The United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries engages in a variety of work to foster the inclusion of people with disabilities in the various settings of the denomination.
The programs we support are: Access Sunday, Accessible to All (A2A) and Widening the Welcome.
Accessible To All (A2A)
The United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries (UCCDM), is on a mission to make the United Church of Christ (UCC) Accessible to All (A2A). We envisions a world in which all people are included in the fullness of life because they are created in the image of God. The mission of UCCDM is to support all settings of the United Church of Christ (UCC) including but not limited to Local Congregations, Associations, Conferences, camps, Historically Underrepresented Groups (HUGs), and national settings, as they seek to recognize and provide access to people with disabilities in all aspects of the church’s life and ministry.
For more information visit our UCCDM A2A Accessible to All Page
Access Sunday
Access Sunday is often celebrated the Second Sunday in October.
Access Sunday is an annual celebration of the gifts persons with disabilities bring to church community, and the joys of being in accessible community.
It is also a time to remember and repent of the harm done to disabled people in religious spaces, and to call upon the whole church to recommit itself to access as a justice issue.
In the UCC calendar, the second Sunday of October is designated as Access Sunday, but any Sunday of the year is a good time to consider disability and accessibility.
Approximately 1 in 4 people in the United States live with some form of disability, and almost everyone else will develop one at some point in their life. As such, disability and accessibility are vitally important topics for us all, and for the church.
For more information visit our UCCDM Access Sunday Page
Widening The Welcome
Faith Communities are called to be a welcoming communities. In Romans we read, “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:7, 13. Welcome embraces the involvement of everyone, including people who have been touched by or have experienced a mental illness/brain disorder and/or a disability, apparent or unapparent.
