A Church for Everyone: Access and Welcome in the Family of Christ
Emily with her brothers Andrew and Zachary
A note from Sara: This is a guest post from my sister-in-law, Emily Van Kleeck. I’ve learned so much from her over the years, and I trust you will too.
In 2003, my life became defined by disability. A car accident took the use of my legs and ushered me into a world of dependence -- dependence, in large part, on the goodwill, generosity, and forethought of others to make the world accessible for this independent, headstrong, frustrated wheelchair user.
Now, 18 years later, although the world has come a very long way to becoming inclusive to those with disabilities of all kinds, the able-bodied still struggle in their desire to understand the experiences of disabled people, to anticipate needs and understand the weight of having to lean on others for equality.
As an able-bodied young person, I never once took note of whether a building was ADA compliant. I never worried about whether a person with mobility needs could enter a building or if they could easily reach all the floors, bathrooms, dressing rooms, get between aisles and racks. It just never occurred to me. As a wheelchair user, I have experienced both apologetic embarrassment and unapologetic dismissiveness when a building is not accessible, even though current law demands it. Most businesses and buildings that are exempt from ADA specifications use the excuse that they don’t “have any disabled customers” or that the building’s historical integrity and architectural style does not allow for ramped access. Perhaps those businesses make a half-hearted attempt at compliance by sloppily constructing a steep concrete ramp on the back of the building.
What I’ve learned in the last 18 years is that there is a profound difference between functional accessibility and a welcoming environment. A business may make their accessibility decisions based on their clientele -- and the law -- but as the Church, we are called to go beyond basic, minimal accessibility and consider how welcoming we are to those with more challenges. Instead of viewing our church members and attendees as clients or customers, we are a family! And, we’re a family that is growing all the time. At any point in our gathering, we could have a family member suffer an accident and become physically disabled, we could have a new baby born into the family with neurodivergence or a cognitive disability. Whether through birth, accident, or age, we all face the inevitability of disability, and we should be prepared to bear each other’s burdens and fulfill the law of Christ through welcoming accessibility.
In my personal experience, I will attest to avoiding any building, store, business or area that is unaccessible, even if I have someone with me that could help me, just because I feel inherently unwelcome. If we, as the family of Christ, want everyone to feel welcome, we must make our buildings and ministries accessible in as many ways as is reasonable (I say that because it is impossible to anticipate and respond to every potential need, but by and large, we can attempt to find as many ways as possible to accommodate). Accessibility also communicates that we are willing and happy to accommodate when the need is made known.
I have been an active part of churches for my entire life, and I now work for a ministry that centers disabled people and their needs. In working with churches over the years, I’ve experienced several themes emerging:
We often view accessibility purely in the “ministering TO” sense and not the “ministering WITH” sense. For example: A person in a wheelchair can get into the main building, but can they get to the basement to teach Sunday school? Can they PARTICIPATE in the ministry rather than just be the recipient of the ministry? Accessibility is so important, because it changes the emphasis from pity, condescension, and the perception that the disabled are to be helped, to an emphasis that recognizes the disabled as enthusiastic partners in the ministry. My brothers with a Down Syndrome diagnosis are given ways to minister at their church, for example, as they light the candles and help take the offering. Nearly all of the ways the abled-bodied minister in the church can be filled by those with disabilities.
Disability is uncomfortable. Seeing someone with a physical or cognitive disability can cause feelings of sadness or insecurity, and able-bodied people are often unsure of how to respond or act. Encouraging participation by those with disabilities can drastically improve how disabled people are treated and integrated into our daily lives, as everyone becomes more comfortable around differences. What better way to do that than to open our hearts to those with challenges in our church family!
Churches often make participating much easier than leading and serving. When I lead the singing at my current church, where I’ve been active for about 7 years now, I have to sit in front of the steps instead of being on stage due to there not being a ramp to the stage. Also, Sunday school/ Children’s Ministry, where I have always been and love to be useful, is completely off limits for me, due to being in the basement and completely inaccessible. I also do not attend Adult Sunday groups for the same reason. So, there are places people could be a blessing and ministry to others, but due to inaccessibility, they will feel useless, unwanted, or not be able to fulfill the ministries that God may lay on their hearts. All members of a family should have both the ability and opportunity to serve and minister as God leads them.
Accessibility is often perceived as niche. When I am trying to find a “Home Church,” I’m looking for the best fit for my family. There are many church options, and many reasons to become part of a particular family of believers, but for those with disabilities, too often Church A is known as the “Blind Church” or Church B is known as the “Deaf Church,” because they have the “Deaf Service” for the area. In our area we even have the “Wheelchair Church” that has all entrances accessible and has a chair lift to the basement, because the pastor’s son had a degenerative disease and was a wheelchair user. So, it’s often assumed that I attend that church because I’m in a wheelchair. I have visited that church often and have friends that attend there, but it’s not my family and wasn’t the church that most felt like home to me, even with the accessibility. Every church should have the ability to absorb and welcome any prospective family member -- and one of the most basic ways is accessibility.
So, how can you make your church more welcoming to disability? I’m so glad you asked! While the particulars of every congregation are different, asking the right questions is a good first step:
How can we make sure that those with disabilities can best serve the church?
Can disabled people get on stage?
Can they sing in the choir? Can they lead singing?
Can they teach?
Can they serve in the kitchen? The nursery?
Are children with neurodiversity thought of when we make the Busy Bags that children use to be occupied during the services?
While you might not be able to completely renovate your building to make it fully accessible immediately, there are things every church could do right away.
For example, consider making Noise Reduction headphones available to kiddos (or adults) with noise sensitivities; fidget toys and weighted scarves could be available to help with calmness, if needed. We can have baskets with standard options as well, color books and crayons, magnet drawing boards, and LED drawing boards. Having options for more neurodiverse kids is a wonderful way to be welcoming.
And as you think through next steps, here are some bonus accessibility ideas!
Fellowship Halls: In Fellowship areas, keeping the tables further apart to make sure wheelchairs can get through spaces easily is often overlooked.
Pews vs Chairs: If a church has pews, it’s important to have more than one cut away for a wheelchair user. If chairs can be used, this is even more accessible.
A Shower: If space allows, having an accessible shower in the building can be very useful. There have been many times when I have had bladder and bowel issues that having a shower would have reduced the need for me to leave during an event. I usually bring a set of clothes and supplies with me, so if I had a shower to clean up in, I would have been able to stay. A shower could also be useful to the parents of a disabled child with incontinence issues as well. I know from experience with my younger, disabled siblings, that cleaning up a bowel accident is much more complicated with the child is 14 and 150lbs, and most families with disabled older children can attest to the challenges of taking those children out in public due to bathroom issues.
Sunday School/ Children’s Workers: Consider having Sunday school teachers and children’s service workers go through basic training for working with disabilities, particularly the Spectrum or Cognitive disabilities. This would be a wonderful way to serve the families with disabled children who would otherwise not bring their children or come at all due to behavioral issues.
Christ welcomed. Full stop. Christ called children; people who were sick, infirm, unable to walk or see; people who were disadvantaged, neurodiverse, and on the margins of society. We, the Family of Christ, should do the same within the confines of our world -- not as an afterthought, but in joyful anticipation. We show the welcome of Christ through accessibility, not only into our buildings and onto our stages, but into our lives, our hearts... and our church family.
Emily Van Kleeck is the Director of Outreach, Social Media and Worship at Luvability Ministries. A paraplegic since the age of 22, she is dedicated to disability inclusion in all aspects of faith and life. Emily has been married to her husband, Michael, for 18 years and together they have 4 precocious children, who will, undoubtedly, change the world.