Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors Program
Inclusion in Worship
Open Heart, Open Minds, Open Doors Idea Guide
A PROJECT OF PATHWAYS AWARENESS FOUNDATION
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ARCHDIOCESE OF CHICAGO
Pathways Awareness Foundation was established in 1988 in
response to parents of children with physical challenges who said, "The
stares are harder to deal with than the stairs."
Pathways mission is to heighten public and professional
awareness about early detection, early intervention, and inclusion of children
with physical differences.
The Idea Guide is available in booklet format for $4.00 by calling 1-800-955-2445.
Our Idea Guide is a series of ten questions in the areas of affirmation, communication and accessibility that helps congregations to see how they can be caring and inclusive of all people.
DEDICATED WITH GRATITUDE
to Cardinal Joseph Bernardin and
Father Henri Nouwen
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin and Father Henri Nouwen generously gave their
insights and guidance to the inclusion of persons with disabilities into Liturgy
and church life.This video includes excerpts from a conference called by
Cardinal Bernardin. Father Nouwen was the keynote speaker at the
conference.
The message of inclusion that all persons may bring their unique gifts to God’s
altar is a tremendous legacy to the world from these two great men in the last
year of their lives. Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors is dedicated to
carrying forth that legacy.
What is Inclusion?
Inclusion means to offer the same respect and opportunities to all people.
Inclusion in churches means giving people with disabilities/differences the
opportunity to serve in Liturgy and worship life.
Dear Reader,
There are some wonderful inclusive faith practices already happening for
persons with disabilities or differences. You will find inside this guide some
of the best inclusion examples we have found.
This idea Guide is designed to stimulate religious councils and committees to
identify the needs of their own congregations and to develop short and long term
plans for implementation.
It is important to keep inclusion "alive" by the creation of a
committee on inclusion which reports to the head of the church council. Please
see page 13 for ideas.
Due to the overwhelming response to the Inclusion Conference in 1996 in Chicago
called by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, we produced this video and guide to make
the information available to a wider audience. The video Open Hearts, Open
Minds, Open Doors could change your life and the way persons of all abilities serve
in ministry.
Shirley Welsh Ryan
Chairman
and
Maggie C. Daley
President
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"Inclusion begins in our hearts. It begins with affirmation. We should
open our hearts to one another and recognize the strengths of every person...When
we open our hearts and our community to the gifts each person brings, we are all
strengthened."
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin
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Could children, youth and adults with disabilities be given more
opportunity to serve others in Liturgy and in church life (as altar
server, Eucharistic minister, lector, cantor, usher, musician, etc.?)
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Which committee could make inclusion happen on a routine basis?
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Could we form a well-rounded committee on inclusion to increase
meaningful participation for persons with disabilities?
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Could we hold focus groups or conduct a church survey to
personalize our church needs and to prioritize inclusion improvements (large
print materials, better sound systems or lighting, front row access, etc.)?
- Who in our church would be good to lead this effort?
-
Could ushers and lay leaders be trained to act as role models to
include and welcome persons with disabilities and their families?
- What church member who uses a chair or walker could be a good trainer?
"One of the great gifts of people with visible disabilities is to help
us who have invisible disabilities or vulnerabilities to get in touch with them...To
realize that I am impatient, that I am full of anxieties and fears, that I have
my broken relationship, that I am poor...God says ‘Blessed are the poor.’
"
Henri Nouwen
"The great mystery of our faith is that we get closest to God when we
are willing to be vulnerable...when we are willing to say ‘I need somebody
else.’ "
Henri Nouwen
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Could we move meetings to the ground floor so that anyone would be
welcome?
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Could we make our prayers and petitions more inclusive?
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Could we announce that children with special needs are welcome in
religious education classes and that parents can talk to the coordinator and
teachers to discuss ideas?
- Which youth leaders could welcome and include children with differences?
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Could we place an ‘inclusion box’ in the church with paper and
pencils for church members to easily express suggestions for better inclusion?
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Where can we use the word "typical" instead of
"normal"? Can we say "sit or kneel," or "sit
or stand" to include all abilities?
-
Do we need a "Connection Committee" for persons with
disabilities, families, and caregivers who may need breaks, social visits, or
shopping assistance so all may feel the warmth of God’s love?
- Who would be a good ‘Connection’ leader?
"God created you with unimaginable gifts. It is
the affirmation of others that makes that gift possible. You only know
you have a gift when there is someone to say ‘Thank you’...Affirmation
creates community."
Henri Nouwen
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"Communication begins with an open mind. When we unite with one
another in a community of love, we learn to communicate in open, caring
ways. We need to be sensitive to how we communicate with one another,
with our children, with ourselves."
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin
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-
Can we use large print or Braille prayer books, missals or
bulletins?
(Note: This 14 point bold sans serif print works for most
persons, especially those with limited vision and could be used for all
church publications.)
-
Could we provide a sign-language interpreter at a regular
time?
- How can we work with our religious education leaders to include
- persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing?
-
How can we encourage people-first language which puts the person
first and their difference second? Examples of people-first language:
PEOPLE-FIRST LANGUAGE
| Use |
Not |
| Person with a Disability |
Handicapped Person |
| Persons with Disabilities |
The Disabled |
| A Man Who Uses a Wheelchair |
A Wheelchair-bound Man |
- How do we refer to people with disabilities? Can we use people-first
language in homilies, bulletins and signs?
-
Could we use the accessibility logo on outside signs, posters, and
telephone directories to welcome all persons and their families?
- How important is it to let people with disabilities know that our church welcomes them?
-
Who could help us check our amplifying sound system and lighting for
quality?
- (FM Wireless is available and is relatively inexpensive to improve hearing)
"One in five Americans has a disability – physical, mental or sensory."
-
National Council on Disability
-
Who could help us audio tape or print large-print homilies and promote
them in the bulletin?
-
Who could look into adding a TDD in the church office to enable a
person without hearing to communicate?
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Can we use large print or Braille music sheets or hymnals?
-
Could we use a homily with theological insights about inclusion
(using people-first language)?
-
Could we present Liturgy verbally and visually, dramatically and
musically for different learning styles?
"...the question is not how can we help people with
disabilities (which is an important question)...a more important question is how
can people with disabilities give their spiritual gifts to us and...call us to
love?
- Henri Nouwen
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"We can do no great things, only small things with great
love. Together, these small things will add up to monumental change."
Mother Theresa
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Changes in access to our church and buildings benefit all of us... people
with strollers, people with a temporary cast, crutches, cane or chair, as well
as persons needing accessibility on a more permanent basis.
-
Could we include a person who uses a wheelchair, walker or crutches or
a family member on our committee for planning renovations or additions to
our church?
-
Can a person in a chair move from a car to church services without going
up or down a step?
- The ramped side of any building should be closest to the street or parking area.
-
Can we provide marked accessible parking spaces for cars and
vans close to accessible entrances?
-
Who could benefit from a bathroom with wheelchair facilities available
on the worship floor or an elevator?
-
Could a person in a wheelchair or walker sit in the front pew with
their family?
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Is our altar accessible? Is the podium or microphone
adjustable for a person’s height?
-
Could we hold religious education classes, teen and adult meetings in rooms
on ground floor, without stairs?
- Which classes are now not available to persons with disabilities?
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Could we add a curb cut to help make sidewalks and ramps accessible?
-
Can a person in a wheelchair participate on the altar?
- How could we build access to the altar?
-
Should we set short, medium and long-term fund raising goals for
accessibility?
- Could our church raise funds with an auction, flower or Christmas
greens sales?
- Would someone donate a ramp or elevator as a memorial to a family member?
AN INCLUSION COMMITTEE CAN RECOMMEND IDEAS TO KEEP INCLUSION
"ALIVE".
An inclusion committee should involve people of all abilities in order to
reflect the needs of the entire congregation.
- A person with either visible or invisible disabilities who can offer insight on the needs of the parish (person in a wheelchair, person with a hearing impairment, a family member)
- A designer or builder who knows how to direct changes to the structure of parish buildings.
- A Liturgy planner who will implement changes in the Liturgy to better involve people of all abilities.
- A person who can help develop a campaign to raise small and large funds to implement changes.
- A writer or communicator who can define the needs of the parish and the inclusion efforts taking place.
- THE INCLUSION COMMITTEE SHOULD BEST REPORT TO THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH COUNCIL.
Response Lord, help us to see each other with your eyes.
Leader We pray that we may recognize that each of us has
abilities and gifts, each of us
has disabilities or weaknesses, each of us seeks fulfillment and
wholeness.
Leader We pray for the better inclusion of persons with
disabilities into Liturgy and church life, so that together we may
all use our gifts to serve each other in ministry.
Leader We pray we all may extend open arms to the baby with
difficulties or to the person with the new injury or condition so that
all persons can feel the warmth of God’s love.
Response "We praise you, O God, for all your gifts are wonderful."
Amazing Grace – Newton
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, That saved and set me free! I
once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.
Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ‘Tis
grace has brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.
Pathways Awareness Foundation
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
Video and Idea Guide $20, Idea Guide $4
Henri Nouwen Audio Tape "The Vulnerable
Journey"
$4 each (includes S/H)
ADA Cost Catalogue for Access Modification
1-800-341-7874 Ext. 347 $40 (includes S/H)
National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities
202-529-2933 (Tel & TDD)
ADA Packet – Parish Awareness Packet, etc.
National Organization on Disability
202-293-5960 (Tel) 202-293-5968 (TDD)
That All May Worship (an interfaith handbook)
$10 (Includes S/H)
Adjustable Ambo
Contact: John Buscemi
P.O. Box 159, Albany, Wisconsin 53502
608-862-3007
jcbstudio@aol.com
People with disabilities creatively address their needs and serve society
in many ways, yet they often desire a greater opportunity to be involved in
religious activities.
There are many things that you, as an individual, can do to help people
with disabilities in your house of worship.
- I will speak directly to the person with a disability or difference, not only to the nearby companion, family member, interpreter or the canine companion.
- I will offer to shake hands when introduced to a person with a disability (persons with limited hand use or who wear an artificial limb usually can shake hands. Shaking the left hand is O.K. too.)
- I will place myself in a chair at eye level for easy conversation with a person using a wheelchair or walker.
- I will offer assistance and wait until the offer is accepted. I will wait for instructions but not insist.
- I will give my whole unhurried attention to a person who has difficulty speaking rather than speaking for the person. I may help by asking short questions that require short answers, a nod or a shake of the head, or a written answer.
- I will encourage a person with a disability to serve on the altar, to distribute communion, to be a reader or to bear gifts.
- I will treat adults with developmental disabilities as adults, not as children. I will use first names only when using the same familiarity for all persons.
- I will get the attention of someone who is hearing-impaired by lightly tapping their elbow or shoulder, or by waving my hand. I will look directly at the person and speak clearly, slowly and expressively to establish if the person can read my lips.
- I will offer to read the weekly church bulletin to a person who is blind.
- I will guide a person with visual impairments by giving verbal clues to steps, doors, curbs or escalators. I will first identify myself.
Personal Account - MARIE DE MEO:
Eight years ago, I had no idea what God had in mind for me. I was becoming
tired of being talked about in the third person. My companion would be there
and they would say to her or to him, "What’s wrong with her?"...like
I wasn’t even there.
One Sunday, I picked up a bulletin and in it was a request for catechists.
With much trepidation and hesitation, I made the phone call that transformed
my life.
Well, not only did I become a catechist – I also went on to chair a
Liturgy board, I was a Liturgy planner, I’m on Art & Environment, and I
facilitated a Bible study group. I have been blessed. I have been accepted and
embraced by a wonderful faith-filled community...A community that demonstrates
to me over and over again what God has had in mind for me.
Personal Account
Let me explain a little about myself. I was not born blind. I lost my sight
through a roller skating accident when I was ten years old. When this happened,
it seemed as though life was over... but somehow in my heart, I knew that that
wasn’t true. I got to think about this fall in the skating rink as my ‘‘Felix
Culpa". It’s a beautiful Latin word from the Easter Vigil ... and what it
means is "happy fault"...that something terrible has happened, but many good things come from it... I think this has
been very true in my life.
The insightful decision of our Bishop to include me in a regular school began
my inclusion into society. I also attended Rosary College, where I met my
husband-to-be, the father of our five children. I was included on the basis of
my qualifications at Niles College, at Mundelein, at Loyola where I was accepted
in this difference... blindness... which can neither be denied nor overlooked.
The cost of inclusion is "metanoia", a changing of hearts, which
integrates everyone into society. When we are all accepted, the wall of
strangeness that separates us will come down, and we can share the gifts that
God has given to each of us.
These extraordinary men, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin and
Father Henri Nouwen generously gave their insights and guidance to the
inclusion of persons with disabilities into Liturgy and church life.
Cardinal Bernardin, archbishop of Chicago, celebrated
diversity and life. Although a man of great honor and power, the Cardinal was
known for his humility...The Cardinal’s understanding of disability
increased as he lived with cancer and osteoporosis.
Henri Nouwen proclaimed the power of vulnerability, authored
30 books, and taught at Harvard, Yale and Notre Dame. Father Nouwen lived as
Chaplain at L’Arche in Toronto, a community for persons with mental
disabilities whom he called his best teachers about love and life.
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