Disability Awareness Day

BY LEVI DUGGAN

Xzavion often serves as a greeter to churchgoers at our new church plant. A big part of ability inclusion is making sure that everyone’s included in service in the church.

He can use his skills of incredible friendliness, and love for people to make guests feel welcome. Kiah is a 10-yearold in our church who is on the autism spectrum. She particularly loves yoga on Wednesday nights during our children’s ministry time. There are many ways to make people of differing abilities feel included and welcome and safe in your church spaces. The name of the game is flexibility. In addition, it’s really important to focus on listening to the voices of those who experience different abilities.

March 5th, 2024 marks People with Disabilities Awareness Day (PWDAD). Often caregivers, advocates, and people with disabilities will visit the Capitol in Oklahoma City to meet with legislators and discuss pressing issues of accessibility, health care, caregiving, and education. Then in the afternoon, we make our way over to the Oklahoma History Center where scores of tables are set up with various information including assistive technology, adult group homes, therapy and respite options, and more.

Xzavion greets members and visits with a smile at Ceili Community. Photos by Levi Duggan.

What can you do this week to support PWDAD? This is a moment each year where churches and followers of Christ are invited to reflect on disability, to consider your worship spaces and programming, and ask if there are ways to improve accessibility or outreach to families impacted by disability. While it makes a lot of sense to add supports like noise canceling headphones or sensory fidgets to your worship experience, the best place to start in becoming more ability inclusive is to listen to the voices of people in your congregation who are impacted by disability. Here are some ideas on how to get started:

● Start an Ability Inclusion Task Force and invite individuals of all abilities to serve

● Utilize the free United Methodist Accessibility Audit, which the Conference asks about every year on your annual reports!

● Consider more training for Children and Youth leaders in the area of special needs. If maximal inclusion is a focus or passion of your church, you can go to my website for resources that include everyone.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is 2 Corinthians Chapter

5. I love verses 14 and 15 which read: “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.” One of the reasons I love these words so much is that they connect life to service. Our truest and best life comes when we live for others, when we strive to serve and love others. When we live for Christ, we are compelled to love people. One of the most important questions any church can ask themselves is: who are we leaving out?

So often, this includes individuals with disabilities who do not feel included for physical, cultural, or relational reasons. If the sermons, songs, worship liturgy, and ministry programs all assume ability first, it becomes difficult to retrofit inclusion on the back end. Instead, work to listen to others, to live for them, and constantly seek new ways of including those who are left out the most. This is the best way to respond to the invitation that is People With Disabilities Awareness Day.

Kiah enjoys Wednesday night yoga with the children’s ministry at Ceili Community.