I was asked recently if CYC, the youth ministry I volunteer for, accomodates kids with disabilities.
I would love to simply say, "Absolutely, every teen can attend!" I am, after all, an advocate for special needs students. The real answer is that we want every high school student to be able to be there and we will do what we can to make it happen for as many as possible. Over the last few decades we have included students with a variety of physical, cognitive, sensory, learning, health, and emotional challenges in our program. We don't have trained staff. We rely on parents to tell us what will work best and learn as we go. Some kids simply attend -- there are some disabilities that just don't matter in our context. Others we need to learn more about and set up informal supports. Somtimes we have to consult with parents and make a mutual decision as to whether the student can safely work with us.
Actually, CYC is very welcoming to those with disabilities who do attend. In some cases, I have been told that our program was the first Christian community that welcomed the child. That saddens me. I wish the Church as a whole were better at this.
My own congregation has recently added a stair lift and handicapped accessible bathroom. We've had an elevator and hearing assistance technology for a while. I am happy with my church for making these strides.
Usually it is attidunal difficulties not physical barriers that keep disabled people from being part of things. Physical barriers can usually be gotten around.
Is your church or organization doing anything new to include people with disabilities?
Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park (CYC) is a two week ecumenical conference for high school students held in August on the beautiful southern coast of Maine. The theme for the 2011 conference is "Face to Face" and will look at restoring relationships between God and individuals, and amongst people. Click here for more information.
I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month. A post a day in July!
Our church has a ministry called Oasis that provides some services to the people with special needs within our church. For example, there are a couple people (myself included) who volunteer as one-on-ones with children who have autism who need a little extra support to get through Sunday School and our other extra children's programs. There is also an adult Special Needs Bible Study group that meets occasionally as well as a support group for parents who have children with special needs that meets about monthly.
ReplyDeleteThat's fabulous. I wish more churches would follow suit.
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