"The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
There is no other commandment greater than these."

~ Mark 12:31

Making Room for All Our Neighbors

Imagine you have just found out that your loved one's life has been completely altered, that they will never be the same again. This was my experience back in 2007 when my daughter Natalie was severely injured in an accident, resulting in a traumatic brain injury and loss of her eyesight.  We learned that she would be disabled for the rest of her life. During this time, my relationship with God was the most intense it had ever been. I knew that without God, Natalie would not be here; I also knew that I would need God's help for the road ahead. The power of prayer was never more prevalent than during that time, and I felt that God was truly beside me.

Through this journey, my eyes have been opened to the struggles that other people with disabilities have had to endure. Whether the disability was something they were born with or if they became disabled through illness or injury, the feelings of frustration, fear, anger, and isolation that can accompany living with and/or caring for someone with a disability are often shared. One of Saint John's core values is inclusion, and that extends to all. Knowing that "all are welcome" really means something here spurred a group of us to action.

Several years ago, we decided to create a committee to ensure that the needs of this community of people were kept in mind. Today, the Accessibility Ministries Team has representation on several church committees to offer the valuable perspective of disabled persons within the context of designing meaningful worship and activities for all. Support is important for people with disabilities, as well as their caregivers, to ensure that they can be fully included in the life of the church. 

While there will always be more work to accomplish towards our goal of total inclusion, our team has already done a lot! Here are some of the highlights:

• We consulted on the redesign of sanctuary seating a few years back to accommodate more wheelchairs and made more chairs available for folks whose aren't able to navigate seating in the pews.
• We have advocated for implementing the use of screens during the service so that people can read prayers and hymn lyrics in large print, and we've placed a supply of reading glasses at the back of the sanctuary for those who need magnification.
• We have utilized assistive listening technology in the sanctuary that can work with an individual's own hearing aids to help them hear better.
• We are encouraged by plans to update the first-floor bathrooms with a design that can better accommodate wheelchairs. 

Our work is nowhere near done, though! As Maayan Ziv, founder and CEO of Access Now, an accessibility advocacy group that helps connect people to accessible spaces, says: "Accessibility is not a checkbox. Accessibility is a mindset that can lead to a very powerful sense of inclusion." Together at Saint John's, we have begun the work of making our church a welcoming and accessible space for all and together we'll continue the work. I am grateful for the work of this community for the love and support shown, not only to me and my family, but to all our neighbors, no matter their abilities.