Resource Search Results

Kate Strater on Including Young Adults with Intellectual Disability

Young adults with intellectual disability (ID) often feel left out, even at church. But schools, churches, and agencies can work together to create a sense of belonging that nurtures everyone. Inclusive postsecondary education increases opportunity for employment, independent living, and sharing God-given gifts.

Conversation | July 29, 2024

Kate Strater on Ministry with and by People with Intellectual Disability

Churches sometimes ignore or separate children and adults with intellectual disability from general church worship and congregational life. But schools, service agencies, and churches can expand one another’s imaginations about what’s possible for and with people with intellectual and development disabilities. Even small congregations can experience the joy of learning to include all abilities in the body of Christ.

Conversation | July 26, 2024

Elizabeth Bajema: All Belong in God’s Family

Churches sometimes see themselves as inclusive simply because they have attendees from group homes. But true inclusion means getting to know people as individuals with gifts to offer in God’s family.

Conversation | July 10, 2024

Together We Worship

This book identifies four main elements of worship and provides activities, worksheets, and audio resources for teaching them in the classroom setting.

Article | July 10, 2024

Lindsay Wieland Capel on Recognizing and Overcoming Ableism in Churches

Many congregations don’t realize that the way they arrange their space, talk in worship, or define giftedness and leadership speaks volumes to people with different bodies and minds. The message is: “We don’t see you as a welcomed and valued member of Christ’s body.”

Conversation | February 21, 2024

Lindsay Wieland Capel on Disability and Universal Design

Many ideas for welcoming and including people with disabilities are remarkably simple. These changes turn out to be good for everyone in church worship and congregational life.

Conversation | February 21, 2024

Inclusion and Universal Design for Worship

Corporate, intergenerational worship can be designed from the start to include people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities, gifts and limitations.

Article | December 16, 2022

Disability within Faith Communities

A showcase of books and articles related to worship and disabilites

Topic Showcase | March 02, 2022

Emmanuel Olusola Fasipe on Oral Culture and Christian Worship

Christians who see themselves as "people of the book" read about the Word made flesh. They may treasure "I Love to Tell the Story" in their hymnals yet feel skeptical of Christians who prefer to express and pass on faith through oral culture. A Nigerian worship scholar explains the benefits of oral practices in church worship.

Conversation | July 26, 2021

Karen Roberts on Moving from Inclusion to Belonging

First Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Illinois, is on a journey from being a congregation that includes people with disabilities to becoming a place where people of all abilities belong. A sermon series on the ten dimensions of belonging helped them take another step.

Conversation | June 21, 2021

Sermon Series and Study Guide on Belonging for All Abilities

Your church can use new resources, such as a sermon series and study guide, to help your congregation move from including people with disabilities to becoming a place of belonging for all abilities. Then you can pass on what you've learned to other congregations.

Article | June 21, 2021

Victoria White on Inclusion in Circles of Congregations

All Belong will keep helping congregations become welcoming communities for people of all abilities, especially through its innovative Circle of Congregations for Teaching and Learning program.

Conversation | January 19, 2021

Angie Hong on Imagining Worship as an Egalitarian Zone

Christian worship services can support or contradict the biblical vision of the church as one body with many parts. Here’s how corporate worship can help worshipers practice equity across lines of gender, race, ability, socioeconomics, and sexuality.

Conversation | May 24, 2019

Christina Edmondson on Church Multicultural Accessibility Committees

John 17 records Jesus’ prayer for unity “so that the world may know that you have sent me and loved them.” It is a powerful witness when churches model unity within diversity. This witness requires intention and prayer.

Conversation | July 02, 2018

Congregations and Persons with Dementia: A Story and Ideas to Try

TOGETHER is a new Bible study curriculum designed to include, appeal to, and challenge adults of varying abilities. The new curriculum is building community in ways that enrich worship in congregations and congregation members with dementia.

Article | December 08, 2017

Stephanie Smith on Raising Lay Leaders from the Margins

Those who experience homelessness, poverty, physical or mental illness, or addiction understand things that more privileged people may never know. Raising up peer chaplains from within this group can lead to renewal in both outdoor and building-based Christian communities.

Conversation | December 05, 2017

Stephanie Smith on Starting an Outdoor Church

People treated as the last and the least often feel unwelcome inside churches. That is why some church plants create a worshiping community outdoors. Many of their discoveries also apply to indoor churches.

Conversation | December 05, 2017

Barbara J. Newman on Adult Inclusive Small Group Bible Studies

TOGETHER is a new Bible study curriculum designed to include, appeal to, and challenge adults of varying abilities. It aims to build community in ways that may enrich congregational worship.

Conversation | September 29, 2017

David G. Myers on Hearing Loss in Worship: An Invisible Disability

The older you get, the more likely you are to lose hearing. Most hearing aids and cochlear implants now come with telecoils. Your church can install hearing loop systems that deliver customized sound directly from microphones into T-coil hearing aids.

Conversation | September 15, 2016

Barbara J. Newman on Visual Hospitality in Worship: More than Large Print

The older you get, the more likely you are to experience visual loss. Disability and advocacy expert Barbara J. Newman describes sight-related worship changes that benefit the church as a whole.

Conversation | August 09, 2016