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Day 2: How Can Churches Overcome Ableism?

Presenters:

Rev. Melinda Baber
Deaconess Lynn Swedberg

from the Disability Ministries Committee of the United Methodist Church

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Introduction

Why we are here in this space with you:

Melinda Lynn

We bring our experience and our own struggles with ableism.
We acknowledge what you bring to this space.

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Melinda description and brief intro: I am an immigrant's daughter, bi-racial, middle-aged, cisgendered woman with rainbow-colored eyeglasses, green eyes, long, curly brown hair and no jewelry or makeup. English is my first language.

Lynn description: I am a northern-European woman with shoulder-length brown hair that is beginning to show some gray. I wear glasses and am smiling. The top of my Deaconess scarf is showing.

Lynn: Those of us who do not have disabilities need to do our homework and self-examination, then learn and practice new skills. It is not the duty of disabled people to educate anyone about ableism!

[Lynn personal story about going out to eat with members of the disability ministry committee and being uncomfortable with everyone staring at our group that included people with a variety of visible disabilities]

Melinda: Those of us who have disabilities also need to unpack our ableism which is the product of our society and upbringing, including the values we have found in the church.

[Melinda personal story: assumptions about the characteristics of God and what it means for me to be autistic, and made in the image of God. If crocodiles were the dominant communicators of culture, to an ableist crocodile, sharks might be deemed broken, of less value, and not belonging in the world, not able to exercise autonomy, and disabled, because they are "stuck" in the ocean, living as aquatic animals, without bones, without legs or lungs, and are not able to walk and are not amphibious.

Likewise, my dominant culture, and much of Protestant Christian theologies, tell me I am broken, I need healing, I am of less value, I don't belong-- in a regular classroom, out in public, in the church, and in ordained ministry.

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Hebrews 11:1: “Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see.” (CEB)�

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Image description: A rounded beige ceramic candleholder with the words Let your light shine Matthew 5:16. The tip of the candle flame is showing, and the candle lid lis eaning on its side against the holder. The background is yellow-green.

Melinda continued: I have to overcome those messages and prove my self, my worth, my competency, my place, my Call; and I've had to fight for my autonomy, my right to make decisions about my body, my needs, my ministry, and my life. What I need is deemed of less importance by the dominant ableist culture than what others need: health insurance companies deny what doctors and therapies and supports I need, mental health resources are scarce or unaffordable, and the church often treats my needs as optional or an impediment, a lack of faith, or a burden.

So…What do we hope and dream for in our congregations?

Ableism is easy to see once you start looking, but what is the opposite of ableism? What does belonging and full participation look like? What does radical hospitality feel like? Full inclusion is nearly invisible when done right, but worship and fellowship look different than they did before.

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1. Start with yourself

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Start with yourself – the only person you have any control over!

Prayerfully examine your own

Heart and mind
Assumptions and attitudes
Home
Habits

One method: explore the concept of “Able Privilege”

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Able Privilege Checklist

These scenarios may help us recognize the often-unacknowledged privilege, or unearned advantages, of people who do not live with disabilities. May this stimulate thoughtful and prayerful reflection!

Ask yourself: how often do I make these assumptions?
Some of these statements may not be true for you because some of us have multiple identities that erase some of our advantages.
The point of the exercise is not to blame or shame anyone, but to help us come alongside each other to break down barriers to participation.

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Are these assumptions true for you?

Detailed information is readily available describing how well the church facilities and programs can meet my needs, and I seldom arrive to find that the information I found on-line or was given is not accurate.
It is easy for me to get to the church any time of the day, any day of the week, with my usual means of transportation.
If I drive, I anticipate easily finding a parking place wide enough for me to exit my vehicle and to use the sidewalk that leads to the building or venue.
I assume I can sit with friends or family anywhere I like within the room when I attend worship, Sunday School, and fellowship time.
I can count on easily exiting a room and building in case of an emergency, and don’t really think about this issue.

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Are these assumptions true for you?

I can understand the speaker from anywhere in the room, and I can follow a service or presentation even if only spoken words, projected words, images, or gestures are used.
Bulletins, handouts, and agendas are provided in a format that I can use.
Parishioners do not ask me what is wrong with me, offer unsolicited medical advice, expect me to share personal medical information, or insist on praying for me to be healed.
When I meet new people, they don’t typically interact awkwardly with me.
I have the sense that if I become a part of this congregation, I will be asked to use my gifts to serve in leadership positions.

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1. More self-reflection ideas

Keep alert and start looking for examples of ableism in the physical environment, the media, and in social interactions.
Examine your own needs related to your church experience.

Do you really need a quiet worship environment, or is that a habit or preference?

Keep a journal to record your insights, responses, and intentions.

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Three things that individuals can do to begin dismantling ableism

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2. Develop a support system

Set goals for:

your growth in understanding ableism
doing something about what you learn

Identify persons who can support your journey and growth, e.g.,

your pastor or spiritual director
a coach or mentor
a friend or co-worker

Exchange ideas and information, e.g., read and discuss articles

Attend events together.

Serve as accountability partners and check in regularly with each other.

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3. Serve as a church partner or helper

Ministry is not done in isolation.
As partners we can serve alongside other members for ministry and outreach in the church and community.
Through doing ministry together we can build relationships across differences.
You might teach your partner what it’s like to participate in church in your “shoes.”
Be open to receiving as well as giving support.

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Remember that Jesus sent the 72 out 2 by 2 to proclaim the kingdom of God had drawn near.

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Five things that congregations can do

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1. Complete an accessibility audit

Do the audit through the lens of ableism.

Look for assumptions made in the architecture and ministries:

Who is this space designed for and who is left out?
Who is this program designed for and who is left out?
Who is this lesson, sermon, media, or communication designed for and who is left out?
What are the unspoken expectations regarding how people should act in this space?

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2. Start an accessibility and inclusion team�

Survey members with disabilities to determine priorities.
Set congregational goals based on the audit findings.
Monitor and educate the committees involved to ensure that progress is made – and celebrate that progress!
Discover how welcoming your website is from the perspective of access information, screen reader use, and low vision.
Publicize team activities and disability awareness information in the church newsletter or on bulletin boards.
Close each session by identifying concrete actions to take and who will take responsibility.

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3. Start a discussion group

Make sure to practice accessibility with

captioning enabled
descriptions of anything visual
documents provided digitally ahead of time.

Offer virtual participation for people who cannot join in person.
Offer alternatives or coaching for the less tech-savvy.

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Discussion group topics

Work through and discuss documents from the Ableism Toolkit,

Understanding Ableism article
Able Privilege
Dos and Don'ts of Being a Disability Ally
Ableist Microaggressions
Ableism Glossary
Skit: “Can you believe it?

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Excerpt from “Dos and Don’ts for the Disability Ally”

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DO	DON’T
DO LISTEN DEEPLY Hear the stories, concerns, hurts. Believe what you hear. Acknowledge the pain and injustice.	DON’T …interrupt, rationalize, or get defensive. …say anything – just listen! …quote scripture or theology.

7. DO ADVOCATE Challenge unjust policies and laws. Ask for feedback and follow the lead of persons with disabilities. Pick your battles but keep the goal of an inclusive society in mind.	DON’T …assume someone else will do it, or that someone with a disability will want to be the advocate for all disability issues. …jump in without knowing the facts and the history of the situation.

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From “Ableist Microaggressions”

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Microaggression	Examples
Denial of privacy of body, space, or information	Requesting a child’s IEP school documents before allowing participation in Sunday School; sharing diagnoses with other children and parents. Asking conference registrants about their disabilities rather than about the accommodations needed. Applying Safe Sanctuary children’s rules to adults with disabilities.
Assumed or forced helplessness	Insisting on lifting a person in their wheelchair up some steps. Bringing the potluck/ fellowship food to one who cannot access the space rather than moving the potluck/ fellowship. Not asking people with disabilities to serve as leaders. Removing wheelchairs, walkers, and crutches and making the person needing them ask and wait to get them back.

What is a microaggression? This is an insult or slight, a disrespectful comment to or about a marginalized person that can be deliberate or committed innocently with good but uninformed intentions. While single incidents seem harmless to the person who says them, the cumulative effect of frequent such statements causes trauma and treats persons as the “other”.

Source of list of microaggressions: Keller, Richard M. & Galway, Corrine E. (2010). Microaggressive Experiences of People with Disabilities in Derald Wing Sue Microaggressions and Marginality: Manifestation, Dynamics, and Impact, pp. 241-267. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved at https://in.nau.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/185/2018/04/Microagressions.pdf.

Groups can use this structure as template to analyze a story or event to locate the microaggressions.

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4. Address sensory needs in worship and the classroom

Keep noise-canceling headphones, fidgets, and textured lap pads available.
Avoid loud noises and flickering lights.
Offer alternative seating such as rocking chairs and bean bag seats.
Set up a calming corner in every classroom and the fellowship area

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Sensory corner

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5. Identify everyone’s spiritual and ministry gifts

Do a spiritual gifts inventory.
Consider doing a Myers-Briggs leadership style survey.
Include everyone in the congregation.
Find ways to put everyone’s gifts to use.

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Melinda: Survey everyone from newborns to the eldest member, from the pulpit to the parking lot!

My priority as a disciple of Jesus and a pastor is to discern and search for ways to equip others for the ministries to which God has called them-- ministries of belonging, of making disciples and including all who want to be disciples, of giving and receiving love, demonstrating mercy and doing justice as our standard operating procedure.

So, that means the man who comes with a heart for God, who walks with leg braces and talks with a stutter gets invited to lead as a liturgist, to tell stories at our community storytelling nights, and offer prayers for others who ask for it.

The young woman with Down Syndrome has a part in the Christmas play that is significant, as a heralding angel, and that doesn't require reading, and that allows her to play her harmonica rendition of Come All Ye Faithful.

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Three things that pastors can do

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�1. Design the worship service for diverse participation

Revamp the liturgy around the songs and sacraments to

include silent, speaking and nonspeaking options
plan for reading and non-reading participation.

Offer multiple ways to participate in music

instruments, shakers,
finger snapping, head nodding

Find ways to include spontaneous contributions.

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2. Redesign Sunday prayer time

Include prayers led by, written by or recorded by children and people who cannot leave their homes.
Invite virtual participants to lead in prayer.
Give persons who are usually prayed for the opportunity to minister by praying for others.
Pray one phrase at a time; have congregation repeat each phrase.

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3. Offer inclusive communion

Make all the communion bread gluten/allergy- free.
Use sugar free options or lite options for juice.
Explain that spiritual communion is just as valid.
Be prepared for ways that people who don’t take food by mouth can celebrate the Eucharist.

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A few more examples of putting these steps into practice

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The Potluck Alert Program

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Multisensory worship

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Multisensory worship

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Closing comments

As you go back into your own spaces and places of worship and start this work:

Be gentle with yourself - this is hard internal work!
Be patient with yourself - we aren’t going to get it right every time!
Prayerfully discern where to start – one step at a time.
Stay open to the nudges of the Spirit.
Work with joyful expectancy for the ways that God will show up!
Work in community – find and offer support as you learn to become an ally.

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More closing comments

Expect God to show up and expect change over time.

Our worship might:

Move at a slower pace, allowing time to absorb the message.
Involve more movement and more moments of quiet.
Allow us to worship with all of our senses.
Be more spontaneous and generate more delighted smiles!
Give us a little glimpse of heaven on earth!

This is what we hope and dream for!

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Our Resources are available at�umcdmc.org

The “Ableism Toolkit” is available at https://umcdmc.org/resources/christian-education/theology/understanding-ableism/

Contact us at information@umcdmc.org

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Thank you!

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