Shelly Christensen
“How can my faith community become better at including people with disabilities?”
This question, raised by people with disabilities, clergy, lay leaders, and community members, is why Faith Inclusion and Belonging is one of RespectAbility’s four pillars. Spirituality and faith are incredibly important to many disabled people. The Faith Inclusion and Belonging team recognizes that it takes more than a willing heart to foster a culture of belonging, where disabled people feel they are respected, valued, and included.
More Than a Willing Heart
Ben Bond, Faith Inclusion and Belonging Associate, and I have journeyed alongside many individuals with disabilities and families and have helped faith-based organizations create a culture where people feel they genuinely belong.
Obstacles are barriers to inclusion and engagement. Most people think of ramps to buildings and accessible parking, and although those are important, the more challenging obstacles are attitudes, beliefs, and stigma around disability. The way to navigate through obstacles can start with educating ourselves and our faith communities. RespectAbility can help! We provide a variety of partnership opportunities to assist your faith institution in becoming more inclusive of all members.
Resources to Guide Inclusion and Belonging
Our Faith Inclusion and Belonging team produces resources such as the Inclusive Congregations Guide and High Holiday Guide which provide practical ideas you can put in place now. The Faith Inclusion and Belonging newsletter includes additional resources, tips, upcoming events, resources, and webinars. We feature articles written by disabled people about their spiritual and faith-based journeys.
In 2023 we produced compelling webinars. In one of them, the late disability rights activist Judy Heumann spoke with me about faith, community, and disability. We partnered with the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) Religion and Spirituality Network on a four-part series, Pathways to Belonging: Supporting the Spiritual and Faith-Community Interests of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Change Requires Action
We work with individual faith communities and large faith-based organizations to help identify opportunities for furthering inclusion. Faith Inclusion and Belonging provides individualized consultation services based on your own organizational needs. We offer a menu of options including training, reviewing programs and policies, planning speaker events, and ongoing consultations to develop goals, strategies, implementation, and evaluation.
I’ve begun to answer the question so many people ask! A willing heart, resources to guide inclusion and belonging, and a commitment to action-all are parts of the answer! Consider this an invitation to email me or Ben Bond to talk about how RespectAbility can be of service to your organization.
