Right now our church is having a sidewalk built beside the church and leading to the parish hall to allow for greater access and accessibility between the two buildings and the parking lot. Well, one thing leads to another and in the great big discussion of all of this, we have gotten into a study/exploration of how accessible our church is to those who may have some reason where our church is not as easy to access as it could be.
What started off as the accessibility for those who may have some mobility differences (wheelchairs, canes, and walkers come to mind), branched out into other areas to explore: those who may have hearing or vision impairments, appropriate lighting, proxmity of restrooms to the worship space, etc.
My question(s) to you is this:
What accessibility issues do you have at church?
Which accessibility issues have been addressed and implemented?
If you were to give advice to a group of folks working on this project, what would it be?
Any suggestions Welcome!
It is a legal issue in the UK, if we don't have suitable access for wheelchair users, ( including access to the communion rail) disabled toilet facilities and designated parking spacer, hymn books and Bibles in braile, and a sound loop, we are breaking the law.
In some of our smaller Chapels this is a nightmare to implement... we have until 2010!
Posted by: Sally | April 21, 2008 at 10:54 PM
Wow, Sally I had no idea. That's harsh. What if there is no one in the church who is blind?
At our church the only accessibility issue that's huge right now is the capital campaigns accessibility into the members' pocketbooks!! ;)
Seriously, we're pretty good, all things considered on that front.
Posted by: Presbyterian Gal | April 22, 2008 at 12:20 AM
One of the best resources I've found for this is from the National Organization on Disability. They publish an excellent book called "That All May Worship." You can find out more
by visiting www.nod.org and clicking on Religion & Disability along the left hand column.
Posted by: Jen | April 22, 2008 at 01:09 AM
Sally, my understand is that churches are exempt to the requirements. I can see the issues with small churches since we are a small congregation.
Jen, thanks for the resource - this looks right up my alley!
Posted by: Cathy | April 22, 2008 at 06:51 AM
Cathy, I think churches in the US are exempt because we have separate church and state - not so in the UK. In the US it is a little more complicated as I think when you try to do accessibility improvements, you need to comply with the regs. The suggestion of the booklet is good. In my old church we had steps everywhere - the sanctuary was built first and then the parish house, slightly different level. Over years we achieved ramping and a lift, though I'm not sure if the chancel is accessible yet. (Where choir stands and the Scripture reader and who ever is preaching are.) Our basement gym and second floor fellowship hall are still not accessible AFAIK. Current church still worse in some ways as parish house is across the street - a problem for many reasons. Sanctuary is accessible but choir is in a balcony which isn't; and there are steps to the chancel as well. Plans for expanding our space do include a number of accessibility improvements.
I would also say that lighting is important even for those of us whose only handicap is nearsightedness and aging eyes. I choose my spot based on lighting.
Presbyterian Gal, just because no one in the church is blind today doesn't mean no one will be tomorrow; goes for other disabilities too. And we do try to be welcoming! A church where I worked had a Braille hymnal which was used once a year, Christmas Eve. But we did large print bulletins/hymns every week.
The larger issue of being welcoming comes into play here too. If you can find someone who has never been to a church before, see if you can get them to come to yours and debrief them on the experience afterwards. Is the little star that means "Stand up" explained in the program? If you sing Taize songs, do you tell how many repetitions? (A pet peeve of mine at my church)I went to the local Episcopal church a few times, really nice people, but there was no music included for the sung responses. Even though I don't really sightsing, the notes help me enough that I want them when dealing with unfamiliar music.
When I worked as a church admin in a Lutheran church with many visitors and somewhat involved liturgy (2 worship/hymn books plus other great stuff the pastor found) we ended up printing most everything in the bulletin (getting a license from OneLicense.net) to make things easier for the visitor.
My current church lists the page number in the pew bibles as well as the chapter and verse citation for those who might not be experts at "Sword Drill." They also print out the Lord's Prayer - yes, we say it with debts instead of trespasses but also, there may be someone who's never learned it!
Sorry this is so long, just a few of my many thoughts. (Don't get me started on gluten-free communion bread....)
Posted by: Auntie Knickers | April 22, 2008 at 08:00 AM
but your parking lot...needs to be accessible and have ADA-compliant spaces. I think that's for everyone.
We have hearing assistance...little boxes with headphones that are connected to the PA system channel for the sermonizer (ok the preacher). That person is not always/usually the celebrant, but at least the sermon can be understood.
And it is a good thing, our rector can be mushmouthed. We have a hard time understanding him from up in the loft.
Posted by: Mary Beth | April 22, 2008 at 04:47 PM