Jess Hoffert
Standing and Knocking at the Door:
Accessibility in
the Church “I’m going to let you in on a dirty little secret. The church is not accessible. And it doesn’t have to be.” That’s how Katie Smith began her presentation to a group of nearly 50 engaged listeners at last month’s COB Young Adult Conference at Camp Blue Diamond in Huntingdon County, Penn.
Brethren service opportunities such as workcamps. “When you have a disability, you have two options: suck it up or be segregated.” She hopes that in the future, the wider church will consider workcamps and camp programs that are less physically demanding and sensory-friendly. The denomination does offer a “We Are Able” workcamp each year for those with intellectual disabilities.
Smith challenged the group at this year’s Young Adult Conference to take a minority-first approach to church, Smith, who has just received a Master’s degree in Disability Studies from the City University of New York’s School of Pro- considering those with special needs while planning worship fessional Studies, cited the 1990 Americans with Disabilities services and wider activities. Act (ADA), which does not apply to religious organizations. Considerations include railSmith grew up in rural Appalachia, where coming of age with ings and easy-to-open doors for those with mobility issues, a physical disability can be a challenge. According to Smith, there are still people who cling to the idea that a person’s dis- closed captioning for those ability is directly connected to the committing of sin. “I’ve had who are hard of hearing, large print copies of sermons and random people give me ‘tips’ on how to be healed on church trips,” Smith says. “I’ve had people pray over me when I was other materials for the visually impaired, sensory-friendly visiting sick relatives in the hospital.” activities for people with autism, and dietary accommodaThis “moral model” of disability has since become widely discredited, but Smith believes there’s much more work to be tions such as gluten-free bread at communion or sugar-free done for full acceptance and accommodation of people with physical and intellectual disabilities, especially in the church. treats during children’s story. “Just being aware of the issue and asking ‘What can we do?’ means a lot,” says Smith. “The cost of being accessible is a fair concern, but a lot of what can be done doesn’t have to cost a lot or take much.” Smith credits her home church, Central COB in the Virlina district, for moving the youth room from the 3rd floor to the 1st floor after one of her major surgeries so she could continue to participate. An additional challenge for Smith has been participating in
“People are disabled, not by their bodies, but by a society that is not accessible to them,” Smith says. “We, as the church, should want function as Christ would. To me, this means including everyone, not excluding those that don’t look or act as you do.”
