Association, cheap soma, www.alz.org, The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, Kjøpe soma online, support and research. Good resources for Caregiver support and training volunteers.

The UCC Fellowship of Architects, Collaborate to help build and renovate spaces for worship, education, and mission where all are welcome, possible consultant for church accessibility projects, buy soma c.o.d.. For more information, call or write to: Violeta de Banate 216-636-3834 debanatv@ucc.org

Nth Degree, Køb billige soma, www.thenthdegree.com , “Awarewear” business founded by disabilities advocate Dan Wilkins. Ordering soma online without prescription, Excellent resource for understanding Disability Culture, finding great posters, stickers, and tee shirts, Tennessee TN Tenn. , and laughing.

Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers, Halvalla soma apteekki, www.taalliance.org, Absolute must for families who are looking for local support and ideas to secure services for children and young adults (birth-age 26). Find local or regional parent resource center. Buy soma c.o.d., Centers sponsor frequent info and support gatherings for families and self-advocates.

Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy, soma kopen, www.wrightslaw.com Parents, educators, Kentucky KY Ky. , advocates, and attorneys will find accurate, reliable information about special education law, education law, buy cheap soma online, and advocacy for children with disabilities. Key info for parents struggling with school districts to secure resources for their children. Køb discount soma, ADAPT, www.adapt.org is a national grass-roots community that organizes disability rights activists to engage in nonviolent direct action, including civil disobedience, to assure the civil and human rights of people with disabilities to live in freedom, ordering soma pills. Another great insight into civil rights activism.

Specialty Sites – Every disability has an on-line community. Comprar soma baratos, You can learn very specific information about particular disabilities, therapy regimens, relevant assistive technology, treatment and support suggestions, New Jersey NJ N.J. , and local chapters

Don’t forget “Local Heroes” – Many of these groups have local chapters and can connect you to people with disabilities to help your church on their A2A journey.

10.2009 - J.C. Hartsig for Local Church Ministries, United Church of Christ

.

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Order aricept without prescription, Many churches around the country are developing community gardens. An article in The Herb Companion offers numerous ideas for adapting a garden for gardeners who are blind or live with other visual needs, kjøpe aricept. Utah UT , Read the article at http://www.herbcompanion.com/Seeing-With-Other-Senses-Gardens-for-the-Blind.aspx. From February, Alabama AL Ala. , District of Columbia DC D.C. , March 2007 Issue. Buy aricept. För aricept online. Buy aricept online. Kjøpe aricept online. California CA Calif. . αγοράσετε aricept έκπτωση. Osta aricept online. Buy aricept no rx. Köpa billiga aricept. Koop korting aricept. Aricept pharmacy. Billige aricept apotek. Florida FL Fla. . Cheap aricept online without prescription. Kjøpe billig aricept. Ordering aricept without prescription. Minnesota MN Minn. . Order aricept no rx. Billige aricept Apotheke. Order aricept overnight delivery. Order aricept without prescription.

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Order cafergot online cheap, Disabilities Ministries Team of the Connecticut Conference, First Quarter Report, 2009
Submitted by Jacky Scofield

January

We start the New Year with several new team members: Rev. Paul Goodman, cafergot online stores, Comprar en línea cafergot, Pat Kenney, Marty Night, cheapest cafergot online, Cheapest cafergot, Rev. Ray and Bonnie Odiorne and Rev, Arizona AZ Ariz. . Acheter cafergot bon marché, Kathy Peters. In addition, Connecticut CT Conn. , Mississippi MS Miss. , Rev. Karen Jodice continues for a second year, order cafergot online cheap.

Jan, cheap cafergot. Illinois IL Ill. , 29 Meeting
In Attendance: Jacky Schofield Ann Marino, Karen Jodice, Maryland MD Md. , Order cafergot online cheap, Pat Kenney

Items Discussed:

• Request for a volunteer for Secretary (no one present was available).

• Discussion of our goals and distribution of our Mission Statement for new team members

• How to find “ambassadors” to help talk to churches about A2A, cafergot prices. Online cafergot, 1. Order cafergot online cheap, Draw from the list of people who volunteered for the core team.
2, where to buy cafergot. Jotta cafergot verkossa, Possibility that some core team members may be able to occasionally speak to other churches about A2A
3. As churches become A2A, Louisiana LA , Texas TX Tex. , hope that others are inspired to help

• How to train “ambassadors.”

1. The A2A curriculum can be found online at www.uccdm.org, comprar cafergot.
2, order cafergot online cheap. Cafergot without a prescription, Each team member will read a section (15-20 pages) of the curriculum and write a brief summary/outline of that section.

• How to find churches willing to consider becoming A2A, order cafergot no prescription. Buy cafergot pills, 1. If one or two start and we can publicize it, Pennsylvania PA Penn. , Cafergot pills, others will follow. Order cafergot online cheap, 2. Churches of core team members may consider
3, cheapest cafergot prices. Churches of ambassadors may consider
4. Approach churches that responded to our email about accessibility.

a. Develop a questionnaire about accommodations that have been made, order cafergot online cheap. This will open a conversation and pave the way for discussing A2A
b. Speak to the pastor or other designated person regarding accommodations and their motivation for them.
c. Eventually ask if they would be interested in hearing about A2A.

February No meeting held

March Order cafergot online cheap, March 19 Meeting
In attendance: Jacky Schofield, Karen Jodice, Ray Odiorne, Pat Kenney, Marty Night and Paul Goodman

Items Discussed:

• Introductions of new team members

• Status of church survey questions

1. Contact with churches has not been completed
2. Churches which have, or will be contacted:

Paul – Brookfield
Bridgewater
Somers
Pat - Manchester
Portland
Karen – Broadview
Rocky Hill
Ledyard
Jacky - Bridgeport
Immanuel
Old Greenwich
Cornwall

• Summaries of “Accessible to All” Curriculum

1.Section I – “Anybody” is complete.

• Annual Spring Conference Meeting workshop

1. Meeting theme is “health care”

a. Jacky brought a pamphlet that she had compiled for another advocacy group – “Disability Etiquette.”
b, order cafergot online cheap. It had been presented at two churches and had been well received. Engenders discussion.
c. It is a collection of rules of etiquette for interacting with people with disabilities. Order cafergot online cheap, Discussed possibility of using it as a foundation of a workshop. Use as a way to discuss A2A
d. Name the workshop “25 No-cost Ways to make our Churches Accessible.”
e. Paul, Pat and Ray all offered to do the presentation (other team members not present should talk to them about splitting the presentation).
f. Bonnie Odiorne has offered to put together a simple Power Point presentation

Next Meeting Scheduled for April 23, 2009

.

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Buy cafergot c.o.d., The UCC Disabilities Ministries presents the 2009 award to an individual committed to helping our churches become Accessible to All to: Mary Larson, Lay Assistant, Mt Sinai Congregational, United Church of Christ, Mt Sinai, NY.

Mary Larson is the coordinator and motivating energy behind “Welcome Sundays”, Utah UT , West Virginia WV W.Va. , occurring monthly during regular worship times at Mt. Sinai UCC, Florida FL Fla. . Order cafergot cod, It is a service welcoming those with differing abilities and is “multi-media” and interactive (with refreshments!) In addition to church members attending this worship service, other regulars include individuals from a number of group residential facilities and their assistants, αγοράζουν online cafergot. αγοράσετε cafergot, Mt Sinai’s outreach to people with developmental disabilities and their families has been mutually enriching.

People with disabilities comprise 20 percent of the American population, Um cafergot online, Ordering cafergot overnight delivery, yet they traditionally are not represented within congregations. In fact, order cafergot overnight delivery, Buy cafergot online legally, a 2000 National Organization on Disability/Harris Survey found that though 84 percent of people with a disability state that their religious faith is important to them, less than half attend a religious service at least once a month, För cafergot online. Ohio OH , We rejoice at the good work of inclusion that is happening at Mt Sinai and lift up their example for the whole church. Buy cafergot. Osta cafergot online. Acquistare a buon mercato cafergot. Kaufen cafergot. Cafergot en ligne afin. Goedkope cafergot apotheek. Pharmacie cafergot bon marché. Ordering cafergot online legally. Kjøpe cafergot online. Buy cafergot no rx. Ordering cafergot from canada. Cafergot online kaufen. Osta alennus cafergot.

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Strengthen and Make Whole the Body of Christ by Empowering Children With Disabilities Can the church from the beginning of life be that place where justice is practiced, surrounding children with disabilities with the breadth and strength of such a network of support that it is simply empowering for life? I am convinced the answer is "yes." Lorie Peters has a gifted mind, an engaging personality and excellent instincts. She lives on her own near Baltimore; manages her own affairs; enjoys her cat Nicky; hosted a Christmas party for over eighty friends: lobbied in Maryland and West Virginia, talking with legislators about how she made changes happen in her life. Now in her mid-thirties, Lorie has been challenged all her life with severe physical disabilities. She has no legs, very small hands and a generally small body. She navigates by wheelchair or crawling. For years, medical labels imposed by her disabilities kept her from living as she does now. October 31, 1991 was the first night Lorie lived on her own in her apartment. She had grown up in Children's Hospital in Baltimore, living there twenty years. Then she was transferred to a nursing home. Lorie wanted to live on her own. Only her social worker seemed to be listening. Listening? Too many service providers failed to listen, including the staff at the nursing home. She burned the stump of her leg with hot tea. She told the staff to check her leg. They did not. When a friend came to visit, Lorie asked her to check her leg. Lorie had to be hospitalized, and more of her leg had to be amputated. Lorie concluded that the staff did not listen to her. I met Lorie shortly after this incident while she stayed at a friend's house. Lorie had made many friends as a child growing up at Children's Hospital. She would sit in the lobby to greet and chat with people, including Helga, in whose home she was staying. Another person she met as a child in the lobby at Children's Hospital was Rev. Brian, an associate pastor at a large church. Brian found another temporary place for Lorie to live, and then the permanent location into which she moved. The church in mission became an instrument of justice. The church was able to cut through a lifetime of perspective that Lorie needed to be "cared for" in an institution and capitalize on Lorie's own childhood connections. The church in a loving and caring way was able to offer the breadth and strength of its vast network of support. Then, the course of Lorie's life changed dramatically to an empowering way of life. Can the church from the beginning of life be that place where justice is practiced, surrounding children with disabilities with the breadth and strength of such a network of support that it is simply empowering for life? I am convinced the answer is "yes." The following story about an early English settlement can serve as a model of how the church can respond as an agent of justice. Historian Nora Groce studied the history of a small community of people who immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Martha's Vineyard in 1690. In this small, relatively isolated community, about 10 percent of the people were born unable to hear. They communicated with a unique sign language brought to them from England. Everyone in the community knew this language. Nora Groce found no significant differences between those who could hear and those who could not in the rates of graduating from high school, marrying, bearing a similar number of children, finding jobs and income levels. In a parallel study on the mainland where services were considered to be the best, non-hearing individuals graduated 25 percent less than hearing persons, married 40 percent less, and had children 40 percent less. They earned about one third as much as the general population and their range of occupations was more limited.' What happened? In one place where there were no services, the result for children growing up was that there were no differences; they spoke a unique language that everyone understood. Today in the church, separated from government regulation, we speak our own language, a gospel language that says "Come all," and we are empowered to do what it takes for any individual to participate in and contribute to the life of the church. The best hope for children with disabilities is for the church to adapt, much like the family adapts when a child with a disability is born. Harold Wilke was born into such, family and church. Many within the UCC know Harold, a gifted minister who was looking over the shoulder of President Bush in 1990 at the Rose Garden signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Harold finds great meaning in the hymn "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms," particularly since he has no arms himself. Having roomed with Harold on many occasions, I am inspired simply by seeing how able he is in put on his clothes. Harold reports: "I remember once, when I was two or three years old, sitting on the floor of my bedroom trying to get a shirt on over my head and around my shoulders. I was having an extraordinarily difficult time. While I grunted and sweated, my mother stood watching. Her arms must have been held rigidly at her side; every instinct in her wanted to reach out and put my shirt on for me. Finally, a neighbor who was visiting asked in exasperation why my mother wasn't helping. My mother responded through gritted teeth, 'I am helping!'" Harold's parents intervened lovingly and with care in specific ways offered Harold formative guideposts that shaped and empowered the church to become a positive formative network. At the service of confirmation, his ministry offered an individual prayer for confirmand. His pastor's prayer for him at age fourteen was child go to theological to become a minister of the church." Harold already had a deep desire to enter ministry even after being discouraged by a previous pastor. His church surrounded Harold as a child and later as a youth with affirmation, asking him to teach Sunday school in his late high school years. He was active in the youth fellowship, and was asked to preach a sermon. As I reflect upon sharing a room with Harold, I understand that in the way he learned to get dressed, his mother made a difference. With Harold the teenager, his own pastor was nurturing and empowering. Family and church were extraordinary instruments of justice in his life. Most often this simple kind of godly justice does not mean starting a new church program. Rather, it is the individual church member or committee that acts on what it takes to bring in or keep a young person involved in and contributing to the life of the church. Sunday school is a major agent of justice in the life of our churches. Ginny Curringa, Associate Pastor of Pioneer UCC in Sacramento, California, tells of what happened one Sunday when her mother picked her up from Sunday school after church services ended. "The Sunday School teacher told her that she could not bring me back unless she was willing to teach!" Ginny loved Sunday school, and was challenged by the gospel stories. She thought that Superman was better than Jesus. Why not? Superman could fly; Jesus only walked on water. And Ginny got the support of the class on this issue. Next Sunday, there was a new teacher. The new teacher became an agent of justice for Ginny. In that time, Ginny would have been considered "hyperactive." Today, Ginny knows she has dyslexia. She developed an attitude of making her own rules. Why? Because the school rules did not work for her. They made her feel dumb, placed her in low level reading and math groups even after testing revealed how bright she was. The local and wider church noticed Ginny's gifts. She was appointed a youth leader on a task force of women who wrote a resolution on inclusive language. Ginny says, "It was so wonderful to be empowered by the church!" "Very reluctantly," Ginny went to seminary. After all, academia had not been her favorite place in life. Her education was spread over six years, not being able to carry a full load. Childhood memories of church brought a feeling of home, and it was her church work during seminary that nurtured her self-esteem and affirmed her call to ministry. Because of Ginny's presence, many churches have improved their accessibility, both architecturally and attitudinally. Now fifteen years later, after serving several churches as associate pastor, Ginny has discovered the assets of her life's journey as a person with a disability. She finds her sensitivity heightened to people's ability to view situations from perspectives, and a sense of comfort and gifts for facing conflict and change. While she still struggles with feeling inadequate, Ginny found empowerment through the church and is now offering that gift back to others. In each of these stories, the people of the church were agents of justice when they empowered children for a lifetime. Like the people of Martha's Vineyard, church members discerned the suitable actions necessary and did them. In a society that tends to pass on such situations to a specialized service delivery system, the church can be that haven where community is primary, and where that community of faith constantly adjusts to be whole by including each individual. What if the church that offered the benefit of its network to Lorie had said "No"? What if Harold's and Ginny's family and church had not discovered their gifts, and encouraged them to enter Christian service? Praise God for the ways things did happen! We grieve that there have been times that our churches have failed to respond justly, and lives have not been empowered. Don't rush to set up a special program. Rather, survey your church, your Sunday school membership, and the extended life of your church (scouts, senior citizens, community groups). Find individuals whose needs are not being met. Discover a child with Down's Syndrome or with an emotional disability. Ask someone (maybe you!) to advocate for them and encourage them. Help others see that a child's behavior or needs might be a plea to be understood and to be viewed as they really are. Encourage the church to be flexible and to adjust. Tell fellow members the Martha's Vineyard story, and say "Our church can be that kind of community." Our church's just response to children with disabilities will empower them for a lifetime. It did for Lorie, Harold, and Ginny! Notes 1. The Martha's Vineyard Story is from John McKnight, "The Professional Service Business and Why Servanthood is Bad," reprint (Washington, DC: Cathedral College of the Laity, n.d.), pp. 1-2. (Also found in The Other Side January/February 1989).) Written by David E. Denham. Published in New Conversations (Issue Title: "A Church Responsive to God's Call – Building a World Fit for Children. Pp. 69-71 Written by David E. Denham and used with his permission. From

New Conversations

(Issue Title: "A Church Responsive to God's Call – Building a World Fit for Children. Pp. 69-71

In a recent release, Gordon Gilles, President of the United Church of Christ Cornerstone announced: For the first time in our history the loan portfolio has exceeded $50,000,000! As of December 31, 2008, the $51,157,910.94 loan portfolio consists of 174 loans which are spread among 33 of our 38 Conferences. From our humble beginning in September, 1993 through 2008 much has been accomplished. The United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries refers churches to Cornerstone as a potential financial resource when planning to build or adapt a building to become accessible and welcoming to all people. Such inclusion is a goal of the denomination as mandated by the accessibiity resolution, "Becoming an Accessible to All," accepted by the 2005 General Synod. Congratulations Cornerstone Fund and Thank You.

Guidelines for Church Ushers is provided by the United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries with Mental Illnesses Ministries to assist churches in becoming a truly inclusive body, accessible to all.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW . . .

We all know that persons with disabilities and their families should be integrated into the life of the church. We want to be welcoming in every way. However, we often do not know what to do and fear doing the wrong thing. Thus we sometimes appear to be unwelcoming. In reality, we are just uncertain. Many people with disabilities have hidden or invisible disabilities. While we may not be aware of this, we might be alert to people asking for help in order to be welcomed into our churches. This brochure is designed to assist ushers and other church leaders to offer hospitality to all persons with disabilities.

Basic Suggestions:

• Always speak directly to persons with a disability instead of to a companion.
• Don’t hesitate to ask if you can help. Then follow instructions.
• Whenever possible, seat persons with a disability with other family or friends.
• Don’t ignore. Include persons with disabilities in what you are saying and doing.
• Stress the person, not the disability (example: a person who is blind, deaf, etc., instead of a disabled person).
• Talk as you would to anyone else. Don’t hesitate to use words like see, hear, and walk.
• Ask a person with a disability to usher, greet or serve on a committee.

Developmental Disabilities

• Some congregational members may be uncomfortable interacting with people who have developmental disabilities. Ask ahead of time who would like to share a hymnal, explain the service, or sit with the person at coffee hour or lunch. Provide training for such individuals in advance.
• Always offer a bulletin. Then the person has the right to accept or decline the offer.

Hearing Disabilities

• Speak clearly, slowly and normally.
• If your church has assistive listening devices, show persons where they are and how to use them. Before the service, check the devices to be certain they are in working order.
• Never speak directly into a person’s ear. Stand where those who lip read can get a clear view of your face. Form your words carefully, but naturally without distortion. If possible, select a more quiet spot as noise is distracting and makes speech difficult to follow. If more appropriate, communicate in writing or with gestures.
• Avoid changing topics abruptly as the person uses context to help understand what is being said.
• Try to seat persons with hearing difficulty in clear view of the pulpit and the sign language interpreter, if the latter is present. Both should be in one clear view for speaking and gesturing cues as well as for the actual interpreting.

Mental Illnesses

The word "mental" itself is stigmatizing. Hereafter we will use brain illnesses -- commonly known as mental illnesses. Largely invisible, disorders in the brain interfere with the capacity to feel, think and relate. The symptoms of brain illness are varied. A person may appear sad, withdrawn, protective, preoccupied, carrying an unusual burden, or, on the other hand, may be highly energized or acting in a way unusual for the person or the situation.

• Treat persons with brain disorders and the families just as you do any other member of the Body of Christ. Offer the hospitality of a simple welcome and introduce yourself.
• Come along side, be present, listen. Stand with the person, as if you are looking out at the world together, ready to offer help, assistance or guidance. Accompany the person to a seat with or near someone who is supportive, understanding and companionable. Make introductions.
• Persons on medication for a brain illness may exhibit facial or bodily movements which people unaccustomed to this side effect of drugs may not understand. Create a space that is calm, reassuring and respectful.
• A brain disorder may cause behavior that is disturbing or disruptive. As with any episode of illness, find one or two knowledgeable members to assist by engaging the person kindly and quietly, inviting and accompanying the individual to a less active area of your church where appropriate care and help can be better provided. A good program which offers information about mental illness is helpful.

Mobility Disabilities

• A person who uses a wheelchair may be able to walk and may prefer to use a seat in the pew. Honor that choice. If possible, provide a few shortened pews so persons using a wheelchair can sit with and feel a welcome part of the congregation. Note that standing is a matter of choice.
• Do not, without permission, move a wheelchair, walker or crutches out of reach of the person who uses them. They are personal property.
• If assisting a wheelchair user up or down a curb, ask the person using the wheelchair for directions. The person using the wheelchair knows what works best. Steep ramps can be difficult and chairs heavy. If you have any doubts about handling the chair safely, get help.

Speech Disabilities

• Try to give your full, unhurried attention to a person speaking. Take time to appreciate the person talking. If you do not understand, ask for repetition or clarification. Do not courteously pretend to understand as you may be missing important information.
• Remember, a person with a speech difficulty may use alternative ways of communicating, including writing, mime or computer-generated speech.
• Resist the urge to complete words or sentences for the person with a speech difficulty.

Visual Disabilities

• When greeting a person with visual disability, identify yourself and your role as usher or greeter.
• Explain where things are located in terms of the person. Use the imagery of a clock to help orient the person to surroundings (Example: The choir is seated about 50 feet in front of you at 2 o’clock).
• Explain the order for worship if the person is unfamiliar with your church. Ask a member to join a person coming alone so specific worship instructions can be offered.
• If the person has a guide dog, ask how much room is needed for the dog.
• Always offer a bulletin. Make sure large print bulletins are available. If possible, offer a Braille or large-print hymnal. Offer to read aloud the bulletin if it is not available in an alternative form.
• Ask about seating preference then walk the person to the seat. Offer assistance when and if needed. Provide an elbow or shoulder if requested, but avoid grabbing or trying to push the person ahead of you.

In Case of Medical Emergency

• Never attempt to restrain or put anything into the mouth of a person having a seizure.
• Move objects or furniture to prevent injury.
• Make the person feel comfortable after the seizure by helping the person to a comfortable place to rest and offering reassurance.
• Since an incident could be epilepsy, a stroke, or a reaction to medication, find out if medical personnel or an informed family member is present. Call 911. One usher should call immediately while another stays with the person.
• In case of emergency evacuation, assist all known persons with disabilities.

For further information please contact:

Michelle Hintz, UCCDM 866-822-8224, ext 3845 Email: hintzm@ucc.org www.uccdm.org United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministry C/O Parish Life and Leadership 700 Prospect Avenue East Cleveland, OH 44115 1-866-822-8224 x3845

Gracious Invitation to worship takes many forms. Word choice in the presentation of options in some congregations is particularly graceful, as noted in a bulletin from one church we visited during recent travel: "As a courtesy to those with allergies, please refrain from wearing perfumes and fragrances to church events that might compromise the health of others." "*If you are able to do so comfortably, please stand at these times in the service." "Units are available to provide additional sound amplification. These units are available in the narthex and can be used anywhere in the sanctuary. Contact an usher if you have questions. Please return the unit following the service." db, web team

Written by Rita Fiero I had a car accident in 1982, and I never walked again without the use of canes, crutches, and, finally, a walker. Song of Invocation "Spirit of the Living God" 283 TNCH ROMANS 8:37-39; PSALM 46:10 I AM! I AM! I AM MORE than a conqueror and what a blessing it is! My life seems to have been one test after another and not the least bit boring. The knowledge that I have experienced so much adversity and kept my faith is the real blessing. I know that whatever life sends me; I can, with the ever-present help of God, work through it and come out the other side as a wiser person! I should not be surprised by what God can do in our lives, but I am. It is not God's power I have doubted but my own ability to be quiet long enough to know God, the Word of God, and the Will of God for my life (Psalm 46:10). I have certainly not always felt like a conqueror and expect that times in the future may be just as frightening as in the past. But as a conqueror, I have past triumphs on which to build. I am convinced that neither the death of our gifted, twenty-six-year-old son, nor the challenge of life with pain and limitation, nor insensitive words of believers, nor hurtful attitudinal exclusion, nor the highs of personal success, nor the depth of suicidal depression, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus who suffered much more in his life than I in mine. Despite finding a path for my own journey, I do not expect everyone to understand, nor agree, that victory over difficult situations is possible. It is possible but it is very hard work and it takes, as long as it takes. "Well-meaning" words of comfort after my accident and at the time of our son's death often only silenced my words of lamentation. I felt my grief was not validated, and it gave the consolation to those who were uncomfortable with anything less than a stiff upper lip and smile from me. Swallowing my grief only prolonged the dark days. I had to get through the "going through" at my own speed. I had to work through my loss and grief as best I could and in my own way. No one should ever allow the expectations of others, even those who are closest and love us most, to pressure us to get on with life if we are not ready. But, we must also take the responsibility to choose to move ahead. To not choose is a choice! I am convinced the biblical directive to "Choose Life" translates into conquering the urge to curl up under a blanket forevermore because it is the safest place to hide. This decision, between life and isolation, is what makes for such hard work. A little solitude is a gift; too much solitude can be a burden. I had a car accident in 1982, and I never walked again without the use of canes, crutches, and, finally, a walker. In 1988, I started using a wheelchair. Walking is a highly overrated ability but preferable. Humor is highly underrated but a necessity. Humor and ingenuity have served me well over the years. I raised two teenagers while being very limited and devised creative ways to outsmart them. I had a terrible time getting them to clean up their rooms, so after fair warning, I dumped their loosely lying-around clothing out the second floor window of their rooms. The only thing I regret is not getting a picture of their faces as they saw the only house on the cul-de-sac, viewable from the main thoroughfare, in full dress. I don't think they were too psychologically damaged, and I am convinced that God also has a sense of humor. God, the parent, also laughed. I will never be able to do some of the things I did before the accident, but I can do things differently. There are discoveries and surprises along the journey of disability, and I would not trade them in for anything. That is not true of our son Michael's death. I would give anything, including my life, to have him back. But I feel grieving his death may well have been a catalyst to my healing. I had to face up to all of my losses, the frustrations of my disability, daily life with chronic pain, and sadness over the progressive illness of my husband. I have learned that the only acceptance of such losses is the acceptance that life will never be the same, and this must be sufficient until we come face-to-face with the author of all life. Only God knows our lives from the end to the beginning. Only God knows why. In July 2001, the most extraordinary experience of my life happened when I was invited to be a scripture reader at General Synod worship. I felt honored and agreed to do it. The reading came in the mail and I briefly looked it over wondering if I had finally extended myself a bit too much. I set it aside until the day before my scheduled presentation, when I began to practice reading it aloud. I did read it, over and over again. I had to stop. I had visions of my third grade teacher standing over me with a ruler telling me to read it correctly, "like you really believe what you're saying:" But I could feel nothing. I had become numb in order to survive what no parent should survive, let alone the other complications of my life. I knew I had endured, but I was now faced with the choice to conquer or to hide. Rising to the challenge would not make things "right" again, and I finally knew that in my heart, however, I was being forced to make this choice because I would never be able to sit before thousands and give praise to God and not feel that exquisite praise. I started to read and reflect on the words I was saying: "O Lord, our God, how majestic is your name in all the earth...." Alone in that hotel room, I found the perspective on life I had longed for and the words of praise flowed from me, not the paper before me. The next night, I read as if God and I were the only ones in the auditorium. My spirit was healed and I was granted peace beyond my understanding. I now know it is possible to give praise to God in all circumstances. I have become sincerely thankful for the short time we did have with Michael instead of being angry that our time was so short. I am happy I have gotten to know our beautiful daughter, Rebecca, as an adult and to have her friendship. I am truly blessed to love the man I married thirty-three years ago-even more than when we first wed. We will cherish the rest of our lives together because we know how truly precious that life is. God is good! All the time! Yes, God is good and worthy to be praised! Reflection Questions l. Have you been hurrying so fast that you need to wait for your soul to catch up to your body? Find a quiet place, a church, the woods, or a room in your house where you can shut out the noise of the world. Spend some time in silence listening for God's voice. What do you hear? 2. Write about the strengths you have gained from the most traumatic event in your life. First, step back from your trauma. Watch a good movie or chat with a friend. Next, for three days in a row, write for ten minutes about what you have learned from the negative experience. Finally, decide what you want for a victorious outcome and try to make the dream a reality. Transform your suffering into a sacrament. Be more than a conqueror. Suggested Hymns "When Peace, Like a River" ("It Is Well with My Soul") 438 TNCH "God's Eye Is on the Sparrow" 475 TNCH "There Is a Balm in Gilead" 553 TNCH Women's Mosaic Series 2002 UCC Women's Resource Margaret (Peg) Slater, Editor

Written by the Rev. Virginia Kreyer Cannot we, persons with disabilities, nondisabilities, people of color, and persons from different cultures, compare our lives to a patchwork quilt? Invocation Leader: Spirit of God, come among us. Open our hearts to know your transforming presence in our lives. People: Come, Holy Spirit. Leader: Spirit of God, come among us. Brood over us that we may be filled with your love. People: Come, Holy Spirit. Leader: Spirit of God, come among us. Breathe into us your restlessness and courage that we may trust your promise of newness in our lives, in the church, and in the world. People: Come, Holy Spirit, renew they whole creation. Amen. 1 CORINTHIANS 12:4-27 MY GRANDMOTHER'S AND great-grandmother's generation made patchwork quilts. My mother's and my generation rarely, if ever, engaged in this wonderful art form. Within the last decade or two, purchasing and making patchwork quilts has been revived. A good friend suggested that the imagery of a patchwork quilt might be a basis for this essay. I was thinking about the suggestion when, a few days later, a young woman pastor told a group of us attending a workshop that making patchwork quilts was one of her favorite hobbies. The apostle Paul, writing his first letter to the church at Corinth, said, "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.... Indeed the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, `Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. . . . If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?" (1 Cor.12:12, 14-15,17a). In other words, all of us are different. Before following our biblical theme further, let's look at the patchwork-quilt analogy a little more closely. A quilt is made of many different pieces of material, different colors, and often, different textures. The one who is making the quilt decides how the quilt should be designed and stitched together by a common thread. Once I heard of two women, living in different parts of our country, who made most of their daughter's dresses from the time the girls were infants until they reached young adulthood. Both women saved pieces of material from each dress they made. They have decided to make a patchwork quilt for their daughters, using the pieces of material from the dresses. One piece may remind one of the first day of school, while another piece may have brought back happy and sacred memories of confirmation day. No two pieces were exactly alike, but they have been stitched together by a parent's love. Cannot we, persons with disabilities, nondisabilities, people of color, and persons from different cultures, compare our lives to a patchwork quilt? Each one of us is a unique human being. No two of us are exactly alike. For instance, no two people have the same fingerprints. And we all have abilities and disabilities. Some people's disabilities are very visible, while other people have invisible disabilities that we may never know about unless we are told. These may be mental, emotional, or physical. Each one of us has strengths of one form or another that we need to put to use for our own fulfillment, for the good of others, and to the glory of God. As Christians, Jesus Christ brings us together, just as a quilter brings pieces of a quilt together. In recent years, we in the church have come to realize the value of telling and hearing autobiographical stories, as a way of witnessing to our faith. Each story is different because we, each, are unique individuals . . . no two of us face exactly the same situation or have the same experiences. Yet, as we look back on our lives, most of us can recognize the presence of God at various moments or times. We realize later, even if we are unaware of it at the time, that God has been with us. Just as the maker of a patchwork quilt draws the various pieces of material together with thread, so does God, revealed to us in Christ and known to us today through the power of the Holy Spirit, draws Christians together. I am not trying to imply that life for any one of us is easy. Life for some people is much more difficult than for others. Some individuals who are members of minority groups, such as persons who have physical disabilities, people who are mentally impaired, people who are emotionally disturbed, or people who are African Americans or any other minority group, still are discriminated against. Our world is so full of violence, hatred, injustice, and war that even when I know that persons with disabilities and other minority groups have been shamefully treated, and still are not always given a fair opportunity, we must be grateful that many, many more people are far more accepting of persons with disabilities than they were a hundred, fifty, or even twenty years ago! Societies, in general, and denominations, in particular, have been working since the late 1970s to remove architectural and attitudinal barriers. We finally have come to understand that we cannot be an inclusive church unless all people, regardless of their disability, color of their skin, or national origin, are welcome in Christ's Church. Some people will continue to exhibit anger or hostility toward anyone who is different, be they persons who are mentally impaired, mentally ill, or have physical disabilities or are members of any other minority group. The recipient of such hostility finds this to be very painful. It hurts! We need to remember, however, that such behavior stems from the fear of the nondisabled or nonminority individual that they, too, could have been born into a minority group or could have been born with a disability or could become disabled. This fear often is on a subconscious or unconscious level. Our calling is to help such a person or persons, if possible, acknowledge their fear. Only as an individual does, can he or she admit their fear and change their attitude and, thus, their behavior. In conclusion, let us: 1. Be thankful that society, in general, and the church, in particular, has begun to recognize that all individuals are precious, and must be allowed and helped to discover and use their God-given gifts. 2. Let us give thanks for our individual uniqueness and for Christ who binds Christians together as different pieces of cloth are brought together to make a quilt. 3. And finally, may each one of us, whatever our station in life, be granted strength to use our gifts and our abilities for the glory of God, remembering the words of Jesus who said, "Lo, I am with you always." 4. How can you encourage more persons with disabilities to become part of the congregation? Reflection Questions 1. How do you feel when you meet a person with a disability? 2. Is your church accessible? If not, how can it be made accessible? 3. Are there people in your congregation who are disabled? Are they welcome? Hymn possibilities "Spirit Of Love" 58 TNCH "Called As Partners In Christ's Service" 495 TNCH "In Christ There Is No East or West" 394 TNCH "Blessed Be the Tie That Binds" 393 TNCH Women's Mosaic Series 2002 Margaret (Peg) Slater, Editor

Written by the Rev. Jeanne Tyler The question of justice is one of exclusion. Invocation Persistent God, who never lets us go, come to us in this gathering. Open our minds and our hearts to wrestle with your words. Teach us not to sit politely by when we are not welcomed as the unique people we are. Help us to love ourselves as much as we love you, so that your gift of creating us in your image is not wasted on others or us. Help us be teachers and learners. Help us to follow your ways made straight in the wilderness. We ask this in the name of Jesus, the Christ. Amen. ISAIAH 35; LUKE 18:1-9 A SENSE OF HOMECOMING 1S the vision found in Isaiah, chapter 35. The way home from exile is an ecological treasure-with the land being glad and full of blooms. The dry, inhospitable, and even dangerous desert will be transformed. It shall be filled with streams of water and a way will be found through it. Best of all, the people who could be most easily left behind-the weak, the lame, the blind, the deaf, those unable to speak-will come to the forefront. All will be included, accepted, and affirmed at the center and the whole will be made holy. We will be a sign of God's presence in all our glory and differences. The question of justice is one of exclusion. Isaiah knew the vulnerable ones who might not make it home. Those with disabilities might not have enough strength or mobility to make the way home. They might be left behind because they were too much trouble. Were they even good enough to come home? As the land is transformed, so are the people. Those on the edges are now the center. Those with disabilities are not forgotten, not relegated to the least, or even out-of-sight, out of mind. Isaiah knew that any good homecoming is inclusive of all abilities. Isaiah also invites us to look at deserts and see crocuses in bloom, look at the little paths and imagine a highway, feel the fear of wild animals and know the safety of God. Isaiah invites us to know ourselves as whole and holy. The whole of creation changes, is transformed as we change our perception of ourselves and our abilities and disabilities. I was one of those who questioned if I was good enough to come home. I was born with mild cerebral palsy and a hearing loss. I have struggled to hear and be understood. I struggled to walk. And I struggled to know in whose image I was created. In Genesis, it says that God created humankind in the image of God, God created them male and female. One day I was meditating on this line, trying to get myself around this so I could more fully understand. There I was in the library of Chicago Theological Seminary, looking at my hand, and I understood that I was in the image of God. My hand, which could not take good notes or write well, was "in the image of God:" My hand, which spilt coffee and took more time to do dishes, was "in the image of God:" My hand, which I would have gladly traded was "in the image of God" and the rest of me as well. By the grace of God, I knew myself as in the image of God. I could come home. In the Gospel of Luke (18:1-7), there is a story from which I gain great strength. There is a woman, a widow, a woman without a man to speak for her. She must be alone. She should be powerless, but she is strong and determined. She does not take "no" for an answer from this judge who neither fears God nor regards humans. Can you see this woman dressed in black, perhaps bent over a little but with an attitude? What a hoot! She has been wronged, and she knows the judge can vindicate her if he wants. At first, the judge refuses her. He does not need to bother with her case. She is just a widow with another story of injustice. It does not concern him. She comes again to him with this same request, or is it a demand? And again she comes and again.... Finally, he says to himself, "Though I neither fear God nor regard humans, yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her or she will wear me out by her continual coming:" And, he does. A persistent woman won, and our lives are enriched with justice! With inner strength and fierce determination, she received justice from this judge that neither feared humanity nor God. This attitude drives us to claim our place in a world that often does not want to trouble with us. We can draw courage from this deep well of stories about inclusion at the center of a redeemed life. Coming home to self is coming home to God. Coming home to God is coming home to self. Persevering, demanding justice, demanding a place at the table is faithful work for us all. Reflection Questions 1. When do you see yourself in the image of God? Do you? Why? Why not? 2. When do you see others in the image of God? Is it easier to see others than yourself? 3. What sense do you make of the visions of redemption and hope in the Hebrew Scriptures? Can they be updated to our time? How? Suggested Music "All God's Children Got a Place in the Choir" Women's Mosaic Series 2002 Margaret (Peg) Slater, Editor

Written by the Rev. Diana Coberly Invocation We approach you, O faithful God, assured of your welcoming attitude to all. You fearfully and wonderfully made each of us. We thank you that your love is with us, that nothing can separate us from your love no matter the way we see or hear, no matter the way we talk or walk, no matter the way we think or feel. Help each of us to be aware of how we exclude persons different from ourselves from knowing Jesus. As we gather in this place, awaken us to your goodness and mercy, that we may through the liberating grace you offer us, help create an attitude of inclusiveness for all. Amen. MARK 2:1-12 REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I felt shame about having a disability-about how I looked with a disability. It was when the newspaper reporters were taking my picture with Gene Autrey. I had just turned five years old, and a few months before I had been admitted to the hospital seriously ill with the polio virus. I was appalled about the fact that now I was going to be seen, all over Kansas, sitting in a wheelchair. I didn't even have braces yet. In fact, my legs look fine in the picture because the atrophy of my legs had not yet begun to show. But I knew that I was no longer whole. Something was wrong with me, not just with my body but with me. Now that sounds ridiculous! How could a five-year-old child, who had just recently become different from other kids, have developed a sense of shame about being handicapped? But I knew it was true. I not only remember the feeling, but I have the picture that shows my hand across my mouth, as if to hide from the camera. I know how this happened. It was because of the beliefs and attitudes of persons around me, including my parents. In Romans 8:38-39, Paul tells us that absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And yet, I have heard, over and over, stories of persons with disabilities feeling ignored, criticized, blamed, and scorned by the church-by its liturgy, by its use of the scriptures, and by its members and their attitudes. What truly handicaps people with disabilities are the attitudes of others. And "others" means us-the people of the church. I believe that the Mark 2:1-5 passage of scripture models spiritual accessibility for all. Humankind's faith made Jesus accessible to the man who was paralyzed. We don't know about the faith of the man on the mat, but we do know about the faith of the four people who brought him to Jesus. Nothing could stop them from gaining access to the love of God through Christ Jesus: not distance; not the weight of the man who was paralyzed; not dusty roads; not crowds; not blocked entry to the house where Jesus taught. Today, most denominations have statements or resolutions calling for their local churches to provide physical access for per sons with disabilities. A 1995, a Twentieth General Synod resolution called on the United Church of Christ to be morally bound by the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1991 (most religious institutions, organizations, or local churches are not legally bound to the provisions of the ADA). Many churches have devised ways for folks to be present in worship. Notice, I use the word "present," not "participate in," because many churches do not furnish large-print bulletins, hymnals, or assistive devices for people with hearing disabilities or open pews so that people in wheelchairs don't have to sit in the back or the front. However, little attention is paid to the concept of providing access to persons with disabilities to participate fully in the life of the church. Persons with disabilities are often unable to participate fully in the life of the church, not only because of the lack of physical access to the social hall, classrooms, choir lofts, and restrooms, but also because of the attitudinal barriers erected by members of the church community. Most Christian traditions equate perfect bodies with wholeness of the spirit. As a result, a large number of parishioners relate to persons with disabilities from one of three models: the person or family has sinned and is to be shunned; the disability is a gift from God and the person is treated in a paternalistic manner; or misfortune has befallen the person, causing him or her to be seen as a charity case. There are two other reasons why persons with disabilities are excluded from the faith community (all communities). We remind folks of the fragility and vulnerability of their bodies. There were many times I crossed a street or entered a store that I had no intention of visiting just because I didn't want to look at or acknowledge the person with a disability who was headed my way. Years later, I came to understand that the person I didn't want to see or acknowledge was me. Secondly, many people do not know what to say or do when they meet a person with a disability. Particularly, folks do not want to hurt or embarrass that individual or them-selves. Just as the four men in the Mark text provided the man who was paralyzed access to Jesus, faithful members of a congregation can invite persons with disabilities to lead a seminar or a roundtable discussion as a way to educate the entire faith community. In the process of examining why there is an impregnable wall between most commu-nities of faith and the community of people with disabilities, Brett Webb-Mitchell, in Un expected Guests at God's Banquet: Welcoming People with Disabilities into the Church (New York: Crossroad, 1994), identifies one problem as the issue of the difficulty of living in American society as someone who is different from the normal person. Our society, including the church congregations and parishes, attempt to make the person with a disability like everyone else, instead of accepting that person just as they are. Each of us has abilities; each of us seek fulfillment and wholeness; each of us has disabilities; each of us know isolation and incompleteness. In the way that the four men's faith allowed accessibility for the man who was paralyzed, we are called to be Christian agents and to act on our faith by removing barriers of attitude, economics, communication, and environment. Our churches cannot afford to be places filled with shamed people. If we are to take seriously that all of us are created in God's image, then we must change attitudes and bring down barriers that prevent people from finding joy in themselves as God's whole and holy people. May we lift the roof in praising God who created us, as we are, in God's image. Suggested Hymns "Help Us Accept Each Other" 388 TNCH "We Yearn, O Christ, for Wholeness" 179 TNCH "When Minds and Bodies Meet as One" 399 TNCH "Called as Partners in Christ's Service" 495 TNCH Questions 1. Remember back to when you were five. What were some wonderful experiences you had? What were some painful or hurtful ones? 2. What are the physical barriers of your place of worship for persons with disabilities? 3. What do you feel and think when you hear the word "disability," or when you encounter someone with a disability? 4. What role does your faith play in your attitude of inclusion-or exclusion? Women's Mosaic Series 2002 UCC Women's Resource Margaret (Peg) Slater, Editor

Serious Brain Disorders, formerly called Mental Illnesses Written by the Rev. Norma Mengel Invocation Creating, saving, and sustaining God, we thank you for creating us in your image, each having gifts that differ according to the grace given us, so that together we make up the whole body of Christ. Help us to learn new ways to encourage each other to develop our gifts to the fullest, to love one another with mutual affection, and to extend hospitality. May we be sensitive and helpful to one another in our areas of need. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen. ROMANS 12:1-13; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:4 ROMANS 12 HAS profound lessons for me as my spiritual journey leads me to reflect on the meaning of disability for myself personally and for ministry. From our human perspective, each of us comes with some kind of imperfect body. Some of us think we are too tall, some too short, some have arms or legs that are paralyzed, some have eyes that can't see, ears that can't hear, brains that are disordered, hearts that are weak. No matter the condition of our bodies, we are to give ourselves as a living sacrifice and know that we are holy and acceptable to God. We are made in God's image, and God wants our whole being. As we make this commitment of our whole selves, our minds are to be remade or transformed. We are not to model our thinking and behavior on the culture around us, but we are to let God's spirit within us, remake us so that our thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors are changed, enabling us to know God's will in all areas of our living. I will relate this passage to one area that has touched me deeply-attitudes toward persons who have what the "world" calls "mental illness" but accurately should be called "brain disorders:" Society would have us stigmatize, discriminate against, and exclude persons with these disorders from our "normal" world. Our transformed thinking would have our attitudes and actions be ones of love, acceptance, and hospitality. "Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.... Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality" (Romans 12:10,13). "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think.... For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us...... (Romans 12:3-6). Just as our human bodies have many parts, each with different functions, so it is with Christ's body. As The Living Bible puts it so vividly, "We are all part of Christ's body and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other and each needs the other. God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well:" Persons with brain disorders or any other disability have many abilities and gifts to contribute and are needed to make the body of Christ complete. One's disability does not define the person. Each person has gifts and needs that differ from another person's gifts and needs. All are essential for the body of Christ to function at its fullest. It is my belief that God created us to be interdependent, not independent or dependent. This is an area where we must not let ourselves be squeezed into the world's mold. Society teaches us that independence is to be valued above all else and that a state of dependence is to be avoided at all cost. I think this creates an attitude of pride, arrogance, and a sense of isolation, causing people to think of themselves more highly than they ought to think: "I made it, why can't you?" It causes people to think that they are selfsufficient, with no need for God and no need for others. One of the hardest things for anyone to do in our culture is to ask for help. And yet, Jesus told us, "Ask, and you will receive:" I believe our relationship with God is one of interdependence and our relationship with others is also interdependent, we are called to be one body. My particular story and calling leading me to this understanding of interdependence and giftedness started in my nursing student days as I learned the marvelous workings of the human body through a study of anatomy and physiology. It deepened on a personal level when our son became ill with a brain illness called bipolar disorder at the age of seventeen. In the depth of the pain, we experienced both a profound sense of God's comfort directly and through some members of the body of Christ and a profound awareness of the stigma, discrimination, and isolation toward these illnesses in society and the church. Our health insurance didn't consider these brain illnesses as physical illness, though the last time I looked, the brain is a very important member of the body. To this day, there is a great inequity in insurance coverage for needed treatment of brain illnesses. The congregation, of which we were a part at the onset of the illness, demonstrated transformed minds and attitudes and shared deeply their gifts of compassionate caring. Later, our life journey took us to a different part of the country and to a different congregation where few offered help, few visited when he was hospitalized or even asked about his welfare. We withdrew, became silent about the illness, and felt like modern-day "lepers:" It was only after we, as a family, found the joy of interdependence in support groups of other suffering persons, that we found new friends and were able to come out of "hiding," talk openly about the disability, become involved with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), become better educated, find the best treatment, and use these new gifts in the body of Christ to minister with and to other persons with their unique disabilities and abilities for the welfare of the whole body of Christ. As people met our needs, we were able to meet others' needs. Persons with identifiable disabilities have unique needs, but each also has unique gifts and is essential in making Christ's body whole. For starters, "we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God" (2 Corinthians 1:4). The ministry of presence is a great gift to offer. Our son has this gift and many others to offer the body of Christ. He has a beautiful tenor voice, a believing heart, and a compassionate spirit. He is a choir member, a generous person, an employee, a son, a brother, an uncle, and he has a recurring illness, bipolar disorder. His illness does not define him. He is not a manic-depressive. He is a person who has an illness who periodically needs help in caring for himself. He needs medication; he needs other people's respect, love, and prayers; he needs God's comfort and mercy. He does not need to be part of some marginalized, stereotyped group of people called "the mentally ill:' No, he is a person who is "fearfully and wonderfully made" in the image of God, who has been given unique gifts to use in making the body of Christ whole. We were created to be interdependent, members one of another, with all our gifts working together to make up the body. One person's disability is filled in by another person's ability. When any one of us, or a group of us, is excluded because of some lack of ability, we are prevented from using our God-given gifts to make Christ's body complete. Together let us make the beautiful mosaic that God intends. Reflection Questions 1. What are your strengths (abilities)? What are your weaknesses (disabilities)? 2. Can you describe a time when you recognized you were interdependent and needed the gifts and help of other people? How did you feel? 3. What is the world's view as it relates to persons with disabilities? How does this compare with the teachings in Romans 12? 4. Do you know anyone with a brain disorder? Are these persons an integral part of your church's life? If not, why not? 5. What are some of the ways your congregation or your family can practice hospitality so that all members of the body experience genuine love and each can be encouraged to develop their gifts so that the whole body is functioning as God intends? Litany One: We are called to proclaim the truth. Let us believe. All: This is true: Jesus said," I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." One: It is not true that persons with brain disorders or other disabilities are second-class citizens and must accept isolation, discrimination, and stigma. All: This is true: All people are made in the image of God and are people of worth, holy and acceptable to God. One: It is not true that brain disorders are weaknesses of character and cannot be treated. All: This is true: Brain disorders are treatable. One: It is not true that stigma, discrimination, and neglect shall have the last word. All: This is true: The church is called to take the lead in stamping out societal stigma and discrimination and to welcome and affirm all people as children of God, with gifts that differ according to the grace given us. One: It is not true that we were created to be all sufficient and independent. All: This is true: We were created to be interdependent-all a part of the body of Christ with different abilities and different work to do and it takes every one of us to make the body complete. Thanks be to God. Suggested Hymns "Called As Partners in Christ's Service" 495 TNCH "Won't You Let Me Be Your Servant?" 539 TNCH 2002 WOMEN'S MOSAIC SERIES WE102 Designed and printed by United Church Resources, Local Church Ministries Women's Mosaic Series 2002 UCC Women's Resource Margaret (Peg) Slater, Editor

Written by Susan L. Clarke About living with chemical sensitivities Invocation Oh God, in whose image we are all made, give us courage to embrace our family of earthly sufferers. Your creation, as we embrace you; knowing that our bonds in suffering bring insight, empathy, healing, and joy. Amen. PROVERBS 24:11-12; JOHN 9:1-3 IN MY DREAM, I dove into a bubbling stream and resurfaced on the far shore in a glistening white gown. A wide field with groves of trees spread out before me. Musicians appeared with instruments of every kind and, beyond them, a huge choir. I lifted my baton, like a wand, to elicit the beauty of the whole. Glorious music suspended us all in heavenly bliss. Waking, I was struck by the loss of my dream to be a conductor, for which I had sacrificed much. In 1985, I had left my parents' home outside Philadelphia. Generally penniless and in intolerable housing conditions, I had received a master's in orchestral conducting at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Because of a prior bout with pneumonia, airborne chemicals in cities made me ill. Nevertheless, I persevered and succeeded-to a point. In 1988, the director of Affiliate Artists, the primary agent for young conductors, announced at the Aspen Music Festival, where I was a Fellow, that I was "one of the most talented, musical, artistic young conductors in the country." But the cologne worn by one of the conductors there overwhelmed me, as if needles pierced my innermost sinuses at every breath. I had to leave conducting class for fresh air. The first day of the 1991 Tanglewood Festival, fellow class members complimented me on my conducting of Beethoven. Wanting to show hospitality to the Europeans, I invited them to the lake to swim. On that gorgeous day, I floated, thinking how healthful the summer would be. A passing boat stirred pleasant waves. Water went over my head and into my left lung. As I walked to shore, I squished two dead fish apart on the bottom of the lake. I had never before seen dead fish there-they usually nibbled on my legs-but I thought nothing of it. The next morning, feverish, with the lung inflamed, I dragged myself to class. I was extremely ill the rest of the summer and learned only when the festival was long over-and my professional prospects ruined-that the lake had been algaecided the day before the incident. In delirious fevers, I bargained, "God, if you heal me-if you give me even a little health, I'll do anything for you. I'll go to Washington. I'll walk straight into the White House:" However, I was mostly bedridden for years. A toxicologist commented, "You really got dosed:" Endless hours of painful debility, migrainous vomiting, pleas for healing, and sleepless questions-why, how, and what now-filled the decades of my prime-of-life. The humiliation of needing governmental assistance and having to fight for it repeatedly, often while homeless or living in someone else's home, stole my dignity. Employers, hospitals, and churches refused to accommodate me. My body-temple needed a clean earth that no longer existed. Diagnosed with permanent, disabling, multiple-chemical sensitivity disorder and common migraine, my dreams died-dreams of conducting, of health, a home, a husband, and a child. "Where there is not vision, the people perish," the prophet Isaiah astutely notes. I nearly died many times. Between the cracks of illness, a vision emerged. On my well days, I sat in classes at Harvard School of Public Health and scientific conferences, studying the forefront literature on toxins. Each excursion required days of recovery. I learned to speak "scientese" and "bureaucratese": "Laboratory mice will die within sixty minutes of secondhand exposure to many commercial perfumes. The US GAO report on neurotoxicity confirms that death in mice indicates brain cell death in humans." Presenting at conferences, I'd put on a TV smile, no matter how ill I felt. Protecting life on earth now meant more to me than my own life. One day I said to the kindly woman who gave me room and board, "Fran, I wish I could go to Washington and get something done." To my astonishment, she bought me a plane ticket to D.C. I considered flying impossible with my illness. However, because of Fran's generosity, I had to go, and I did, wrapped in barrier cloth. Three days of hellish recovery followed the flight. With my respirator and oxygen tank in tow, I plastered Capitol Hill with scientific studies, meeting with legislative aides and agency officials. Thereafter, if I had $20 to my name, I would drive the ten hours to D.C. People advised me, opened their homes to me, provided me organic food and open windows, and tolerated vomit. On the Hill, I lobbied daily for clean air, water, and food for everyone, for protection from chemical injury. Then a miracle happened. While in a law office, where I could barely breathe, a call came in from the White House. Two days later, the materials I was distributing were in A1 Gore's hands. The federal government recognized chemical sensitivity for the first time, through the appointment of an interagency workgroup. Years earlier, feeling abandoned by society and God, I had knelt by the Charles River in Boston, whispering coldly, "God, why did you do it?" The last thing I had expected was an answer. Two came to mind. First, when Jesus was asked about a man born blind, whether the fault was the man's or his parents; he answered, "so that God's power be displayed," and healed the man. Second, when Jesus knew a close friend was ill, he intentionally stayed away two days, allowing the friend to die. "Criminal negligence," courts would now determine. He ultimately raised the man from the dead. Prior to the miracle, though, Jesus wept. It was hard to believe at the time, but I understood that God had not stopped caring and intended something powerful by my illness. Today, provided that others help protect our common air, I have my health. I give expert testimony in public health science, work for justice, and write professionally. I am a flute recitalist at Trinity Church-Boston and believe I will conduct again. I have a nontoxic home and have marital prospects. My life is fuller than I could ever have dreamed. I am most grateful for the enlightenment of disability. Reflection Questions and Activities 1. How do you feel when someone says they are reacting to your hairspray, perfume, or lotion? Do your feelings change over time? 2. Imagine you are the CEO of a chemical company. Millions of people buy your products, however, many, many people report immediate, serious medical problems in reaction to what you consider low levels of chemicals used. What do you do? 3. How should society provide for and learn from veterans of recent conflicts, many of whom have been disabled by chemical injuries and/or sensitivity? 4. Where do you think God is when we have to ask hard questions about things we don't know much about? 5. Check the ingredient lists on your own food, cosmetics, laundry, and maintenance products, noting how many in each seem to have been created in a lab rather than in nature. Estimate how much your household spends each year on such products. Try living as a chemically sensitive person for a week, going without them. How do you feel? Suggested Hymns "My Heart Is Overflowing" ("The Song of Hannah") 15 TNCH "O God, My God" 515 TNCH Women's Mosaic Series 2002 UCC Women's Resource Margaret (Peg) Slater, Editor

Written by Sharon Crousore OUR DAUGHTER LOST HER MIND. Others lose their sight or hearing or ability to walk. What trauma and challenge that is. Invocation Let us give thanks to the God and heavenly Parent of our Savior Jesus Christ from whom all help comes! God helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God. Just as we have a share in Christ's many sufferings, so also through Christ we share in God's great help and we are given the strength to endure with patience. So our hope in God is never shaken, we know that just as God shares in our sufferings, others may also share in the help we have received. (Adapted from 2 Corinthians 1:2-7.) MICAH 6:8 OUR DAUGHTER LOST HER MIND. Others lose their sight or hearing or ability to walk. What trauma and challenge that is. For Amy, just as she was finishing a wonderful junior year in college, in the midst of applying to graduate school and anticipating her career and the rest of her life, while being active in her church, being a very independent and hardworking young woman, the loss was of her mind. Seven a.m. in the practice room in the music building. She couldn't seem to memorize one particular measure of a Beethoven sonata that otherwise was totally memorized. Eight a.m. The classroom becomes blindingly bright, then fades back to normal. The walls begin closing in, then receding far away, then closing in again. Noon: Sounds of the campus, the carillon, dorm noises, conversations a block away on the quad, all are amplified like a Rolling Stones concert. Nine p.m. Home at last, but the little pumpkin candle on the end table suddenly comes alive, mocks her, taunting her, threatens her. The next day O.K. Everything normal. A couple of days later: She can't leave her apartment because everything out there is gone. Only her apartment continues to exist. Everything else is a desert, and if she stepped outside, she would sink into the sand and cease to be. She is losing her ability to remember the steps of taking a shower, of getting dressed, how to wash the dishes or prepare a meal. Two days later, she goes to the campus medical clinic and is told she is suffering from "stress:" Never mind that she is having a great semester. Even though, by then, she is having auditory, olfactory, tactile, and intense visual hallucinations. She protests that diagnosis. She keeps telling the clinic counselors that something was wrong with her brain, but no one would listen. Rather, she is told that this was a psychological problem and that she needed to work through these problems by herself. She was not to tell her family or to seek their assistance while she went to "counseling:" It is a year of hell. After two hospitalizations, she defies what her doctor was telling her to do and confides in her father what was happening to her and what her symptoms were. He recognized immediately that this was a medical emergency. Now that her father and I are involved, we seek other medical advice and treatment as a family rallying around one member who is ill. She is finally believed and diagnosed with schizophrenia, which we find out, is a very common brain illness. Her illness is and remains devastating. The pain of the illness, the side effects of medication, the misinformation, the jokes, the shunning by friends and coworkers, the horror of losing one's ability to think, facing night after night of vivid nightmares seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling the horrors, and the lifetime of struggle just to survive in the poverty enforced by our society are all an exhausting challenge to even the strongest Christian. Out of the depths I cry to you, O' Lord. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope. -Psalm 130:1, 5 But she has survived. And she has lived her faith. Every day, no matter how ill, she has done something kind or helpful for someone else. She constantly struggles to make ends meet, but she shares. She works to educate people on the signs of schizophrenia and the importance of getting good medical care as early in the course of the disease as possible. She freely talks about her illness to help others cope with the terrible stigma in our society. She tries to educate the media, our legislators, and our churches. And so do her father and I. Our God gives us hope. The Holy Scriptures say "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). We, too, try to do justice-we speak up when people laugh about schizophrenia, when they make jokes about "schizos;" tranquilizers, Prozac, "nut cases," when they assume that all persons with schizophrenia are dangerous when, in fact, persons with schizophrenia are far more likely to be the victims than the perpetrators of violence. We educate where we can, and we strive for justice for others with this and similar illnesses by joining with others in the Mental Illness Network UCC to make our own denomination a more caring community and by doing as much legislative advocacy as time allows. We will walk the journey with our daughter as long as we are alive and, in doing so, we walk humbly with our God. What will you do? One in one hundred young people will be struck with this disease. Will our churches abandon them and their families? Some will already be married. How will you treat their spouses? Some will have children. Will their parent's illness be a shameful subject that is whispered about in the aisles and kitchen at your church? "What does the Lord require of you?" Schizophrenia is an equal opportunity disease striking young men and women alike, rich or poor, of all intelligence levels. There is no way to prevent it and no way of knowing who will be struck. But there are new medications and supportive therapies that help. And we can help people in our congregations cope with schizophrenia's initial onslaught and the following lifetime of care. We have an opportunity to do justice, to be merciful, and to walk humbly with our God by walking with those whom God loves. Reflections and Questions 1. Have you known anyone with schizophrenia? 2. What was their illness like? 3. Are they receiving the new medications that have been invented in the last eight years? 4. Does God care about the people who are struck with schizophrenia and their families? 5. Does God care about persons with the other brain illnesses like bipolar disorder, panic disorder, clinical depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder? 6. Could you do just one of these things to respond to God's word to do justice and love mercy? Learn about schizophrenia, how to recognize its symptoms, and where to find appropriate and competent help in your community. Participate in a community effort that provides care for persons with mental illness. Learn about and help to improve laws and governmental services for those with mental illnesses. Educate your congregation, your community, and the media representatives in your community about appropriate language to use when describing a person with a mental illness. Find a family in your church or neighborhood who has a family member with a mental illness and offer to help with emotional or practical support. Contact Persons and Organizations The Mental Illness Network of the United Church of Christ; c/o Bob Dell; 414 E. Pleasant Ave.; Sandwich, Illinois 60548; 815.786.6341; . Pathways to Promise: Interfaith Ministries and Prolonged Mental Illnesses; 5400 Arsenal St.; St. Louis, Missouri 63139; or . The Rev. Margaret (Peg) M. Slater; Coordinator for Inclusive Ministry; Parish Life and Leadership Ministry Team, Local Church Ministries; United Church of Christ; 700 Prospect Ave. E.; Cleveland, Ohio 44115-1100; 216.736.3838; < slatermCucc.org>. NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill); 200 N. Glebe Rd.; Suite 1015; Arlington, Virginia 22203-3754; 703.524.7600; NAMI Helpline at 800.950.6264 (answered from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday); or . National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association; 800.826.3632; . Suggested Hymn "O God in Whom All Life Begins" 401 TNCH Resources Ross, Jerilyn. Triumph over Fear: A Book of Help and Hope for People with Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Phobias. New York: Bantam Books, 1994. Gold, Mark S., with Lois B. Morris. The Good News about Depression: Cures and Treatments in the New Age of Psychiatry. New York: Villard Books, 1987. Kernodle, William D. Panic Disorder: The Medical Point of View: There Is No Need to Suffer. Richmond, Va.: Cadmus, 1995. Klein, Donald F., and Paul H. Wender. Understanding Depression: A Complete Guide to Its Diagnosis and Treatment. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Peschel, Enid et al., ed. Neurobiological Disorders in Children and Adolescents. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992. Shifrin, Jennifer. Pathways to Understanding: A Manual on Ministry and Mental Illness. Pathways to Promise; 5400 Arsenal St.; St. Louis, Missouri 63139; phone: 314.644.8400. Torrey, E. Fuller. Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers, and Providers. 3rd ed. New York: HarperPerennial, 1995. Turkington, Carol, and Eliot F. Kaplan. Making the Prozac Decision: A Guide to Antidepressants. Los Angeles: Lowell House, 1997. Woolis, Rebecca. When Someone You Love Has a Mental Illness: A Handbook for Family, Friends, and Caregivers. New York: J. P Tarcher/Perigree, 1992. WE102 Designed and printed by United Church Resources, Local Church Ministries Women's Mosaic Series 2002 UCC Women's Resource Margaret (Peg) Slater, Editor

Written by the Rev. Dallas Dee Brauninger The attitude was different the first day I entered that gathering room with a mobility cane. Prayer of Invocation Leader: Mindful that from the genesis throughout the revelation of our lives, God creates, reveals, and renews God’s promise of hope for us, All: Let us be faithful to our commitment to you, O God, and to one another. Amen. Leader: As birth, disease, accident, or maturity brings special needs to those within this church, All: Guide us, O God, as bringers of your hope. Amen. Leader: As we increase our skill in reading the signs of change among church members and anticipate their needs, All: Guide us, O God, as your welcoming people. Amen. Scripture References Jeremiah 29:11-114; Revelation 21:5 Meditation “Bessie, you warm my heart,” I said. Having forgotten her glasses, our women’s group secretary handed me a note to read. “Forgetting my blindness is a compliment.” The attitude was different the first day I entered that gathering room with a mobility cane. Bernice jumped up, grabbed me by the elbow, and planted me in a chair. For seven years, my husband and I had been her co-pastors. I could not lose her now. When she released me, I said, “But Bernice, I was headed for the kitchen.” I went for a slow drink of water. I felt invalidated. Folks had respected my skill at coping with deteriorating eyesight. The unannounced cane, however, transmuted this invisible journey into a seeable disability. Failing to thrive six weeks after premature birth, I had been sent home with frightened parents. Mom dared not bond, moving beyond guilt only late in life. In time, I concluded that visual chaos from the birth-damaged eye/brain connection was not the fault of hospital, parent, or an unfaithful God. It just happened. Dad’s quiet coaching about other ways to see carried me through a double major in college and then, with recorded textbooks and keen ear, through seminary and into a future with hope. Ever-present, compassionate God, who created the human family with freedom, provided also a resilient curiosity and ingenuity. Now, having convinced others in the 1960s that a woman with a disability is not only ordain-able and hire-able but also a potential treasury of compassion and joyful enthusiasm, I refused to let disability handicap. No invalid, I had to explode outdated attitudes. Sunday’s sermon: “The Mobility Cane as a Tool.” Soon several members began testing the eye contact I simulated by following voices. I would respond to a voice then find it coming from a new direction. I chose to skip that game. The cane became a symbol of triumph. Before long, other needed canes appeared in church. When rheumatoid arthritis troublesome in youth returned in earnest, I could not stand long in place. The trustees furnished the pulpit with a removable riser and bar chair. When I preached, everyone settled in for a “sit down” visit as comfortable as the eye level chats had been with care center residents when I rolled about in a wheelchair one Lent. Twenty years and two churches later, the mutual education continued. Soon after I, seated, greeted Christmas Eve worshipers, Twila also broke tradition to greet with her husband, seated. Now, additional changes erupted as the RA intensified anywhere it chose. It took the jaws I needed for preaching and singing. For a while, I let it take joy. Plan B: Redefine ministry. Midway through a hospital chaplaincy program, I saw the insulting potential of ignored body messages. I stopped Plan B and returned home. I loved my calling. I was sunk. I hollered, “Just what do you have in mind for me, God?” I had to know God would not give up, that I was still acceptable. Amid this outrage of exile, the Jeremiah passage and Plan C found me. I began to trust. Grabbing a single thread of quiet, pervasive hope. I phoned visual rehabilitation. “Help, Karen, I’m using up my talents.” Almost casually, I added, “All that’s left is writing.” Within a week, an adapted computer arrived. Later, a Web screen reader would open another world of communication. Conference advocates gained quiet invitations that promoted my ministry of writing. I was assigned “Talking with Your Child about Change.” Another editor requested “A Family Journey” and the “Preaching the Miracles” series. Disability was only one part of my identity again. Thread by thread, I tatted new fabric, discerning within its intricate texture the old joy and gratitude for being whole. I cherished the unique design that overrode disability. I resolved to meet change until I can only sit and be. With the persistence of raspberries ripening in autumn, God’s presence comes out on the side of hope. “See,” God’s holy nudging and the Revelation writer sings, “I am making all things new” (21:5). Church folk learned together about disparaging and welcoming layers of attitude. Tiny things undo or fortify us. With a diagnosis of diabetes solving my new maze of foggy thinking, we all gained new levels of community. Respecting the perimeters of a disease whose management is as varied as forms of blindness became acceptable to others as well as to me. A glass of water chosen over sugary desserts still lubricated table talk and need not offend the server. Others also stopped jeopardizing their health. Simple foods, welcoming to all, appeared at shared meals. Despite girding myself with a dog guide and a miscellany of other tools, when my feet needed triple thickness socks and clodhopper athletic shoes, a surprising vanity reared. I remembered the meticulous women of another church who, seeing only my blindness, readily dispensed unwelcoming pity but refused to offer a quiet word to remedy my clashing through Advent in a mismatched red outfit. I cringed at the thought of again dressing like “the blind.” Unwilling now to wear clumpy white socks and shoes to church, I brought to women’s fellowship an old yearning to be a regular kid. Gwenda set me straight. “Well, do they help?” I was no longer lonely. Earlier, my can-do attitude had embarrassed Emma’s offer of assistance at a potluck. After the shoes, she dared try again and something within me melted. Less caustic about my body, I had become more hospitable toward others. When hand greeting became impossible, I wore my computer splint. No one would touch me then until I extended the hand palm up. Then Stu laid one tender finger on my outstretched palm. With it, he conveyed the full warmth of his Nebraska farmer handshake. One by one the congregation took his cue, and I melted again. Hospitality spread. Today, an interpreter signs for a deaf mom. A pew-back stand holds the large-type hymnal for a fragile member. Will we redesign chancel steps so choristers awaiting joint replacement can still sing? Sidewalk railings ensure security. Levers replace knobs. Hand-carved signs identify bathrooms. Will we convert them into a universal space so wheelchair-users can drink another cup of coffee with their friends? Reflection Questions 1. Recall a life change that cast you into spiritual exile. Tell about God’s gathering you in and restoring you to wholeness. Any new tools for your journey? 2. What do a sense of wholeness, the holy, and wellness within a body with broken or ailing parts mean to you? 3. Why might you feel uncomfortable at first around a person with a disability? 4. What speeds your transition from identifying a person with a disability, for example, as a blind person, to perceiving that individual as someone who happens to be left-handed? Share your wisdom about influencing the attitudes of others who might see only the disability and miss the whole person. 5. Aware that little things count, what changes in the physical environment within and around your church building would free older folk to continue attending worship and other gatherings a little while longer? What changes might welcome newcomers with disabilities? Hymns “We Are Your People” (#309 NCH) “Called As Partners in God’s Service” (#495 NCH) Benediction May God guide this living church as we aim to do whatever it takes from the quiet, welcoming act to the visible or costly physical change that reflects God’s life-giving plan for a future with hope. Amen. Extra Credit: How good are you at reading the signs? Be someone who uses a walker, a wheelchair, whose eyesight is wearing out, who has fragile hands or little strength, who can sit for only short times, who lives with a mental illness, who is sensitive to perfumes and other toxic substances, who cannot hear well. In teams of two, try on a variety of these disabilities then attend worship or walk throughout your church building and grounds. Take the resultant “to do” list to your Access Ability Committee. Further Reading National Organization on Disability (N.O.D.) Website: www.nod.org. Brauninger, Dallas A. Holy E-Mail (CSS Publications, 2001) _________. Lessons from a Dog Guide (Forthcoming from CSS in 2003) Mild, Mary L., Editor. Women at the Well (Judson Press, 1996) Women's Mosaic Series 2002 Treasure in Earthen Vessels UCC Women's Resource Margaret (Peg) Slater, Editor

Written by the Rev. Doris R. Powell I WAS THIRTY-TWO. I'd just been backpacking in Colorado and was painting my house when I began to experience mysterious symptoms: swelling and pain in my hands, then an elbow, soon my shoulders, knees, and ankles. I went to work swathed in ace bandages. Within two months, I'd been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Invocation Holy One, come among us. Walk this faith journey with us as we learn from our sisters and experience the stirring of our own deep yearning for you. Amen. CORINTHIANS 4:7-11; EPHESIANS 3:16-21 I WAS THIRTY-TWO. I'd just been backpacking in Colorado and was painting my house when I began to experience mysterious symptoms: swelling and pain in my hands, then an elbow, soon my shoulders, knees, and ankles. I went to work swathed in ace bandages. Within two months, I'd been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. The doctor said, "It's not a death sentence," speaking of life expectancy. No, I thought, "It's a life sentence" to a body in which my expectancy about life was changed. I was thirty-two ... going on eighty. I was familiar with Elisabeth Kübler Ross's stages of dealing with loss: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. I managed partial denial for almost two years. I would learn the "lessons" it had to teach me, and then it would go away. What I wasn't prepared for was an identity crisis. Perhaps it was because I'd just moved, and no one in my new community knew me. Everyone was reacting to this stranger who wasn't me. They saw a woman hurting with every movement, constantly exhausted, struggling to keep up. They didn't know the active, energetic person I'd always been. They didn't know me. Over and over I asked: "Who am I, God? Am I the lively, capable person I've always known myself to be, or this stranger sidelined by pain? Is it healthier to fight this, or accept it?" The poet Rainer Maria Rilke counsels, "Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart.... Live the questions now." The day-pain forced me to wear moccasins with my elegant business dress to a corporate meeting; I slipped from suffering into affliction. I'd looked forward to meeting many colleagues I'd only known by phone, but no one knew how to relate to the odd one in their midst. Simone Weil wrote of affliction as something that "seizes and uproots a life in all its parts ... social, psychological, and physical:" It makes the sufferer an outcast and life into an image of death. "Who am I, God?" The answer was a "standing up out of death to life," as Melanie Morrison has described resurrection. "You are my beloved child. I know you. You are all you ever have been. You'll always carry that with you. And you are all you are becoming. You'll learn the grace of resisting and accepting. I am with you in all of it:" And then, "Are you still my disciple? Don't ask for a pass to sit on the sidelines, because I have great need of you. You, my beloved child." That was almost twenty years ago. Nothing since has shaken my identity: disciple of Christ, bearer of treasure in an earthen vessel. As a person living with disability, I've discovered that I am differently-abled. I am clear in purpose and identity. I've cracked the illusion that we control our lives. Determination and perseverance still serve me well. I am more compassionate, creative, courageous, peaceful, perceptive, reflective, joyous, appreciative, whole. Yet, can I be whole while others are not? So I am passionate, energetic, and active in creative, powerful ways to work for healing and wholeness for all. As with many persons with disabilities, I say to the church, "Let me offer my gifts in the church. Let me minister to and with you:" God's power is at work in us, accomplishing far more than all we can ask or imagine. Arthritis functions as a spiritual discipline, keeping me keenly aware of my reliance on God, God's presence with me, and my connectedness with all people. I live in conversation with God and community, rooted and grounded in love. I seem to have missed the classic stages of bargaining and depression, perhaps because the word spoken to my identity crisis moved me to acceptance. Whatever happens with me, I am in God's hands. I say that not in resignation but in trust. In a sermon about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Howard Thurman said, "We cannot fathom the mystery of God. We cannot even understand the meaning of our own little lives, but the fierce hold that we have on our lives, again and again, is the most real thing that we have. To relax that and to trust God ... not to hold things in some all-encompassing grasp; no, but to trust God just with you ... is the most difficult dimension of the spiritual life." I do experience anger. At the indifference, prejudice, and injustice that add suffering. I feel anger and lament at the barriers people erect. Where is it written that print must be tiny? That to sing we must rise to our feet ... it's not enough that our spirits rise up? That full participation in the body of Christ demands certain physical and mental capacity or certain race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, economic status? Who are we to order our lives, and life in our churches, in ways that exclude or diminish any of God's beloved? Our lives are lived in relation. Our reception of others is made possible by Christ's deep reception of us. I claim, with every other baptized disciple, "The life of Jesus is made visible in my body; we have this treasure, this treasure, in clay jars, earthen vessels:" Can you not perceive it? Questions and Activities 1. Major life changes or loss may provoke a sense of identity crisis, causing us to question, "Who am I now?" Is there a time you've felt this way? What has helped you? Can a congregation experience an identity crisis? What shapes your identity as a person? as a women's fellowship? as a congregation? What if the images you hold of yourself or another prove phony? Would you be willing to have them shattered to let new images arise? 2. Think of a person or community in the Bible who knew affliction. How did they respond? What questions were they living? What questions are you living? 3. Is a lament "just" complaining? Can a lament be an act of resistance? What does a lament say about our relationship with God? Read one of these Psalms: 22, 31, 42, 77, 88, 116, 123, or 137. Write a lament about something that causes you aggravation or suffering on a regular basis, perhaps even daily. You might begin, "I've got a right to sing the blues...... Or play some blues as you prepare. 4. What treasure do you bear in your ordinary, fragile being? How are you differently abled? How can you open yourself and your church to receive, value, and incorporate the treasure and abilities of others into your communal life? Resources Eiesland, Nancy L. The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1994. Heyward, Isabel Carter. The Redemption of God: A Theology of Mutual Relation. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1982. Kiibler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. New York: Macmillan, 1969. Morrison, Melanie. The Grace of Coming Home: Spirituality, Sexuality, and the Struggle Justice. Cleveland, Oh.: The Pilgrim Press, 1995. Meditation Read Ephesians 3:16-19 or Romans 8:35,37-39. Read Matthew 19:14. Sit or lie quietly. Take several deep breaths. Perceive Jesus seated on a low stool in an inviting setting. Experience a soft, warm glow surrounding Jesus, filling the space. Perceive Jesus turning toward you, opening arms in invitation. Perceive yourself as a young child, moving into the gentle embrace. Rest on Jesus, soaking in the love, acceptance, protection, security, peace, comfort, assurance ... all that you need to receive for as long as you need. Gradually become aware of your current surroundings. Stay quiet for a few moments and offer a silent prayer. Suggested Music The Mudflower Collective. God's Fierce Whimsy: Christian Feminism and Theological Education. New York: The Pilgrim Press, 1985. Rhude, Beth E. Live the Questions Now: The Interior Life. Cincinnati, Oh.: The Women's Division, Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church, 1980. Soelle, Dorothee. Suffering. Trans. Everett R. Kalin. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975. Thurman, Howard. Temptations of Jesus: Five Sermons Given by Dean Howard Thurman in Marsh Chapel, Boston University, 196. Richmond, In.: Friends United Press, 1978. Weil, Simone. Waiting for God. Trans. Emma Craufurd. New York: Harper and Row, 1973. "Tu has venido a la orilla" ("You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore"). 173 TNCH Wuellner, Flora Slosson. Prayer, Stress, and Our Inner Wounds. Nashville, Tenn.: Upper Room, 1985. Women's Mosaic Series 2002 UCC Women's Resource Margaret (Peg) Slater, Editor

This access guide is a comprehensive resource, enabling persons with disabilities to participate in the life of the church. Please share this with members of your denominations, organizations and networks. This document may be reproduced in any format. Identify the source by stating, “This Equal Access Guide was prepared by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA Committee on Disabilities.” PDF Version COMMITTEE ON DISABILITIES National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA NCCCUSA COMMITTEE ON DISABILITIES Equal Access Guide  2004 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA Education and Leadership Ministries Commission Committee on Disabilities 475 Riverside Drive• Suite 812; New York, NY 10115 Phone 212.870.2267 • Fax 212.870.3112 About the NCCCUSA Committee on Disabilities: The committee is comprised of representatives from churches and organizations. Committee members have direct experience of disabilities. This access guide is a comprehensive resource, enabling persons with disabilities to participate in the life of the church. Please share this with members of your denominations, organizations and networks. Chief Editors: Linda Jean H. Larson, M.A.T. NCCCUSA Committee on Disabilities Contracted Staff The Reverend Garland F. Pierce, Associate Director NCCCUSA Education and Leadership Ministries Commission The Reverend Patrice L. Rosner, NCCCUSA Associate General Secretary for Education Director, Education and Leadership Ministries Commission All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. INTRODUCTION TO ACCESS GUIDE The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA Committee on Disabilities created this Equal Access Guide for Meetings, Conferences, Large Assemblies and Worship for use in planning your next meeting, conference, large assembly, or worship within your denomination or organization. Whenever and wherever we gather, it is the sincere hope that we all take heed of the mandate from the book of Isaiah, “enlarge the size of our tent” to include the entire Body of Christ in all our activities. (Isaiah 54:2) This book is a guide to accessibility that benefits all of us. We encourage you to use this guide when planning all activities. We realize that in this guide, we have set the ideal. We invite you to consider, “Does our invitation and planning have integrity? Are we inclusive of everyone who wishes to participate?” The outline of this book begins from the time you start to plan to the end of your meeting, conference, large assembly or worship and continues with an on-site walk through hotel and meeting facilities. It then addresses large assemblies, presenters, and worship and ends with a statement on etiquette. The final page acknowledges the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its Accessibility Guide and the members of the NCCCUSA Committee on Disabilities who edited this guide. Use this guide often; use it well; and, may God bless your work. For further help, please contact the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; Education and Leadership Ministries Commission; 475 Riverside Drive, Ste. 812; New York, NY 10115; phone: 212-870-2267; fax: (212) 870-3112; www.ncccusa.org/elmc. NCCCUSA Committee on Disabilities Table of Contents Introduction to the Guidelines iii National Council of Churches, USA Policy Statement on Disabilities, the Body of Christ and the Wholeness of Society 1 Getting Started 4 Registration Form 6 Accommodations Budget 7 Local Arrangements 9 On-site Walkthrough 10 Hotel Accommodations 13 Dining Facilities 15 Meeting Facilities 16 Large Assemblies 19 Worship 22 Presenters 23 Etiquette 24 Acknowledgements 26 National Council of Churches Policy Statement on Disabilities, the Body of Christ, and the Wholeness of Society “Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many” 1 Corinthians 12:14 One in five Americans lives with impairment that significantly limits one or more major life activities. Virtually everyone will live with a disability at some time in life. Concepts of justice for people with disabilities have evolved beyond paternalism toward the ideals of full participation and inclusion in all aspects of life. Disability rights and self-advocacy movements have emerged. At the national level, landmark laws such as the Rehabilitation Act, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) seek to assure the same rights to people with disabilities that are guaranteed to all other people in our society. The religious community also has taken a number of initiatives. Beginning in 1958 and as recently as 1995, the NCCC has affirmed its belief in the dignity and worth of all people, including those of us with disabilities. Most NCCC member communions have issued statements calling for the full inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of church life. In spite of these efforts, attitudinal, communication, and architectural barriers remain. The church has served as a point of entry for marginalized individuals into the mainstream of society. Now the time has come for the NCCC to reaffirm and broaden its commitment to people with disabilities. This policy rests upon four theological principles: 1. All people are created in the image of God. Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image...” Genesis 1:26 God creates all human beings in the divine image or likeness. This image is not a measurable characteristic or set of characteristics. God’s image is reflected uniquely in each person. 2. All people are called by God. “For we are what (God) has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” Ephesians 2:10 God calls all human beings to express the divine image through their unique characteristics. Each person’s characteristics, including disabilities, are inseparable and valuable features of the unique, indivisible person. 3. All people have spiritual gifts. “Now there are a varieties of gifts, but the same spirit” 1 Corinthians 12:4 God supplies all human beings with the unique gifts needed to obey the divine call. The gifts God has given each person are needed by all other people, and no one is dispensable or unnecessary. 4. All people are invited to participate in God’s ministry. “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” 1 Corinthians 12:7 God invites all human beings to rely on and to participate in the ministry of the church. God continually empowers each member of the Body of Christ to reflect the divine image in ways that will serve and benefit the church and the broader community. Implication In the light of these theological principles, it is the witness of the NCCC that all human beings, including those with disabilities, are entitled by God to the rights in church and society implied in the divine call. These rights include a life of dignity and respect such as access to education, health care, useful work, recreation, as well as the right to friendship, spiritual nurture, freedom and self-expression. The rights of each person, including people with disabilities, are equal to and balanced by the rights of others. We believe the human community in all its forms is accountable to God to protect these civil human rights. God requires the church to give spiritual and moral leadership to society in protecting these rights. The church must exercise its leadership by its public preaching and teaching, but even more by its example as an inclusive community of faith, using the gifts of all its members. “Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord” 1 Corinthians 12: 4-5 Reference NCCCUSA Human Rights: The Fulfillment of Life in the Social Order (Adopted by the General Board, November 17, 1995) Approved by the NCCCUSA National Ministries Unit, May, 1997 Getting Started Four important items anyone serious about inclusion issues should keep in mind in planning a meeting, conference or large gathering. 1. CONSULT with people who have physical, sensory and mental disabilities. They are your best source for knowing the needs of the people who will be attending these meetings, conferences, large gatherings and worship. Also, consult with individuals who work with persons with disabilities. MOBILITY ISSUES: ramps to buildings and lectern, elevators, unisex public bathroom for persons with an attendant, accessible bathroom with roll-in shower, wheelchair accessible van or bus, tables that can accommodate a person in awheelchair, turn ratios in dining rooms, tables that accommodate a wheelchair user, work dog, volunteer assistants. DEAF COMMUNITY/HARD OF HEARING ISSUES: note taker, listening devices, real-time captioning, closed captioned TV, open captioned TV, sign language interpreter, TTY, material on CD-Rom, fire alarm with flash. VISION ISSUES: large print materials, Braille, material on audiotape, TV with audio descriptive voice, fire alarm with sound, work dog. CHEMICAL/ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY ISSUES: no fluorescent lights, use of refrigerator, fragrance free (filters on furnace and air conditioning units, no scented candles, soaps, detergents, cleansing supplies, air fresheners, facial tissues or potpourri). INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY ISSUES: buddies, workshop track, presentation addressing visual, audio and kinesthetic learning styles, express abstract concepts in a concrete manner, social activities, inclusion in worship and administrative functions. Also, consult with care providers. 2. SITE VISIT: Try to see the location through the eyes of persons with disabilities. Nothing will be as effective as envisioning the barriers that persons with disabilities could encounter at the event. Walk through the program both in your mind and physically. If more than one site is being used for an event, drive or walk the route between sites to make sure that no barriers have been overlooked. 3. REGISTRATION FORM: Make sure there is an area on the registration form to indicate accommodations that are needed. When accommodations are indicated, the registrant should be contacted by the event planner(s). 4. IDENTIFICATION OF EVENT PERSONNEL: Have a color-coded name badge system. Differentiate between hosts/hostesses, registration workers, volunteer aides, presenters, planning committee members, etc. *Keep in mind that all accommodations are considered on an as-needed basis. Registration Form When creating a registration form, consider asking the registrants to provide the following information: • Accommodations needed during flight • Accommodations needed to arrive at hotel/conference site • Accommodations needed to register at the hotel/conference • Accommodations needed during the meeting (note-taker, sign language interpreter, listening device, large-print, Braille, material on CD Rom/audiotape, TTY, ramp up to the lectern, no fluorescent lights, refrigerator, wheel-chair accessible bathroom, unisex bathroom, real time captioning, closed captioning, and audio descriptive) • Accommodations needed in the hotel room [refrigerator, TTY, fire alarm with sound, fragrance free (filters on furnace and air conditioning units, no scented candles, soaps, detergents, cleansing supplies, air fresheners, facial tissues or potpourri), wheelchair accessible bathroom, roll-in shower, no fluorescent lights, close captioned TV] • Dietary Restrictions • Chemical Sensitivities (no scented candles, soaps, detergents, cleansing products, air fresheners, facial tissues, or potpourri) • Accommodations needed for transportation to and from hotel, conference meeting, and different meeting rooms And, of course, the usual contact information so that the registrant can be contacted to discuss the meeting accommodations further: Name, Address, Email, Day Phone, Evening Phone Accommodations Budget FACILITY ACCOMMODATIONS: Determine to what extent the facility will be responsible for providing adequate wheelchairs, listening devices etc., as you project your accommodation needs for your meeting/assembly. FUNDING: There needs to be a budget within the organization or denomination responsible for this event. Monies can be sought through individuals, individual congregations, as a specific giving from Sunday school classes, youth groups, women’s organizations, foundations, etc. Often disability organizations or congregations will loan equipment free of charge (scooters, wheelchairs, wheelchair accessible vans). BUDGET ITEMS WHEELCHAIR AND SCOOTER RENTAL: Know which local disability organizations or congregations will loan equipment free of charge (scooters, wheelchairs, wheelchair accessible vans). SIGN-LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS: Provide funding for interpreters as needed. Use qualified, professional interpreters who are trained in the preferred communication style (sign language, exact sign, and cued speech). Use a local interpreters agency whenever possible. Interpreters are often available through your local community college or universities. There are adequate number of interpreters for worship, meetings, meals, and social events. SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS: Budget for travel and hotel costs for an assistant as needed. Perhaps scholarships can be given. Budget for the unexpected, especially for traveling around the site(s). THE UNEXPECTED: For every person who provided early information of accommodation needs for traveling around the site there will be others who will request a wheelchair or scooter once they have arrived and traveled to and from meeting rooms, dining facilities, and hotel. Local Arrangements Form/appoint a local arrangements committee, made up of persons with diverse disabilities, to handle all accommodations. AIRLINES: Learn which airlines do the best job accommodating persons with disabilities. Assign someone to work with persons with disabilities on making travel arrangements (Airline, hotel arrangements, car rental, taxi, bus, and vans). ACCESSIBLE TAXI & VANS: Learn where and exactly how many wheel-chair accessible vans/taxis are available for use in the city where the event is held and what the cost is. Know the rental costs of accessible vans during the duration of the event. Know what special licensing might be needed to drive a van. LOCAL ACCESSIBLE SITES/LOCATIONS: Find/create a local booklet on accessible accommodations within the city and surrounding area where your event is being held. To defray costs of printing this booklet, seek advertising from local hotels, restaurants, theatres that are accessible. Also, have these copies as part of the packet of information that participants and presenters with disabilities receive. To help defray some of the costs of accommodation, have extra copies available for a donation for all participants. On-site Walk Through Outside PARKING lots at all buildings are well lit. PARKING STALLS are visibly marked and reserved for people with disabilities. Added accessible parking may be necessary. ACCESSIBLE ROUTE with curb cuts exists from the parking lot to the accessible entrance. ACCESSIBLE ENTRANCES are clearly marked by the international symbol of accessibility. RAMPS with a slope of no greater than 1” rise in 12’ and a width of no less than 36” are easily seen. Ramps are equipped with handrails. There are level landings at the top and bottom of the ramp. DOORWAYS have a clear opening of 32” or more. Doors are automatic or have levers or push handles. CORRIDORS are at least 36” wide; 60” wide is preferred if there is two-way traffic. Wall mounted objects do not project into accessible corridor. Inside COUNTER/REGISTRATION TABLE has a space that is wheelchair height (between 28“ and 34“off the floor). SIGNAGE is in Braille and large-print and is wheel-chair height. WATER FOUNTAINS, at least one water fountain on every floor in every building is wheelchair accessible. If not, a supply of paper cups is mounted next to the fountain. TELEPHONES are available in an accessible area of all buildings and are at an appropriate height for wheelchairs. Phones should have a volume control. TTY’s are also available in the same area. ELEVATORS, if more than one floor in any building is used, there must be an elevator or wheelchair lift available. ELEVATOR or LIFT CAB is large enough to accommodate a wheelchair. Call buttons and panel buttons should be within reach of a person in a wheelchair. They should also be in Braille. Elevators should have an audible signal. Directions for elevators, other equipment and locations throughout the building(s) are written in Braille and large print. STAIRS have handrails in all buildings. FIRE ALARMS are mounted to accommodate a person in a wheelchair. Alarms should have flashing lights as well as sound. Flashing lights may cause seizures. PUBLIC RESTROOMS, ideally, there is at least on wheelchair accessible bathroom on each floor of the buildings available to event participants. There are grab bars on each side of the accessible toilet. There is a turning space of at least 5’x5’ in the restroom stalls. The sink has 29” clearance from the floor to the bottom of the sink. Pipes are wrapped. Towel dispensers are no higher than 40” from the floor. EXITS with ramps are available in case of fire. EVENT WITH MULTIPLE SITES: When more than one building is being used for an event, accessible transportation between sites needs to be arranged. Transportation within each building should be arranged (scooters, wheelchairs, volunteers to assist). Include personal assistants and interpreters for the estimated number of participants. Provide grants for these two categories if the cost is prohibitive for the participant. Include their registration fees with the registration fees of the person they are assisting or provide the assistant with reduced fees. Hotel Accommodations *Refer to pages 11 & 12. Check Signage* Check Corridors* Check Doorways* Check Ramps* Check Fire Alarms* Check Phones, TTYs* Are work dogs are welcome? (They should not be refused. It’s the law that dogs must be allowed). Dog runs are available in the hotel and convention center/meeting site (or an area near an outside entrance at both sites). Mobility Issues Check ice machines Accessible laundry facilities, workout facilities, pool, or sauna Check accessible bathrooms*, including roll in shower/transfer accessible bathtub Accessible electrical outlets and closet rods are at an appropriate height in guest rooms Check for adequate turn around space* Hearing/Deaf Issues Check televisions for closed captioning, especially if the television provides information such as food menus, schedules, airplane flights, etc. Rooms are equipped with beds, which vibrate, visual alarms and indicators. TTY available in room. Vision Issues Are there any TVs that have audio description availability? Familiarize participants who have a vision loss or who are blind with the site by explaining the layout and walking through the hotel and their room with them. Chemical Sensitivity Issues Check rooms for environmental sensitivity* No fluorescent lights Dietary Issues Check with food service to insure that dietary restrictions are accommodated Check to see if rooms can have a refrigerator. If not, where can medications be stored? Intellectual Disability Issues Clear and simple signs for directions and use of facility Need information about dining times Provide wake-up calls *Refer to pages 11 & 12. Dining Facilities Check signage* Check corridors* Check doorways* Check ramps* Check fire alarms* Check drinking fountains* Check phones, TTYs* Check accessible bathrooms* Check elevators* Check counter height for wheelchair accessibility.* Check turn around space.* Check table height.* Avoid buffet lines or provide assistance with carrying food. Check menu displays for large print/Braille, or have someone available to read the menu to a participant. Allow working dogs in the facility. Check before every meal that all dietary needs have been met. Be aware of food allergies, for example, gluten, corn, milk, nuts. Ask the participant how arrangements can be made to answer his or her needs. Have a sign language interpreter available. *Refer to pages 12 & 13. Meeting Facilities Welcome each attendee. Do not put anyone on the spot. At the same time, ensure assistance is available. Design exhibits so that they may be touched or heard. Leave adequate wheelchair space to maneuver around and through the exhibits. Check signage* Check corridors* Check doorways* Check ramps* Check fire alarms* Check drinking fountains* Check phones, TTYs* Check accessible bathrooms* Check elevators* Check registration desk height* Check for chemical sensitivities* Check for fluorescent lighting* Presenters’ Materials Have all materials in alternative formats. Have photocopies of transparencies or slides available upon request. Written materials should be available in Braille, on CD-Rom, audiotape or large print on request. Video materials should have close or open captioning as well as audio descriptive. If audio description is not available, have a qualified volunteer do it. If captioning is not available, have a printed script available. Slides are completely legible, with large print (16 point in black on off-white paper) and sharp, contrasting colors. There is adequate time for the audience to read the visual aids. All materials are delivered orally as well as in written form. *Refer to pages 12 & 13. Hearing/Deaf Issues Use one interpreter if the meeting will last less than one and a half hours. Use two interpreters when the meeting lasts longer than one and a half hours. Place the interpreter as close to the speaker as possible. When there are multiple speakers sitting at a table, place the interpreter across from the person(s) who is (are) deaf or hard of hearing. Seat participants using a Sign Language interpreter near the front. The interpreter is in an area that can be easily seen by the participants who are deaf. Limit to twenty minutes the time an interpreter must interpret. Then have a five-minute break. When two interpreters are used, rotate every twenty minutes. Use real time captioning. Use a good quality sound system. Make necessary adjustments to the sound system for those participants who use it. Make available listening devices for participants who are hard of hearing for all meetings. Eliminate background noise to the greatest extent possible. Mobility Issues Tabletop height is between 28” and 34” above the floor, 32” width. There is seating space with extra legroom for people with crutches, walkers, braces or casts. Adequate space for wheelchairs at conference tables is provided. This space should be in the same location as other participants. Adequate space for work dogs is provided. Vision Issues All meeting rooms are well lighted with adjustable lighting. Offer to help participants with vision loss or those who request it, find a seat. Have a staff member or volunteer available to take notes during the presentation, allowing the participant to focus on the speaker and interpreter. Have a staff member or volunteer available to sit with the participant and describe the presentations, if the participant requests it. Intellectual Disability Issues Encourage all the workshops/events to express the abstract as concretely as possible. Use language that is easily understood by all. Use methods that enable audio, visual and kinesthetic learning. Large Assemblies Design exhibits so that they may be touched or heard. Leave adequate wheelchair space to maneuver around and through the exhibits. Check signage* Check corridors* Check doorways* Check ramps* Check fire alarms* Check drinking fountains* Check phones, TTYs* Check accessible bathrooms* Check elevators* Check registration desk height* Check for chemical sensitivities* Check for fluorescent lighting* Materials: Have all materials in alternative formats. Have photocopies of transparencies or slides available upon request. Written materials should be available in Braille, on CD-Rom, audiotape or large print (16 point, in black on off-white paper) on request. Video materials should have closed or open captioning as well as audio descriptive. If audio description is not available, have a qualified volunteer do it. If captioning is not available, have a printed script available. Slides: Slides are completely legible, with large print and sharp, contrasting colors. There is adequate time for the audience to read the visual aids. All materials are delivered orally as well as in written form. *Refer to pages 12 & 13. Sign Language Interpreters Use one interpreter if the meeting will last less than one and a half hours. Use two interpreters when the meeting lasts longer than one and a half hours. Place the interpreter as close to the speaker as possible. When there are multiple speakers sitting at a table, place the interpreter across from the person(s) who is (are) deaf or hard of hearing. Seat participants using a Sign Language interpreter near the front. The interpreter is in an area that can be easily seen by the participants who are deaf. Limit to twenty minutes the time an interpreter must interpret. Then have a five-minute break. When two interpreters are used, rotate every twenty minutes. Captioning Use real time captioning. Sound A good quality sound system is being used. Necessary adjustments are made to the sound system for those participants who use it. Listening devices are available for participants who are hard of hearing for all large assemblies. Background noise is eliminated to the greatest extent possible. Lighting All meeting rooms are well lighted with adjustable lighting. Seating Tabletop height is between 28” and 34” above the floor. There is seating space with extra legroom for people with crutches, walkers, braces or casts. Adequate space for wheelchairs at conference tables is provided.* This space should be in the same location as other participants. Adequate space for work dogs is provided. Other Accommodations Offer to help participants with vision loss or who request it find a seat. Have a staff member or volunteer available to take notes during the presentation, allowing the participant to focus on the speaker and interpreter. Have a staff member or volunteer available to sit with the participant and describe the presentations, if the participant requests it. * Refer to pages 12 & 13. Worship Identify the focal point of your worship. Make certain that worship leaders are easily seen and recognized by participants. Make certain that there are no distractions to the focal point (i.e. flags/other decorations). Insure that the service is easy to follow. Make programs, hymns, etc. available in large print, Braille, on audiotape. Make volunteers available to sit and offer assistance to those who need it during the service. Plan for wheelchair space throughout. Check to see that the aisles are wide enough for wheelchairs, walkers, etc. Check for appropriate lighting. Have a good sound system. Make certain there is seating throughout for those who use listening devices. Use real time captioning. Reserve space for those who need a sign language interpreter. Consider your invitation to persons to stand or sit during certain parts of the service. Consider offering grape juice as well as wine for communion if this is appropriate to your context. Consider if flowers or incense will be used that may be a barrier for persons with chemical sensitivities. Likewise, if deemed appropriate and necessary, encourage persons not to wear perfumes or use scents or offer a fragrance free area as an alternative to those needing it. Be aware and attentive to the needs of those who are leading the worship. Presenters Check for the accommodations of presenters with disabilities. Start with registration, walk-through, hotel accommodations, meeting rooms, and large assemblies. Other accommodations may include a reverse interpreter, an orientation and mobility specialist, or guide for a person with limited vision as well as a volunteer/staff to assist in transporting materials that the presenter has. Presenters need to plan ahead of time to have available copies of the presentation on CD-Rom, audiotape, in Braille or large print, slides in the proper format, printed copies for sign language interpreters, videos with close caption and audio descriptive, and real time captioning. Print size should be 16 point, in black on off-white paper. Displays need to have adequate room for wheelchairs. They also should be something that is visual, touchable and audible. Presenters should keep in mind that participants learn visually, audibly and kinesthetically. These three learning styles should be an integral part of the presentation. Express abstract concepts in concrete ways. Use language that is easily understood by all. Have a time for participant response. Etiquette Remember: A person with a disability is an individual like anyone else. Each situation is unique. First, ask the person if and what help is needed. Offer to help, but do not insist on helping. Ask how to help and what to do. Guidelines Persons with vision loss or Persons who are Blind Identify yourself when you approach the person. Don’t touch a person with a visual impairment without warning (unless it is an emergency). Ask the person if help is needed and how you can best help. Don’t assume the person cannot see you. Never touch or distract a guide dog unless you have permission. Speak in a normal tone of voice. Tell anyone what you are doing before you open a door. Don’t walk away without saying good-bye to the person. Don’t leave the person in the middle of a room. Ask where the person would like to go. If you take the person to a chair, or guide him or her to a wall or door, explain to the person where he or she is. Persons who are Deaf or hard of hearing Be certain you have the person’s attention before speaking. If the person is not facing you, use a gentle tap on the shoulder. Don’t yell or exaggerate your speech. Look at the person, not at an interpreter. If spoken communication is difficult, try using a paper and pencil or pen. Look directly at the person. Don’t cover your mouth with anything. Even moustaches and beards may be an impediment. Don’t touch or distract a hearing ear dog. Be patient. Rephrase information if necessary. Persons with physical disabilities Don’t assume the person has an intellectual disability. Speak directly to the person, not to an attendant. Ask IF and HOW you can be of help. Do not assume anything. If possible, sit so you are at eye level to talk with the person. If assisting someone in a wheelchair to go up or down a curb, ask if the person prefers to go forward or backward. Don’t move crutches, walkers, canes or wheelchairs out of reach without permission. If moved with permission, do not leave until you return them to the person or arrange for their return. Respect the person’s personal space by not leaning on a wheelchair. Do not distract a working dog. Persons are not confined to a wheelchair. Wheelchairs provide freedom and access. Use the term “wheelchair user”. Persons with speech disabilities Don’t assume the person has an intellectual disability. Don’t pretend you’ve understood if you haven’t. Do ask the person to repeat what you don’t understand. Ask questions that can be answered by “yes” or “no”. Give your whole, unhurried attention. Be patient. A person’s speech may be slow or difficult, but it is worth waiting for what that person has to say. Persons with intellectual disabilities Use simple words and short sentences. Give one piece of information at a time, and repeat if needed. Be polite and patient. Do not treat an adult like a child. Don’t make assumptions about what anyone can or cannot do. Acknowledgements The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA Committee on Disabilities wishes to extend our grateful thanks to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for allowing us to use the ELCA Accessibility Guide: Planning an Accessible Meeting as our guide to creating this booklet. We especially recognize the work of Rev. Lisa Cleaver, Director for Disability Ministries and Deaf Ministry, Division for Church in Society, ELCA. Special thanks go to members of the NCCCUSA Committee on Disabilities who helped to edit this booklet. For further help, please contact the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; Education and Leadership Ministries Commission; 475 Riverside Drive, Ste. 812; New York, NY 10115; phone: 212-870-2267; fax: (212) 870-3112; www.ncccusa.org/elmc.

ACCESS SUNDAY "Not everybody has a minister like Diana," said 13-year-old Scott Pigsley of Lincoln, NE. "Things like this tell other wheelchair-users we won't banish you from our church." "This" was Northeast UCC's calling an interim minister with post-polio syndrome. "This" meant rearranging chancel space to accept a replacement ramp that honors the decade-old Americans with Disabilities Act code of no more than one inch of height per foot of run. It frees Scott, who has spina bifida, to light candles with friends. It invites Diana Coberly into the chancel. Five General Synod Disabilities Ministries Resolutions since 1977, including "The Calling of Clergy with Disabilities" (1999 GS), have nudged older churches to erase physical and attitudinal barriers. Robert Wandel, UCC Fellowship of Architects moderator said, "The issue of opening chancels goes beyond voluntary compliance with public access laws to how churches design for inclusion. Inclusion is a Christian question for churches to address." Creative changes at 140-member First Congregational of Alameda tamed eleven levels of the California landmark without disturbing its integrity. Century-old St. Mary's UCC in Westminster, MD, converted a closet to bypass a step, rail, three-step chancel. As at Northeast, trustee Bill Enright's ramp for the wedding of a wheelchair-using member parallels the right chancel arm of Central Congregational in Dallas. "A ramp is an up-front commitment," Minnesota minister Robert Baggott said. "The deeper commitment is accessibility of the soul." Rather than underscore differences that remind temporarily able-bodied persons of their vulnerability, he said a ramp strengthens human connections. "A congregation sees your disability, so we make changes to create a space physically possible for you. We look beyond your challenge to celebrate what is possible with you." God saw beyond Moses' disabilities to call him to lead. Moses' rebuttal, "O my Lord, please send someone else," once couched most churches' response when asked to consider physically-challenged clergy. Now, some hear God's promise, "Go, I will teach you what you shall do....You shall serve" (Exodus 4:1-13). Ongoing commitment to social justice defines the United Church of Gainesville, FL. An informed accessibility committee was key to the architecturally integrated ramp that sheaths its three, broad chancel steps. "This middle class congregation struggles to balance budget," said Pastor Larry Reimer, "yet meets access needs members bring." The 220-member Lazarus UCC, Lineboro, MD, wanted to incorporate five bell and voice choirs into its 1908-built chancel. After six years, the committee overcame seating, faulty underpinning, and flexible-use obstacles to generate a unique, three-level area that offers wheelchair-using families abundant space for reading Scripture or ringing choir bells. Member gifts plus a Development Commission Grant from the Catoctin Association funded the renovation. The aim of calling clergy with disabilities, said Coberly, is to reap the benefits of the minister's abilities. "The change which allows persons with disabilities to participate fully in the life of a church happens only once it is in people's hearts." A minister with disabilities who has served UCC churches since 1969, the Rev. Dr. Dallas Brauninger is a Nebraska Conference Disabilities Ministries Task Force member.

This guide provides tips on what to look for if you want your meeting to be fully accessible to all people. Go to .

Refer in particular to Chapter 1 Terms for God Chapter 2 Other Religious Terms Chapter 3 Emerging Terms and Bias-Free Usage Chapter 4 Trademarks and Brand Names Chapter 5 Alphabetized Word List See entire style sheet at From ELCA Publishing Standards Manual copyright (c) 2003 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Reproduced by permission of Augsburg Fortress.

This Manual for Congregations from Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services is an 80-page resource for congregations planning the development of disability ministries. The construction-theme manual contains chapters on developing a vision, recruiting leadership and volunteers, community evangelism/marketing, teacher training and a "toolbox" of assessments, evaluations forms and other helpful items. See http://www.blhs.org/resources/spiritualResources/catalog/item.asp?item=Building%20a%20Developmental%20Disability%20Ministry%3A%20A%20Manual%20for%20Congregations.

Four recipients were awarded the Bob and Joyce Dell Award (Mental Illness Ministry) and the Disabilities Ministries Award at General Synod in Hartford, 2007. Two youths, sharing a contagious joy and enthusiasm for life, will join a pastor as recipients of the Disabilities Ministries Awards.

Tyler Greene

Tyler Greene, whose church home is the First Congregational United Church of Christ, Waterloo, Iowa, produced a training video titled "I'm Tyler." The tool is being used nationally in faith communities, schools and organizations. "Tyler encourages others not to label people in terms of their 'disability,' but to appreciate others in terms of their ability," said the Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth, his pastor.

Joseph Maki

Joseph Maki is an eager volunteer at his church, Zion United Church of Christ, Le Sueur, in his community and at Pilgrim Point, the Minnesota Conference camp. "The United Church of Christ and its members have opened the doors for him," his mother, Laura Maki, said. "He has accepted that invitation and is doing what he can to help others learn about our Lord through his service to others."

The Reverend Dr. Robert Loesch

The Rev. Dr. Robert Loesch, now pastor of Taborton Zion United Church of Christ near Sand Lake, New York, was nominated by Foster Memorial Church United Church of Christ in Springfield, Massachusetts. "Bob has spent most of his life advocating for persons through church and community leadership in several human service agencies working to support adults with disabilities, especially those with mental illness and developmental disabilities," said Karen Cardigan, Program Coordinator of the Western Massachusetts Training Consortium. United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries awards are given in appreciation for distinguished service to church and community in the interest of furthering the church's mission to become Accessible to All.

The First Congregational United Church of Christ of Downer's Grove, Illinois

The First Congregational Church United Church of Christ of Downer's Grove will receive the Bob and Joyce Dell Award. Pastors are the Rev. Laura and the Rev. William Hoglund. The citation from the Mental Illness Network (MIN) recognizes a local UCC church or person who has done much to eliminate stigma, build a ministry, or advocate for legal protection for persons with serious mental illnesses. "The church has been active in mental health ministry for many years with a comprehensive outreach to the community as well as to in-house services," said the Rev. Robert Dell.

A Nebraska Conference RECORD focus issue about Disabilities Ministries This issue of The Nebraska RECORD shares delightful stories about tangible and architectural changes reported recently by United Churches of Christ from Omaha to Chadron and Lincoln to Ogallala. These stories -- set in larger, 12-point type – tell of changes which vary in levels of magnitude, yet they all have equal weight. They are concrete evidence of attitudinal change. In 30 years of ministry in our conference, I have observed a heartening maturation of attitude toward persons who live with disabilities. This movement has progressed from viewing disability as an item of pity/compassion to perceiving the inclusion of everyone as a matter of justice/compassion. Our attitudes finally are beginning to progress from "doing something for the unfortunate person I am grateful that I am not, yet fear I might become" to increasing recognition in our hearts of the rightness of removing whatever physical or attitudinal barrier still impedes full inclusion in the life of the church. We have begun to grow together toward a gradual recasting of personal or societal attitudes that shut off rather than welcome, to turn from perceiving persons with disabilities as separate from and different. Although we may notice a visible disability first when we meet a person, we are getting better about viewing that characteristic as only one part of an identity. We also notice and validate other unique gifts and talents. Those of us with disabilities have begun to feel better about ourselves. I have grown from a sense of being broken and inferior to the rejoicing of wholeness and validity as one of God's servants. Not like the attitudes of my parents' generation. My mother as a young, newly married nurse was engaged to "take care of" her blind grandmother who was closeted in an upstairs room. I find the shalom of refusal to be closeted anywhere! This special focus issue of The Nebraska RECORD fulfills my final responsibility for the Disabilities Ministries in the Nebraska Conference. I will continue as a member of the UCC Disabilities Ministries Executive Board and its website editor. Located at www.uccdm.org, this interactive web site offers resources, education, advocacy, and networking opportunities for churches and persons in the disabilities ministries community. Memorial Gift Opens a Door "After the death of their mother, a family wanted to offer a unique memorial," said the Rev. Lauran Heidenreich, pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Ogallala. They thought about a church member who has used a wheelchair since an early age. "We know that you are fully accessible once you get inside the church," they said, "but we want to give you an automatic door so you can come and go on your own." The original door was glass for visibility and of adequate width; but, said the pastor, "somebody has to hold the door while another person pushes in the wheelchair. Now she will have the freedom of doing it all herself." "All the door needed was the addition of the automatic door opener," said Guy Bechtel, the church's buildings and grounds person. "The opener will be programmed to slowly open up. It will stay open long enough for a person to enter, and then close automatically." The $1,700 device is wireless with a box installed in the entryway. Persons hit it, triggering the door to swing open. Should the door prove to be too narrow in the future, several inches of wall glass can be removed for a wider door. "Guy and the family worked together," the pastor said. "They decided the northeast door would be preferable to the front doors." Additionally, the doorway is set in about 2-1/2 feet to protect against blasts of Nebraska wind. Changes for the Family "One of the biggest changes in our church is the hymns," said Eleanor Swanson, member of First Central Congregational UCC Omaha. "The person who brings me to church comes early to choir practice. While she practices, I reread the hymns and Psalm with my magnifier. I can then keep up with the congregation." Within three weeks after losing her sight, Eleanor moved to the independent living side of the retirement center. Her church family also wasted no time adapting. They made certain that she could participate in worship. They had been offering large print bulletins for persons with visual needs but now also enlarge the Psalter and hymns. They also assured that her worship attendance was uninterrupted. Anyone needing a ride phones the member in charge of drivers." One driver also plans church dinners," Eleanor said, "so I provide a needed vegetable, something I can do. She is widowed. We have become a pair." If her daughter is unavailable, Margaret Engstrom also appreciates a driver. "I use a walker now," she said. "I try to get to church every Sunday." As the older building is not easily navigated, during the week her daughter goes to the parking lot ramp. First Central recently added the north entry ramp to meet code for its incoming daycare. "It has also made the lower level more accessible for office volunteers," said Sara Sharpe, church office manager. "It has eased my worries about someone falling down the steep stairs to the church office." Margaret, Sara's eldest volunteer at 91, said, "I work at the church on Monday mornings 9-12, answering phones and doing little things for Sara and the Christian Ed. lady." The next day, she and two others count the offering. "It keeps my mind sharper and I enjoy doing it," she said. "When someone needs help, you find a way. I think of our church as family," Sara said. "It's just a matter of doing for the congregation what you would do for family." Becoming a Fully Accessible Church "How many have trouble hearing?" was asked at an all-church meeting of Lincoln, Northeast. "All these hands raised and heads nodded," relates Northeast member Lois Poppe. Ever since the late '60s construction of their fellowship hall, people had complained about its poor acoustics. Concerns about those poor acoustics plus the need to make the church school rooms on the lower level accessible to everyone led to the creation of a Refurbishment and Accessibility Committee (RAC), which reviewed needed accessibility changes then presented options to the congregation for a decision on how to solve those problems. At first, the Moderator felt these changes could be accomplished through regular boards. Lois commented that Boards were to busy to assume this additional responsibility. According to Janet Domeier, RAC chair, it all started three years ago at another annual church meeting. As each board reported, each had a list that included capital improvement. For years, "we ought to" discussion continued about not being truly lower level accessible. Teachers adjusted classrooms so that a youth who uses a wheelchair could have class on the main level. The Moderator agreed to serve on RAC along with the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees and several other committed church members. It took about a year for the committee to gather information and cost estimates. With congregational feedback, they stockpiled, studied and discussed possibilities. "Because we were thorough, the congregation gave its approval," said Lois, the committee recorder. The committee contacted a Lincoln architect who presented designs in November. "We were successful in obtaining a loan for just under $250,000 for the addition and an elevator." This last year at the church's annual meeting, the congregation decided to proceed in stages. Phase one focused on smaller items. Informational meetings with the congregation and information in every newsletter resulted in membership consensus. After design approval, the church raised enough funds for phase one. Following acoustical analysis, the church installed acoustical wall panels in the Fellowship Hall which hosts Sunday coffee. At a recent anniversary gathering, people noticed a significant reduction of reverberation of voices and improvement in hearing. The panels also soften the room. They are also a great way to display posters, Janet said. "You can poke as many holes in them as you want." Phase one also included a lighted church sign, replacing the wooden sign that was difficult to read. Last August, the congregation approved completed designs for an addition, phase two. "As you go along, you celebrate," Janet said. Now, on to more capital fundraising. Second phase improvements include an enhanced sanctuary sound system; increased accessible front and side parking; blinds and shades in the fellowship hall; an elevator; and lower level accessible restrooms. The initial elevator struggle point, Janet said, was the cost. Most continued to perceive that it was only for somebody using a wheelchair. In the committee's last presentation before the August vote, she detailed how the elevator entry would look. "Persons have an immediate option. The elevator is right there," she said. "It is for everyone. Those carrying equipment or someone who is weary that day will use it. We have many aging people in our church. Hopefully we broke through that with them," she said. "We chose an elevator that is more like the commercial one without the extra doors. Just push a button and it goes." Also authorized and to be completed after the addition construction are new entrance doors and exterior lighting as well as bids for additional parking lot lighting. A modest 2006 grant from the Nebraska-Disabilities Ministries Board will apply toward the $1,200 inside signage. What's In Your Church's Closet? "Our congregation may not realize it has made so many positive, inclusive changes," said Cheryl Cassiday, a member of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Chadron. Thanks to people like retiree Boyd Roberts, who spearheaded several projects, the church is living up to its designation of being fully accessible to aging persons and persons with disabilities. Boyd, a former electrical contractor, said that old fixtures were not giving off much light. New quartz lights save little on cost or energy output, they do produce a sharper, brighter light than regular incandescent bulbs. Each new hanging fixture contains three 100-watt quartz bulbs, replacing the older lamps with two 150-watt bulbs. A section of pews was removed to allow persons using wheelchairs to sit farther forward without having to sit in the aisle. "With the pew cut-out," said Kathy Rapp, "I do not sit out in the aisle, preventing anything from occurring." She said the cut-out is also convenient for persons who use a walker as they can sit in the pew with the walker near by. All three exterior doors are now wheelchair accessible. While entry into the main floor holds no difficulty for persons with mobility needs, the lower level was once off-limits to some. The older lift installed in early 1980s was too small for the newer power vehicles. Boyd scoured the church an engineer. They located a closet, a built-in cupboard. In the basement, they would cut a hole through the wall that goes out into the fellowship hall. Boyd chaired the project. He put together the cost, went to the congregation for agreement, putting together the cost estimates with members doing the work themselves. In a few months after receiving church agreement and the start of the project, $15,000 came in as donations. The church added the other half from savings. "You have to have a little faith," he said about undertaking a major project. "It helps to start doing it. People like to see something happen. Then they get excited about it." One Youth + One Retiree = A Request Honored When Christopher Cassiday learned that the funding had collapsed for his proposed Eagle Scout project, a letter came to the church council at First Congregational UCC, Chadron. Getting in the front door for worship was easy for everyone. However, it was impossible for persons with wheelchairs to use either bathroom. How about updating the women's bathroom? Chris took on the project. The goal was to provide a usable turning radius within the stall itself as well as to make the bathroom entry accessible to persons using a larger, powered vehicle. "We knew the church would be willing to fund it," he said, "and we knew people with expertise would help." Now a first-year student at Doane College, Chris said, "We widened the doorway to make the stall larger, replaced the doorknob with a lever handle, removed the privacy partition and one stool, and installed the new stall system." Both of Chris' parents were involved in the project. His mom helped with the design and obtained a higher commode from the hospital. His dad did hands-on work. Boyd Roberts, Chris' mentor, worked by his side. "Boyd's expertise," Chris said, "was invaluable. He made the project happen." The result is a rectangular-shaped bathroom a little deeper than wide. "The only great change," Boyd said, "was to relocate the stall position. The newer, attractive sink offers plenty of leg room." He also covered hot water pipes with protective insulation. The men's bathroom is still waiting, but Chris knows another young man eligible for an Eagle Scout project. -db "Any Body, Everybody, Christ's Body" This section was written by Pam Cuttlers, member of the Nebraska Disabilities Ministries Committee. "Any Body, Everybody, Christ's Body" is the Accessible to All (A2A) workbook put together by Rev. Jo Clare Hartsig that is available to all from the UCC Disabilities Ministries. Jo Clare chairs the UCC DM and lives in Minnesota. This workbook can be downloaded from www.uccdm.org. It is full of excellent ideas to help churches provide hospitality and accessibility to all. The title "Any Body, Everybody, Christ's Body" shows the process in the workbook. Section One, "Any Body," explores the meaning of the actual flesh and blood body we each inhabit, our differences, our gifts, our laments, our anger, our sacred selves, and the ways we can ‘be good stewards of God’s varied grace.” "Everybody" includes ways to help congregations ‘practice hospitality ungrudgingly’ and offers a wide variety of ideas for churches to put this into practice. There are handouts for ushers, ideas for newsletters on how to write or speak about persons with disabilities, information for pastors, and multisensory worship ideas. "Christ's Body" focuses on “understanding the Body of Christ as a symbol of brokenness and healing, of interdependence and community.” This workbook is designed as a group process of reflection and action with readings and discussion for each section. It culminates in a church committing to be an A2A church. The disability rights movement's slogan is “Nothing about us without us” so please include people with disabilities in your study sessions. The Nebraska Disability Ministries Committee hopes all UCC congregations will become accessible to ALL! Reading the Signs is A Can-Do Forum about accessibility for the whole church family Special Focus Section,The Nebraska RECORD (Nebraska Conference United Church of Christ, Vol. XXIII, No. 1, Feb.-Mar. 2007) Written and edited by Dee Brauninger

"Everybody has a right to learn through their eyes or their ears," Robyn Weber said. "I am here as a tool to help one person understand." "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." "It is a lot different for us, really a great feeling, to talk together about the sermon," husband William said. "Sherryl never had that opportunity to hear and understand." Mr. Yokel, then chair of the diaconate at the United Church of Christ in Friend, arranged for the interpreting. "Robyn was so excited when the diaconate and church council said it was a `Go,"' he said. "It is wonderful to have a person give up her hour twice a month to come to another church to interpret." "Everybody has a right to learn through their eyes or their ears," Robyn Weber said. "I am here as a tool to help one person understand." An employee of a Friend day care center, Mrs. Weber gained interpreting certification through The Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She began formal classes in American Sign Language three years ago after becoming the only remaining family member who could sign for a relative. Last summer, at a workshop on worship signing sponsored by NCDHH and Lincoln Association for Sign Language Professionals, she recognized her second calling. Weber uses Elaine Costello's Religious Signing (Bantam Books, 1986) to study choral music during weekly choir practices and before interpreting the sermon and other worship material the pastor gives her beforehand. At first, the Rev. Robert Brauninger said he watched her interpret. "Now, I concentrate on making my points succinct. I let her do her work while I do mine." "Children's time is one of my fun times," Weber said. "I put a little more expression into it because it is spontaneous, and Sherryl and Will get to hear their two-year-old's comments." Warmed by a newly found empathy, members of the congregation enjoy the two mothers' informal finger chats during the hymns. Robyn uses this rest break for Sherryl's questions. Sometimes they slip in "mom talk" about their children. (For interpreting classes offered in the Lincoln area, at UN-0 and Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, or for Distance Learning Classes, contact NCDHH at 402-471-3593. - db Published with the permission of Sherryl and Will Yokel and with the blessing of the Nebraska Conference. Reading the Signs columns are edited by Dee Brauninger.

About elevators and chair lifts in places of worship. By Jacqueline L. Salmon Staff Writer for Justice for All February 3, 2007 When Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld arrived to lead Ohev Sholom, the National Synagogue, two years ago, it didn't take him long to notice a serious problem. Steep staircases in the 50-year-old synagogue in Northwest Washington made it difficult for the elderly and people with physical disabilities to attend services and celebrations. Now, Herzfeld is leading an effort to remedy the situation. After raising almost $150,000, the synagogue is installing two elevators and a stair lift so the steps no longer prevent disabled worshipers from participating in the life of the Orthodox Jewish synagogue at 16th and Jonquil streets. After years of low-key resistance or inertia, houses of worship such as Ohev Sholom are increasingly trying to make their facilities, their programs and their worship services more accessible to the country's 54 million people with disabilities. But for disability activists, the victories are coming slowly. Seventeen years after the sweeping Americans With Disabilities Act threw open the doors of workplaces, schools and other institutions to the disabled, disability activists say that religious entities have been less responsive because they are exempt from most of the act's requirements. Historic religious buildings lack ramps and elevators, services are difficult for people with hearing problems to decipher, religious texts cannot be read by those with vision problems and religious education program leaders tell parents of emotionally disturbed children that they are not equipped to handle the childrens' special needs. Many religious institutions simply don't know how to respond to the needs of members who are disabled, says Ginny Thornburgh, director of the National Organization on Disability's Religion and Disability Program, which is pushing religious entities to become more accessible to the disabled. "There is relatively little interaction between houses of worship and people with disabilities. There's no antagonism, but there is very little dialogue," said Thornburgh, who is hard of hearing and has a 46-year-old son who suffered brain damage as a child. According to a 2004 Harris poll, 84 percent of people with and without disabilities describe religion as "very important" or "important" to them. But less than half of people with disabilities attend religious services at least once a month, compared with 57 percent of people without disabilities. "We are incomplete as long as people with disabilities can't come," said Herzfeld, whose synagogue also hosts programs for people with developmental disabilities. "The congregation needs these people. It's not a house of God if not everyone can come and worship." To nudge congregations along, the National Organization on Disability launched the Accessible Congregations Campaign several years ago to urge national faith groups, congregations and seminaries to remove barriers to the disabled. By signing on, a religious organization commits to removing obstacles that hinder the full participation of all people with disabilities. So far, 2,270 houses of worship have signed on. Locally, 173 congregations in the District, Maryland and Virginia are participating. More than 100 religious leaders, educators and seminary faculty members have also signed up for the organization's Interfaith Directory of Religious Leaders with Disabilities, which lists religious leaders with disabilities who can serve as bridges between the disability community and religious organizations, said Thornburgh. Jackie Mills-Fernald, director of Access Ministries at McLean Bible, trains leaders at other churches on how to increase services for the disabled. She also recently organized the Capital Area Disabilities Ministries, a coalition of 20 Washington area churches interested in improving access for people with disabilities Parents of disabled children are often the spark that ignites a faith organization's move to become more open to those with disabilities, said Mills-Fernald. "They're just dying -- begging -- for a place where the entire family can worship," she said. Many houses of worship mistakenly assume that becoming more accessible to the disabled will be a financial drain and that it involves making expensive renovations to their facilities, Thornburgh said. But, she said, the adjustments can be low-key and inexpensive. People with intellectual disabilities, such as mental retardation, can be invited to serve as greeters. Ushers can be stationed by heavy doors to assist those with mobility impairments. Churches that use video screens can display the text of the sermon for the hard of hearing. "Money is a distraction," Thornburgh said. "We urge congregations to begin with low-cost ways to make the congregation understand the gifts and talents which children and adults with disabilities bring to the congregation." Then, when a house of worship opts to make more expensive investments in ramps and elevators, members are more likely to be supportive, she said. "Congregations get stuck on the issue of money, or they believe that once they raise the money and address the barriers of architecture, the job is complete," she said. "The greater challenge is to eliminate the barriers to attitude." At the Covenant Community of Jesus the Good Shepherd, a Catholic church in Calvert County, lay leaders this month launched a disability ministry called "Accommodating Hearts" that is aimed at educating parishioners about those with disabilities and reaching out to disabled parishioners. Children in the religious education program will learn about disabilities and their impact, special prayers will be inserted in the worship services and volunteers are starting up a resource library with materials on disabilities in the church. "It's not expensive things that we're trying to do," said organizer Jean Reams, whose 12-year-old daughter has cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder. "But it's kind of beginning small steps to get the community going and to reach out to the disabled community." Source: Washington Post ________________________________________________________________ For more ADA in the News issues, see: http://www.aapd.com/News/adainthe/indexada.php # # # MODERATOR, Anne Sommers, JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). To contact Anne, please email her at JFAmoderator@aol.com. To respond to a JFA alert or to submit an article, please see http://www.aapd.com/JFA/JFAcontent.html. DISCLAIMER: The JFA Listserv is designed to share information of interest to people with disabilities and promote dialogue in the disability community. Information circulated does not necessarily express the views of AAPD. The JFA Listserv is non-partisan. JFA ARCHIVES: All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.jfanow.org/jfanow/ JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today at http://www.aapd.com. Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an email to majordomo@JFAnow.org with subscribe justice OR unsubscribe justice in the body of your email message. -- dc

Several churches have written to ask about funding resourcces. Please comment here about how your church has funded its accessibility projects and/or what your conference or association Accessibility/Inclusion Committee offers. Thank you. The Web Editor

Three resources on web accessibility: Church website design tips: things to DO Here are three guidelines for legibility from Effective Color Contrast 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 : Accessible Faith: A Technical Guide for Accessibility in Houses of Worship (2003) By Elizabeth A. Patterson and Neal A. Vogel, published by the Retirement Research Foundation. The core of this 52-page guide deals with practical solutions to eliminating physical, auditory, and visual barriers, and to improving signage, in older houses of worship. The authors use a variety of case examples and support the text with many photographs, drawings, charts, and diagrams and also include information on who is affected by a "disability", as well as the basics of accessibility laws as they pertain to houses of worship. They conclude the guide with sections covering the design, funding, and construction processes. Loving Justice: The ADA and the Religious Community (1995) By the National Organization on Disability. A guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act's effects on religious institutions and congregations. An explanation of the ADA requirements for some tenants of religious properties is included. Money and Ideas: Creative Approaches to Congregational Access (2001) By the Alban Institute and the National Organization on Disability. A source of ideas for raising money for disability access. Congregations will be inspired to think creatively about their situations and to make affordable, incremental changes to enhance worship for members and visitors alike. That All May Worship: An Interfaith Welcome To People With Disabilities (1994) By the National Organization on Disability. A handbook to assist congregations and denominational groups in welcoming people with disabilities. Interfaith in scope, it offers suggestions for building modifications to accommodate people with all types of disabling conditions.

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 or call 402.483.4781. 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. She included the following "dashed off" list of guidelines for adding a little grace to our own welcoming of persons with wheelchairs into our churches and at home or care center visits. True to the manner in which Rachel approaches all people, each "Commandment" says, "See the person first." 1. You shall always respect the dignity and individuality of the person in a wheelchair as you do your own. 2. You shall remember that control over one's own life is very precious, so that you will not do for wheelchair users what they can do for themselves, even if it takes them longer. 3. You shall take care not to bump wheelchair wheels, remembering that a small bump to you may feel like a small earthquake to the person in the wheelchair. 4. You shall remember that unexpected movements of a wheelchair can be quite startling, so that you will always ask the user's permission before moving a wheelchair. 5. You shall remember that the person in a wheelchair may find it hard to look behind, so you will come around within the person's visual range before speaking or touching them. 6. You shall not assume that the person using a wheelchair is also hard of hearing, and shall speak in a normal volume. 7. You shall assume till you discover otherwise, that a person in a wheelchair has interests as broad as anyone else's, and shall converse accordingly, including not talking with others over the wheelchair user's head. 8. You shall be aware that conversing at the same level as the person using a wheelchair, by sitting or kneeling for all but brief exchanges, is more comfortable for the wheelchair user, and will be much appreciated. 9. You shall ask the user's preference before wheeling a wheelchair backwards. 10. You shall take care to place objects within easy reach, as a person using a wheelchair may not be able to reach as far as you. As you practice these commandments, your wheelchair-using friends will call you blessed! Thanks, Rachel. Used with the permission of the Nebraska Conference UCC

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. Even with these assists there may be hidden barriers. A doorknob that is unable to be grasped by arthritic hands or a heavy door that cannot be pulled open can be a huge problem for someone using a wheelchair, crutches, or a walker. Many persons who deal with disabilities have learned to be independent. Assistance is not always available at all times. Doorways that may appear wide enough to navigate in a wheelchair may be as little as an inch or half inch too narrow for easy passage. Restroom doorways and stalls are often impossible. Providing access to our meeting places and offering a welcome that allows persons to feel welcomed into our gatherings, whether in the pews in worship, the availability of restrooms, or an easy entrance and exit, means we care and we are listening to God when our Creator asks us to welcome everyone to God's table as part of the whole family. Doorknobs and yardsticks can be important tools to measure our accessibility to all. Jo Ackerman is a member of the Nebraska Conference UCC DM Board which is the source of the Reading the Signs columns for use in conference and local church newsletters. Reprinted by permission.

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. Home/work examples: jar lid popper, speech access computer, half-steps, support cane, walker, full spectrum light bulbs, reader, driver, usable hearing device, trifocals, lightweight dishes, electric wheelchair, new computer program, powered implement, levered door handles, reorganized work space. Church: improved sound system, pew cutouts, eliminating chancel step(s), 14-point bulletins/newsletters, large type hymnal, automatic doors, wheelchair-accessible bathroom, welcoming attitude. Invite worshipers to bring tools for blessing. Materials: Index cards, pew pencils, chancel table for candles, varisized candles in holders on side tables, 2 acolytes, ushers with card baskets, 2 card readers with microphones stationed in sanctuary. BLESSING OF LIFE-GIVING TOOLS Texts: "Choose life..." (Deuteronomy 30:19b). Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10:10b. Hymn of Thanking: "Great Is Your Faithfulness" or "Now Thank We All Our God" Naming Tools Leader: Let us name the tools that offer fuller life at church, home, and work. We recognize these tools as evidence of God's presence. Think about expected and unexpected challenges and the life-giving ways you or this church has met them. List them. Hymn of Reflecting (Sung during card collection): "How Deep the Silence of the Soul," "We Yearn, O Christ, For Wholeness," or "I Would Be True" Leader: By naming, we acknowledge and honor these tools. Hear now those that bring light into our lives. (Readers read several cards with pauses as acolytes place a candle for each on table and light it. Work from center outward leaving room for cards. When naming is finished, readers place cards on table.) Consecrating Tools Leader: Ever-creating God, we accept these empowering tools as signs of your compassion. People: No tool is too small or costly that draws its user into fuller life. Leader: These gifts symbolize that all people are acceptable and meant to live. People: When spirits soar with new possibility, God, a surge of energy swooshes like an eagle entering flight. Leader: Let those bringing tools come for blessing. (Speak as leader places hands on each tool and person:) Leader: Bless this life-giving tool and the one who uses it. All: Thank you, God, for wholeness of being. Amen. Hymn of Launching: "Help Us Accept Each Other" or "Called As Partners In Christ's Service" Prayer: Gracious God, in holy partnership with your hope, let us continue to open doors in our lives and in this place with whatever helps answer challenge and life-change with hope. When shortness of funds, courage or tenacity causes stumbling, remind us of networking and shared effort. When tangled mats of impossibility exhaust our spirit, refresh the vigor of our resourcefulness. Through Christ. Amen. Reading the Signs columns, written or edited by db, are reprinted with permission from the Nebraska Conference Nebraska Record and are to be used freely.

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. A clergy person with communication challenges differs little from someone in the pew," says the Rev. Jeanne Tyler, who serves St. Paul's in Lincoln, NE with her husband John. Jeanne reflected recently about living with speech impairment and a 55 percent hearing loss resulting from cerebral palsy. Ordained for 20+ years, the member of national and conference level disabilities ministries committees said these losses are barriers. During worship, Jeanne moves closer to her congregation to hear announcements. "There is a difference between understanding what someone is saying," she said, "and hearing. I may hear the words, but I don't understand what they are." Neither do others understand her at times. Older sound systems that emphasize bass tones were designed by men for the male voice. "A good quality system with the mix of a good treble sound can amplify my voice to the best ability that it can be amplified. It is easier for people to hear. People don't have to strain both to hear and to understand." Jeanne says most people offer a patient attitude. As she does not recognize phone voices well, most callers introduce themselves. On the other hand, acquaintances readily identify her voice. She deposits positive feedback in the bank to draw on during lean times. "Otherwise, you can get pretty devastated," she said. "The expressions on faces also tell me that most people who are interested and open to my sermon content respond positively." She said anyone with differences struggles with self-image. Who am I? How does what I look like affect how I am seen? How does how I am seen affect who I am? Jeanne occasionally sees herself on video. "Then," she says, "I know how much my congregation accepts me: I walk differently, I talk a little differently, and I listen differently. Yet, people laugh when I tell funny stories. They look sad when I tell sad stories. They have the normal reactions to me, so I know I must be doing something right. I try to be as real as possible." She reflects that she is "a person with disabilities with gifts and abilities." Knowing she is not just a person with disabilities helps her to be a life-giving person. Among her gifts to her congregation is her capacity to listen attentively well to people. Jeanne has seen the people of their church grow in understanding that God is somebody who accepts and affirms us, that it is okay to have limitations, that there are limitations in the world that we cannot always change, that we learn to live with them. Her being, as well as her words, communicates a transformative faith that "announces life in the midst of death, change in the midst of fear, and love in the midst of apathy. This faith transforms fear of death, change, and lack of care into the power that the community can draw upon for strength. With this faith," Jeanne Tyler says, "we trust God." First call for artwork, poetry, sculpture, a reflective paragraph from anyone acquainted with disabilities. Entries will be considered for an Annual Meeting display that increases understanding. In what ways does your church include persons with hearing loss in the life of your church? Reprinted from The Nebraska Record, Reading the Signs columns are used by permission of the Nebraska Conference and shared with the hope that they will be used in other conference and local church newsletters to further disabilities ministries awareness.

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." "It is a lot different for us, really a great feeling, to talk together about the sermon," husband William said. "Sherryl never had that opportunity to hear and understand." Mr. Yokel, then chair of the diaconate at the United Church of Christ in Friend, NE, arranged for the interpreting. "Robyn was so excited when the diaconate and church council said it was a 'Go,'" he said. "It is wonderful to have a person give up her hour twice a month to come to another church to interpret." "Everybody has a right to learn through their eyes or their ears," Robyn Weber said. "I am here as a tool to help one person understand." An employee of a Friend day care center, Mrs. Weber, a resident of Friend, gained interpreting certification through The Nebraska Commission For The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing. She began formal classes in American Sign Language several years ago after becoming the only remaining family member who could sign for a relative. Recently at a workshop on worship signing sponsored by NCDHH and Lincoln Association For Sign Language Professionals, she recognized her second calling. Weber uses Elaine Costello's Religious Signing (Bantam Books, 1986) to study choral music during weekly choir practices and before interpreting the sermon and other worship material the pastor gives her beforehand. At first, the Reverend Robert Brauninger said he watched her interpret. "Now, I concentrate on making my points succinct. I let her do her work while I do mine." "Children's time is one of my fun times," Weber said. I put a little more expression into it because it is spontaneous, and Sherryl and Will get to hear their two-year-old's comments." Warmed by a newly found empathy, members of the congregation enjoy the two mothers' informal finger chats during the hymns. Robyn uses this rest break for Sherryl's questions. Sometimes they slip in "mom talk" about their children. Reading the Signs columns, written by members of the Nebraska Conference Disabilities Ministries board, are offered for use by Conference and Local Church newsletters as an accessibility tool. Have you something to share that your inclusion committee, accessibility board, or inclusion coach has tried?

Guidelines for Working with Persons with Disabilities Written by Harold H. Wilke Abingdon Press, 2000

Rita Fiero, Editor Disaster Preparedness and Disability" pamphlet contains many links for specific disabilities. A beginning guide for developing a church disaster plan jointly with persons of varying disabilities. This resource contains many links for specific disabilities. For example, that for service dogs reads: Service Animals First Aid for Animals and "Are Persons With Disabilities Prepared For Disasters?" by Rita Fiero Order free at UCC Resources 800-537-3394 or by contacting Florence Coppola, executive for national disaster ministries, UCC, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115; e-mail: coppolaf@ucc.org.

Written by Shirley H. Strobel, NAMI P.O. Box 753, Waldorf MD 20604.
This is a curriculum designed to sensitize adults in church congregations to people with severe mental illness. Can be used as 12 one-hour lessons or six two-hour lessons. Teaching sessions are designed to build on Biblical-based theological reflection. The publication includes material on being a friend to a person with mental illness and model programs from other churches. From UCC DM Newsletter Archive, Book Beat

Hearing impairment is no longer a reason to miss the spoken Word at worship – at least not at First Congregational Church in Dudley. Once a month, the Dudley church offers a sign language interpretation at its Sunday service.

"I am so happy that my church is able to offer this wonderful service,” says Kenny Laferriere. “As a child, I would always attend church with my grandmother because my parents were unable to hear the service. It is such a wonderful feeling to be able to attend church with my whole family and know that my parents are enjoying the service just as much as I am.” The Rev. John White, pastor at the church, explains that several years ago, Laferriere was facing some serious health issues. His parents were profoundly deaf, so White had limited conversations with them. However, when White visited the family at the hospital, there was a sign language interpreter on duty who could help in the conversation. Through that exchange, White discovered that the parents had wanted to attend worship in the past, but the language barrier had discouraged them. After contacting a service for the deaf, White hired a certified sign language interpreter/transliterator to interpret one worship service per month. The $100 cost is paid anonymously by two generous members of the church. “I have found that people, with or without hearing impairments, love the sign language service,” says White. “I will often incorporate the work of Jennifer, the interpreter, into the service itself,” says White. For example, on Pentecost – a day believed to be a time when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages – White’s sermon addressed foreign languages and other methods of communication, including sign language. “We had people come forward who spoke French, Polish, German, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and English. In addition, we also included both music and signing as languages. Then everyone said ‘God loves you’ in his/her own language.” It was a great way to show that the church was made up of many different languages but was still one, he explained. Kenny’s father Raymond believes he is blessed to be a part of a church that provides signing. “I always look forward to attending church service on these ‘special’ Sundays because I know on this day I will be able to understand what Pastor John has to say,” Raymond wrote. “I can only wish that this service was offered on more Sundays throughout the year.” Kenny’s mother, Robin agrees. "I think that the Sign Language Interpreter services that are offered can be described with one word,” she wrote. “Magnificent! I am able to enjoy church now because I can understand what is going on throughout the service. It is a wonderful thing that the church can offer to their parishioners.” Jennifer publishes her own newsletter and includes her schedule. As a result, two or three additional visitors attend the service. “And Jennifer herself has fallen in love with the church,” says White. “She now occasionally attends our church even when she’s not interpreting.” “We have grown so well because we are finding more ways to broaden our welcome,” says White, noting the increase in membership from 40 to 150 in less than a decade. “Whether it’s inviting people to communion, having an Open and Affirming conversation, using the New Century hymnal with its inclusive language, sending out enewsletters, or even using sign language during service: we do whatever we can to widen the welcome and have worship speak the message -- in any language.” “I am so proud to be a part of such a wonderful congregation because we chose to fund this excellent service before other very important church needs," says Kenny. The Massachusetts Conference has incorporated sign language into its Annual Meeting for many years. For additional information and resources, visit the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing website at http://www.mass.gov/mcdhh/

"If I let disabilities stop me, they can, but I don't want them to. I change the way I do some things, and others I simply can't do but try first," Nancy Phipps, 2005 UCC DM Awardee, told Rich Curby, K-O Conference Accessibility Task Force Chair. His nomination led her to the UCC Disabilities Ministries 2005 Award for exceptional church service. Always coming forward at Whitewater Federated UCC, KS, her folks primed her for volunteering. "We grew up knowing that when the community gives something to you, you give back to the community. That is part of who I am. If you can help, you help." Steve and Nancy live in a century-old farm house where, "I can hobble around a little bit, not for very far or very long, but a little bit. I just sort of putt around in my wheelchair, doing what has to be done." Federated pastor, Scott Martin, said, "It is safe to say that the major mobility problem Nancy Phipps has known the last several years has not slowed her in the least!" Her "putt-ing around" expanded upon answering a hankering to attend Annual Fall Women's Assembly. With conference participation, it all "sort of snowballed -- fun, supportive friendships," she said. The K-O Conference Lay School of Theology student's voice perks with enthusiasm when she mentions the area she feels she is best suited for, working with other women, "movers and shakers who do whatever needs to be done." "Since I have been in my wheelchair, things have changed a lot in my church," she said. Most of her activities are now held in the sanctuary. "We put an accessible bathroom on the main floor the year before I had ankle surgery. We do things as we can -- widening doors, switching handles, little tiny steps at a time." Sitting on council, she knows small church finances. She manages as long as "the guys are willing to carry my wheelchair up and down the basement stairs." However, when others, sometimes forgetting about her mobility changes, ask why she did not attend an event downstairs, she does exercise awareness-raising, "Well, one, have you remembered that I am in a wheelchair and cannot get into the basement by myself?" "Most of us don't think about how others deal with things or what they have to do." She asked her church, "If I have to pay for it myself, may I slice up some of these pews, make them shorter, and, taking out only one pew leaves no room to maneuver." A friend joins her up front now, but that does not preclude anybody else using a wheelchair. Something that has not changed, however, is singing in Federated's women's chorus. "I was born totally deaf in one ear. I cannot hear well enough any more to pick a tune off of a piano or organ, but you put Jackie to my left and I can sing any note she can." Nancy joins the other Accessibility Task Force members of the five geographically distant associations of K-O Conference for Yahoo chat room meetings. They encourage accessibility with information sheets in conference mailings. "It's the small things that make a difference," the lay ministerial student says, like her "Yippee! No pinched fingers" call home from her accessible room with space to navigate. Whether rolling among duties as Synod delegate or with local, association or conference women, she exercises role modeling in many unimagined ways "just because," as Nancy Phipps says, "there's stuff to be done." Written by Dee Brauninger

"All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the prosperity of your children." -- Isaiah 54:13 (NRSV) Where Do Children Belong? Belong, v. 1: to feel and be a part of. 2: to enjoy a sense of contribution, value, self-worth. 3: to truly believe one is a natural and equal part of the whole. 4: comfortable, safe, cared for, welcome. (Nth degree) Through the ritual of Baptism we receive our sense of belonging in a church community. The gathered promise "love, support, and care . . . as they live and grow in Christ." What about the children we baptize with an illness or neurological disorder leaving them with an impairment? Children with learning disabilities? Youths in accidents that change capacity for learning, speaking, or walking? We promised our love, support and care. Not where, but how these children belong to our church communities is the question. As religious educators learn the philosophy and practicalities of inclusion in classrooms and curricula, some churches have a designated Inclusion Coach or committee who help adapt programming and provide awareness training. Local advocacy groups help churches support specific families to feel more like they belong. The UCC Disabilities Ministries has developied a study resource for becoming "accessible to all" because how we belong is just as important as where we belong. From UCC DM Newsletter Archive

1. Apply brightly colored, textured strips at tops of stairs to indicate their presence to visually-impaired persons and anyone carrying something that blocks vision. 2. Adopt a person who cannot attend services for reasons of work, disability, inclement weather, etc., so they may continue to feel part of your church. Maintain regular communication throughout the winter. 3. Volunteer to remove snow and ice patches promptly from all sidewalks, curbs, and parking areas before staff people usually arrive. 4. Be outside to assist elders and persons with special needs to/from cars. 5. Make a list (with recipes) of healthy, nutritious snacks to share for children's after-school programs or church school. 6. Contribute to the health and inclusion of all with careful food choices for coffee hour, meetings, and church functions. 7. Make healthy food plates and gift food baskets for sharing. 8. Designate a money gift for an accessibility project that will make your church more welcoming. 9. Purchase and install permanent signage in Braille/raised letters/pictorial symbols on the wall, just to the right of the door lever, at the entrance to restrooms, " meeting rooms, accessible entry/exits, elevators, etc. 10. Discuss together as a family making church giving a first priority of your budget. Consider tithing or, if you already tithe, making a second mile gift to your church. 11. Pay for a holiday ad containing a small accessibility symbol to tell your community that your church is ready for wheelchair users. 12. Provide padded armchairs in the sanctuary for persons having difficulty sitting in a pew. 13. Replace heavyweight offering and/or communion serving plates with lighter weight plates. 14. Take a tour through and outside your church to identify and correct poorly lit areas. 15. Add a second railing to steps or stairs where only one side rail exists. 16. Include children in plans to visit nursing homes and persons who are shut in. 17. Survey your neighborhood to learn whether there are unmet needs, especially among persons who are elderly, homebound; or persons with disabilities. 18. In consideration of persons with scent allergies, monitor your perfume, hair spray, or aftershave when attending church functions, especially during the holiday season. 19. Embark upon a search for unscented candles if your church uses candles of seasonal colors. 20. Adopt a person for the holiday who might not get out easily. Provide regular transportation to services and other parish activities. 21. Create a touchable Chrismon Tree. 22. If there are steps to your chancel and sanctuary, suggest that your Diaconate consider having a Communion Station on the main floor or serve in the pew first all who are unable to come forward. 23. Donate a high-quality artificial Christmas tree and/or greenery for your sanctuary. 24. Replace door knobs with levers throughout the church. 25. Contact someone who has not been in church recently. From Reading the Signs, Nebraska – Disabilities Ministries

From time to time, someone from one of our churches will ask a member of the Nebraska Conference Disabilities Ministries Committee if we have material about designing or renovating a home for an older individual or for anyone with a disability. In earlier columns we have spoken about the principles of universal design. Universal design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. Recently, Jo Clare Hartsig, Co-Chair of the UCC Disabilities Ministries Committee, sent a news release from the architect Charles Schwab, AIA. In his book, Universal Designed "SMART" Homes for the Twenty First Century, the architect, Charles Schwab, presents plans for 83 unique, completely accessible stock homes. Home construction blueprints and stock home plan revisions can be ordered as well as arrangements made for custom architectural services. Interviewing and listening to the needs of persons with disabilities led to several innovative features that had not been addressed earlier by universal designers. One of Schwab's unique features is clean indoor air. Several people also requested a safe room: a place of refuge in the case of natural or human-made disaster. As a result, Schwab designed a universal design bathroom that would also serve as a safe room accessible to a person using a wheelchair or anyone with limited mobility. Excerpts of the press release read: "This is the first Stock home plans book that combines Universal Design, Energy efficiency and Green building practices as well as optional SafeRoomsâ„¢ in every home plan. Thirty of the home plans are less than 2000 square feet and are affordably designed in the New Urbanism style for narrow lots for urban infill as well as retirement housing communities. We specify sustainable and low maintenance materials. The remaining homes are mostly less than 4000 square feet. Home types include in-law additions, empty nester, single family and duplexes. "The plan book also has an informative room-byroom description of features and benefits in the UD Smart home. This is a checklist and is included in an effort to be of use to advocates, agencies, builders and homeowners alike. This resource will be of use for those making home modifications and Universal designed home additions." Many of Schwab's ideas, based on the seven principles of universal design, can be used in church buildings as well as homes and businesses. The web site, www.universaldesignon-line.com contains sample designs. For additional information about the book of plans, contact Schwab by phone at 563-359-7524 or through email:charless-chwab@universaldesignon-line.com. Reading the Signs...A Can-Do Forum about accessibility for the whole church family, Dee Brauninger, Editor. Nebraska Conference

In our new church this year, I was approached by a member before Easter: Do Easter lilies bother you? No more than my beloved daffodils on Daffodil Sunday. Don't worry about it. The headache and nausea would only last a day. When did we start to acknowledge that people are more important than things? In the church of my childhood, a life-sized, rough-hewn crass stood before the altar on Easter morning. A tree split in half and laddered vertically and horizontally with Easter lilies given in memory or celebration greeted sunrise worshippers. EASTER WAS... opening the church door to the scent of Easter. We celebrated Easter quietly at our house. There was no fancy Easter dinner. By the time my mother, the organist, had played for all three services she went directly to bed with a sick headache. Nausea rose in my own throat an Easter, but I refused to make the flower connection. It was the holiest time of the year. I knew, however, that the best part was getting out into the fresh air again. I waited for the traditional Easter afternoon long walk by the lake. I detest artificial flowers in a church. Only the finest, real flowers are good enough - nothing fake. That attitude changed when a choir member in a parish early in my ministry said he would have to stop singing because the autumn flowers overpowered him. He could not catch his breath. From that point on, all flowers in that church were plastic. Later, and for the eight years we were in another church, there were silk Easter lilies of such a high quality that only the absence of their scent gave them away. An earlier member had to "get those lilies out of here." In our new church this year, I was approached by a member before Easter: Do Easter lilies bother you? No more than my beloved daffodils on Daffodil Sunday. Don't worry about it. The headache and nausea would only last a day. EASTER IS . . . the scent of lilies as we enter the sanctuary. I would not deprive one worshipper of that. We will position them so that I will be upwind, but the people can still smell them. I was at once moved by their concern and chagrined at myself. They were so far ahead of me in caring. I could have been the fall guy for someone else in the church with scent sensitivity. As my discomfort grew throughout the service, I wondered if I had placed the Easter lilies too close to someone in the pews. Do same folks not come at all to church because of another person's overpowering perfume or aftershave? How necessary are scented specialty candles, scented deodorizers in restrooms, and stuffy rooms that never know the refreshment of an open window? How can we learn to practice the fine art of being considerate of others in our churches so that we will have a chance to be considerate of others elsewhere? Slowly, even in the middle of summer, Easter dawns on us. People are always more important than things. EASTER WILL ALWAYS BE... far more than the scent of lilies greeting us at the church door. – db Reading the Signs columns are a gift from the Nebraska Conference for your use.

Rita Fiero, RN, is immediate past co chair of the UCCDM board. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Jeremiah 29:11 People with difficult speech, twisted bodies, or damaged brains have an authentic voice much of which is prophetic. From within experiences of disability and chronic illness, we offer the insight that God enters our being at the point of pain and vulnerability. We can model the transcendence of limitations of body or mind as the most powerful way to survive and grow toward wholeness. Hope for disabilities ministries flourishes in many places because we believe God in Christ, the Indiscriminate Host. The church has a committed group of wounded healers. For more than 25 years, UCC Disabilities Ministries has striven to honor Jesus' teaching of the inclusion of society's marginal, children and adults with disabilities and chronic illness. For more than ten years, the Mental Illness Network has educated the church about the plight of people with brain disorders. Inclusion is our right as children of God, also made in God's image, and as members of a faith tradition of servanthood. We need a new and revolutionary, an extravagant and radical, an extreme and uncompromising hospitality in the church if we are to remain faithful to the message of the Indiscriminate Host. We must admit to not recognizing the justice issues that impress the experience of disability euthanasia, genetic engineering, community based care alternatives to institutionalization and insurance parity for brain disorders on equal par with other medical conditions. We need to take seriously Christian education for children with disabilities and a seminary certificate program in Disability Ministry. Let us reach beyond an all inclusive view of disabilities ministry. God still gives us hope through improbable people.

From UCC DM Newsletter Archive

Persons experienced with disability, first responders and emergency workers need to be in conversation, says Rita Fiero. Read the article: Are persons with disabilities prepared for disasters?

Jeanne Tyler co-chairs the UCCDM board and is co-pastor of Saint Paul UCC, Lincoln, Nebraska He told them another parable: "The [realm of God] is like yeast which a woman took and . . . ." - Matthew 13:33 Slowly bubbling along with warm water and sugar, yeast grows as it rises into dough and bakes into bread. This image from Jesus' rich parable is especially apt for persons with disability and our call to serve. We have been around forever and have been bubbling slowly ever so slowly into the wholeness of life, bringing the church into the fullness of transformation along with all who have been marginalized, made invisible. With many and diverse gifts, some serve and others are served. Mostly invisible for years, persons with disability are everywhere in every race and culture. We are truly the yeast that is transforming to this church. Yeast bubbles, slowly and persistently raising the dough. Persons with disability slowly and persistently insist on our call to serve. I love the church. Here I first experienced acceptance and affirmation. Here I was included in its life. Here I began pulling my life together and trusting God. I gained courage to claim as mine the call to serve. Taken into community, I claim the community and as a member serve by offering my gifts. The church struggles with discovering us who have been invisible for so long. Called to serve as lay leaders, as ordained, as preachers and teachers, as missionaries, we often feel vulnerable to our own visibility. At times persons with disability make tremendous sacrifices in order to serve. The church has the temptation to see in my body only the image of brokenness and insist it be whole. I call the church to resist this temptation. I call the church to honor our call to serve in all settings of the church. The church that is made whole sees in our bodies the transformation that is called forth by the leaven to rise so that all may serve. The dough rises and is baked only to be broken and shared to make people whole.

From UCC DM Newsletter Archive

The following congregations were honored for their service and leadership on behalf of those experiencing a mental illness: First Church Congregational, Fairfield, Connecticut; Shepherd of the Hills, Congregational, Phoenix Arizona; First Congregational Church, Downers Grove, Illinois; University Congregational Church, Seattle, Washington.

"(Make) supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone... so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all goodness and dignity" (1 Tim. 2:1-2). Vulnerability pricks when one we know has Alzheimer's Disease. We shy at first hint of a fragile brain. Unnerved, we quake at our mental lapses. We cannot predict another's. What worked in last Sunday's conversation may not today. To keep a church a welcoming place, members sustain personal dignity by finding active, comforting ways to relate to those enduring AZ. When the Rev. Carl Kemper could attend United Church of Christ, First Congregational in Crete, he appreciated greetings from many even without knowing names. Some invited Carl to sit with them so Betty could play bells and sing in choir. In early stages, chatting without pressuring question or expectation, as if he understood fully, offered Carl a message of respect. AZ is about our remembering who a person was and whose he is. AZ is about our forgetting what is right with him. Become his memory. Replay his life's relevance. Focus on what he can do and enjoy. Keep talk simple. Introduce yourself, telling your relationship. Use name tags. Say "Tell me more" during memory talk. Ask yes/no questions. Give time to answer. Talk about real things. Using the same words, repeat sentences when necessary. Gently distract during frustration. Avoid correcting, arguing, or attempting to reason. Provide appropriate touch. Then embrace the curious relief you feel when your friend releases you by no longer knowing you. Surprisingly, this also frees us for a new relationship. Talk becomes a unique setting aside of ourselves to engage in a new listening and joining in whatever is the focus of the moment. In this living moment, tone of voice communicates. During these visits that require greatness of spirit, we accept another without reservation. We hope that somehow he knows we acknowledge the inner nature, which no disease can destroy. Writing for the Disabilities Ministries Traveling Exhibit about their AZ journey, Betty Kemper drew us closer to appreciating spousal grief. "Like an onion, one layer of memory at a time peels away. I have lost a companion, lover, and helpmate of 55 years." With the pace of Carl's AZ accelerating, Betty teaches us further about partner support. "The silence (of others) is the hardest thing - worse than a physical death. People know how to act then. They bring casseroles and love," she said. Ask spouses how things are. As word spread that Carl had moved into the AZ unit, Betty welcomed letters from friends in previous churches. Let them know by note or phone call that they remain on your prayer list. Showing concern "I'm sorry this has happened" or "I'm praying for you and your mate" helps throughout the chaos. With AZ, we have little access to someone's "inner nature (that) is being renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:16). With her husband unable to attend a class reunion, Betty asked what his prayer would be for his classmates. From somewhere inside him, Carl answered, "To trust in God so they can face the difficult times in life." - db (For additional information about AZ, see www.mayohealth.org.) This Reading the Signs column is published with the permission of Betty Kemper and with the blessing of the Nebraska Conference.

Pastor and 13-year-old acolyte, both wheelchair users, have ramp to access the chancel. Lincoln's Northeast UCC 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." Scott says of Diana, "Not everybody has a minister who gets around in a wheelchair. The first time I met Diana, I felt happy. We both have a person who knows what we go through. It (her ministry) says people can do whatever they want to do." Northeast's first chancel ramp had allowed Scott to light candles with his friends, but he needed a push from his dad. The present ramp, built after the minister's arrival, follows proper incline code. "It's a pretty caring church," he said. "Now Diana and I are thinking about getting downstairs-. Things like this tell people in wheelchairs that we won't banish you from our church if you come in." "Diana is a role model," Jerry Pigsley said, "a godsend in that this was my son's confirmation year, so their relationship is even deeper: Clergy with disabilities have much to share on a spiritual basis. Diana has broken many disability stereotypes." As access committee member, Pigsley has seen his church "expand in spirit to look beyond chair and disability. However," he said, "resolving the puzzles of making a church fully welcoming takes time." Joe Geist, moderator when the interim began, said his church is more in tune now that Northeast must continue to increase accessibility, "no by law, but from the human aspect People like Diana have so much to offer that to overlook that gift because you are not ready to provide the necessary things..." Necessary things include chance ramp, accessible main floor bathrooms minimal close-in parking, and remova of the front door offset. Trustees an checking into expanded parking electric door openers, and lower level accessibility. All members will benefit. Resources, such as statewide Barrier Removal and Information Centers (800-476-9700), are available for free, onsite consultation. Stewardship Committee Chair Nancy Harms said the church set aside a fund for accessibility issues. She said she has grown in tolerance and awareness of things she once took for granted. "I hope people here have learned that we would want for others what you would want for yourself." Diana Coberly said that several individuals at Northeast have changed forever because of her presence. "They may even speak up down the road and translate that into changes we will see in this church. Changing attitudinal habits takes time. I once took repeated insensitivity personally. Now, I understand that the change which allows persons with disabilities to participate fully in the life of the church only happens once it is in people's hearts." - db Reading the Signs Columns are shared for sharing by the Nebraska Conference.

Written by Tony Lewis

In 1993, just before General Synod 19 in St. Louis, my partner, Donald Lawrence, and I, Tony Lewis, stayed with a Presbyterian couple. Since Donald is Deaf, they offered to take us to a Deaf church near their home. The experience was invigorating and resulted in us feeling a call to become involved in a Deaf congregation when we returned home. We visited all the churches with a Deaf ministry in our area and found that none of them had a theology anything close to the UCC. This led us to start a house church that met in our home. We had as many as ten people come and participate in Bible study, but the number soon dwindled down until it was only another couple, both of whom are Deaf, and us. As often happens, the other couple's life and schedule became complicated and our effort fizzled out. We were disappointed that our dream of a Deaf UCC congregation did not come to pass. At the time, we didn't realize that God was working on a different schedule than we were. Just before Lent this year, the couple who had come to Bible study in our home called us. Another couple, one of whom is Deaf, had moved to the area and had found their way to Eden United Church of Christ in Hayward. We agreed to try worshiping at Eden and for the first three months, I interpreted the worship services. The six of us engaged in a dialogue with the pastor and the church leaders about how the church could be supportive of the Deaf community. On May 2, 1999, the Eden congregation voted to allocate outreach funds to pay for American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters for one year. We have contacted interpreters to establish a schedule and we now have six interpreters who sign up to insure that we have an interpreter available at every worship service. There have been a few rough edges with some "no shows" for the interpreter, which has been frustrating for the Deaf members of the congregation. We are working to resolve these problems. On Pentecost Sunday the couple who came to Bible study in our home, Donald, and I all joined the church. The congregation has been very receptive and supportive of this new community in its midst. Many in the church have requested an opportunity to learn more about ASL and Deaf culture; we are looking into the possibility of having classes in the fall. With a commitment to have an interpreter available every Sunday, we will be able to do outreach into the Deaf community. We're convinced there are Deaf people in the Bay Area who are looking for a church where diverse opinions are respected. We have already had several Deaf visitors and look forward to seeing many more. I intend to continue interpreting worship on average about once a month. I consider it an active part of my ministry in the church, but it is also a pleasure to be able to sit in the congregation and simply worship. Please keep this new Deaf ministry at Eden United Church of Christ in your prayers. (Hayward UCC may be contacted at 21455 Birch Street, Hayward, CA 94541, tel: 510-582-9533.) Editor's note: Tony Lewis shared a particular insight in a note received separately which may be of interest to the reader. It is as follows: "This is really exciting for us. For the first time-in our relationship, Don will be able to go to church when I'm out of town (which is much too often between UCC meetings and business travel.) Also, I'll be able to go to church without working every Sunday. While I plan to continue to interpret once a month or so, having a budget for paid interpreters will mean that I will be freed up to participate in worship in other ways. It has been years since I've been able to sing in the choir or be the lay leader during worship."

From UCC DM Newsletter Archive

Glade UCC is in Frederick County MD.

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Romans 15:7, NRSV)

Recently, after a funeral in a community near Walkersville, NM, the daughter-in-law of the deceased was talking with David Denham. She shared that she grew up in the Glade Reformed Church. He responded by commenting on how wonderful it is that Glade has redesigned its facilities to be accessible, to which this woman responded, "Now my mother, who uses a wheelchair, can go to church again." This mother was present on March 15, 1998 when Glade UCC rededicated and celebrated its modified church facilities. Glade UCC, founded in 1750, a congregation with deep German Reformed roots, is located in Frederick County, MD. The current facilities were built in 1896, a time when church structures characteristically were multi-level. In 1995 the Rev. Dr. Gerald Hanberry, the newly called pastor, arrived. He was seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit for a faith-based project, with a message of being open to all, that would guide his congregation into the Twenty-First Century. Gerry found that people wanted to reshape their facility so that all would be welcome regardless of one's physical capacities. This required the redesigning of an older multi-level structure so that the hallways and pathways, bathrooms and meeting rooms, the sanctuary, with the exception of the chancel area, and educational facilities would be accessible. They did it! Glade found support from the conference and association. The Central Atlantic IDA Task Force (Task Force on Issues of Disability and Accessibility) was a resource for information such as how to engage an architect. The Catoctin Association Church Development Commission provided a $500 start-up grant which was used to hire an architect. The modifications cost $515,000 with the UCC Cornerstone Fund (of the Board for Homeland Ministries, Division of Evangelism and Local Church Development), a resource designed to help local churches proceed with such undertakings, providing a $185,000 loan. After a church makes its facility accessible, it may not realize that accessibility is more than a physical reality. The atmosphere at the church needs to reflect that accessibility and be a warm and inviting place. The pastor, Gerry Hanberry, talked about what has happened at Glade to make that occur. "We have talked a lot about what it looks like, what it feels like, and what it means to move from a welcoming to an inviting to a sending church. We have placed greeters at the entrance doors of the building not just inside the sanctuary. Greeters and ushers wear name tags. We have added large print bulletins as well as hearing devices. With people in wheelchairs almost all the time now, this has raised peoples' awareness. "Before we were accessible the perception was that no one needed the accessibility; (that) there were no people with disabilities. Now that we are accessible, and there, in fact, are people with physical disabilities (participating), the attitude has changed. "Our theme is 'everyone can come in the front door.' We have talked about what that means. We have also had a series of workshops during Lent, 1998 on 'Living Together in Community with our Differences ... in: Age, Race, Sexual Orientation, and Religion.' This was well attended and people were very thoughtful in their responses."
(The editor has had occasion to attend Glade for Sunday worship and can affirm that it is a joy to worship and participate in the life of such a welcoming congregation.)

What are the ingredients of change? In the case of Glade UCC, we witness from its people an empowering faith vision. Too, we observe a meaningful network of support from the association, conference, and the wider church. NCPWD is ready to guide your church to needed resources and to lend support. There are written resources to help you get started. There are people resources, persons from other churches who have had experiences with church accessibility issues and with resolving the problems. Within the Division of Evangelism and Local Church Development/United Church Board for Homeland Ministries there are the UCC Fellowship of Architects and financial resources for local churches. Does your conference have a Task Force or Committee dedicated to accessibility like the IDA TF of the Central Atlantic Conference? Such a group is central to developing conference-wide energy focused on accessibility. NCPWD can assist your Conference with starting a Task Force or Committee with the help of someone with experience.

From UCC DM Newsletter Archive