WHY YOUR CONGREGATION NEEDS TO BE ACCESSIBLE TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

1. God welcomes all of us into His kingdom, so we can do no less than welcome persons with disabilities into our congregation.

2. The matriarchs and patriarchs in a congregation often comprise the largest group of people with disabilities. These people, who have founded, funded and nourished a congregation, deserve to continue to be active, not excluded by steps or inadequate lighting or a poor sound system or too small print.

3. Persons with disabilities are also persons with abilities. Potentially, they offer the greatest untapped resource in a congregation.

4. Each of us can learn from persons with disabilities about mortality, patience, the sanctity of suffering, and living productively with a person's limitations.

5. An accessible congregation is an outward and visible sign to the community that we mean what we say, that we really do welcome ALL people, whatever their disability.

6. Welcoming persons with disabilities teaches our children about diversity and tells them that we need not be perfect to be welcome in the church.

7. Most architectural modifications undertaken on behalf of persons with disabilities benefit the entire congregation.

8. When one person is excluded from the Body of Christ, that Body cannot be complete. While the Body is incomplete, it cannot function fully.

9. God said to St. Paul, "My grace is sufficient unto you. My strength is made perfect in weakness."

10. Each of us is only temporarily able-bodied. We are only an accident or disease away from being a "person with a disability," the largest and most diverse minority group.