Written by the Rev. Nancy J. Erickson, December 2003
St. Monica’s Chemical Dependency Service for Women, Lincoln

The backdrop for discussion is Leviticus 21:16-23. I suggest you read this paradigm which has informed church policies and even some religious beliefs for hundreds of years.

I presented a Bible study at our annual meeting this year focused on a biblical foundation for becoming a welcoming church to people with disabilities. What I present here is one aspect of my discussion, the most significant one, in my opinion, because it forms the basis for the rest of it.

The backdrop for discussion is Leviticus 21:16-23. I suggest you read this paradigm which has informed church policies and even some religious beliefs for hundreds of years. It has been the rationale for excluding certain groups of people from being part of the leadership of the church, and in some instances, from even entering the church building. This text says that “no one with a blemish may draw near” and goes on in great detail to describe what kinds of conditions constitute a “blemish.”

As we know, Jesus broke many religious taboos and called into question many cultural norms. This is no exception. In my presentation, I looked closely at three healing stories from Mark (Mark 1: 29-31, Mark 5: 2534 and Mark 2: 1-12) to show that Jesus’ treatment of those with blemishes (as defined by his own Hebrew tradition) was the exact opposite of the Levitical codes.

It is clear from these stories that for Jesus, breaking physical bonds and breaking bonds of sin are both redemptive processes that are intertwined. These stories reveal Jesus of God. Jesus’ ministry points to a God who is compassionate to those who do not fit into the protective custody of the family or culture – widow, orphan, stranger, sick. The themes of healing, wholeness, restoration, empowerment, redemption, compassion for those excluded, and integration come through loud and clear. For Jesus, the movement is ALWAYS from exclusion to inclusion and towards mutuality.

Given this understanding, there are at least three important implications for the church. First, a sign of healing, wholeness means bringing in the excluded. This does not mean curb cuts, elevators, large print and accessible drinking fountains. But let me be clear those things are VERY important. It also means welcoming folks with physical, mental or intellectual differences into Sunday school, the choir, the church’s committees, etc.

Second, which follows naturally, wholeness occurs when those who have power are willing to share it. This means that people with disabilities are able to be in leadership positions within the church, both as lay persons and as clergy.

The third and final implication can be a way of restating what has already been said: in order to be whole, everyone must have access.

I served on a board with a young woman named Annie. Annie had several birth defects, used a wheelchair and had some impediment of her speech. Her idea of heaven was that she would remain just as she was, but that the environment in heaven would be one in which she could go anywhere, do anything she pleased, no one would stare at her, and she would be accepted unconditionally just as she is. We have the capacity to make our churches a lot like Annie’s idea of heaven.

I would love to see us try.

Wholeness – Accessibility/Attitudinal

Reading the Signs is a can-do forum about accessibility for the whole church family edited by the Rev. Dee Brauninger, First Congregational UCC, Burwell, Nebraska