[Magdalen] Religion Without God?

[Grace Cangialosi]

As you say, Jay, this varies considerably among churches, with some going to great lengths to accommodate folks with special needs and others doing practically nothing. Size doesn't seem to matter, either. Our little church in Stanardsville is working hard right now to figure out how to make the sanctuary accessible. Right now there is a portable ramp they can put over the three stairs between the parish hall and the sanctuary, but it's still too steep for a person to navigate alone, so they're looking at various kinds of lifts.
OTOH, another congregation at a small church some miles away voted down the proposal for a ramp, even though it would not have been a very long one, and the Sunday after the vote an elderly woman fell out of her wheel chair while someone was trying  to get her into the building.

> On Dec 29, 2014, at 9:40 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> An individual church thing, as usual. Although I don't think TEC has done a
> lot,church-wide, for the disabled among us. I'm not talking about ramps and
> bathrooms here. I base my observation on my experience as the mother of an
> autistic son, and I'm talking more about the disabilities (a word my Sam
> hates to hear used describing him, since he considers himself able but
> slightly handicapped) that you can't see at first glance, like autism,
> hearing impairment, or visual impairment. Although one priest took it upon
> himself to make sure that Sam was included in EYC activities, nothing was
> ever done about his Christian formation. We were told that he was a
> "disruption" in his Sunday school class at a certain point, so we removed
> him from that class, and he preferred not to attend Sunday school after
> that but would sit quietly in the back of the choir room instead with a
> game or book while we rehearsed. He was not included in confirmation class
> and no inquiry was made as to his readiness or interest at any time. I
> often compared this with the treatment of the children with cerebral palsy
> that I cared for in the RCC Chicago archdiocese back in the 1960s. Way back
> then, those kids, even the ones who were pretty severely handicapped, had
> special teachers who in some cases came to their homes for First Communion
> and Confirmation instruction. In the RCC diocese of Knoxville, there is a
> large and thriving deaf community at one of the churches and deaf
> ministries at most of them. At the ELCA church I attend in the itty-bitty
> town of New Market, VA, we have a superb sound system (I don't know about
> assistive hearing devices, though) and large print service books are
> available for anyone who needs them. I haven't seen a lot of any of this in
> Episcopal churches I've attended in recent years, even some of the bigger
> ones. What *are* we doing?
> 
>> On Mon, Dec 29, 2014 at 12:20 AM, Allan Carr <allanc25 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> My problem, as ever, is that the assistive hearing at the Episcopal Church
>> works for a while after I complain about it, but then stops working. It
>> will probably again work for a while after I complain about it, but my need
>> to continually complain is tiresome. It's especially tiresome because the
>> assistive hearing at both ELCA Lutheran Churches always works, as does the
>> assistive hearing at the Unitarian Church.
>> Many years ago, the Episcopal Church was booming with three services, but
>> it never saw the need to install an area with someone in charge of
>> lighting, sound, and video projection. These other churches did, and can
>> project material, as they see fit, on a wall or a screen while they control
>> the sound. They also control assistive hearing systems. Each of their
>> pastors or ministers have individually promised me that the assistive sound
>> will always be checked to make sure it's working. It's clear to me that
>> they see assistive hearing as a mission. My view is that the Episcopal
>> Church sees this as a pain inflicted by somebody they'd like to go away.
>> Which, once again, I will.
>> 
>> 
>> On Sun, Dec 28, 2014 at 7:35 PM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
>> oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> Insightful comment!
>>> 
>>> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
>>> *"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things
>> better
>>> for people coming behind you, and you don't do it, you're wasting your
>> time
>>> on this Earth."  -- *Roberto Clemente
>>> 
>>> On Sun, Dec 28, 2014 at 12:48 PM, ME Michaud <michaudme at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Living in New England, I know and have known hundreds
>>>> of Unitarians.
>>>> 
>>>> And talking about them in this way (on this list in particular)
>>>> feels like overhearing heterosexuals discussing gay men and lesbians.
>>>> 
>>>> Ignorance can be enjoyably laughable, I guess.
>>>> -M
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Allan Carr
>>