Accessibility for All

Someone once asked Ryan Mathews if he expected to be healed and made whole when he got to heaven. Ryan, who had spent his life in a wheelchair, responded, “I am already whole and do not need to be healed. I will roll down the golden streets.” A high school classmate of mine and a recent graduate of Eden Theological Seminary, Ryan died in October just a few hours after being released from the hospital following a car accident. He was only 28 years old.

Ryan suffered from arthrogryposis mulitiplex congenita, or AMC, a rare disorder that affects the joints and limits one’s range of motion joints, but “suffered” isn’t really the right word. Though he had limited use of his limbs, Ryan used a motorized scooter to get around and clearly didn’t consider his disability a hindrance to his ability to live a full and meaningful life. During his short but impactful time here, Ryan served as secretary of the United Church of Christ’s Disabilities Ministries, whose stated goal is to “explore what it means for our churches (and our hearts) to be ‘accessible to all,’” – and it was Ryan’s personal goal, too. As he sought a congregation that could accommodate his unique physical needs, he also sought to make all UCC churches more accessible so future pastors with disabilities would not face the same challenge.

Sound familiar? The URJ is committed to the same goal within our congregations: full participation in the spiritual, educational and communal aspects of synagogue life for people living with disabilities and for their families. In 1978, the URJ adopted official policy on welcoming individuals with disabilities into congregational life, and in 1983, the Central Conference of American Rabbis did the same. Since then, we’ve progressed exponentially. Here are just a few of the ways the URJ is helping our congregations to become fully accessible and inclusive to Jews with disabilities:

• The Religious Action Center brought on Rabbi Lynne Landsberg to serve as its Senior Advisor on Disability Issues. Rabbi Landsberg, who suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury in the ’90s, has led our Movement’s policy work on disability rights. She was one of the leading faith advocates in support of both the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.
• The URJ and the RAC have become partners in Jewish Disability Awareness Month, an effort to keep Jews informed about ways to improve disability awareness in their communities every February and all year round.
• Our Disabilities page includes resources for congregations to begin their own inclusion committees, ways to increase inclusivity and accessibility, and success stories from congregations that are doing it well.
• The URJ’s camping and Israel programs are committed to providing summer learning experiences for Jewish kids and teens with disabilities. Camp Chazak serves campers ages 9-13 with communication and social delays, and Mitzvah Corps at Kutz Camp offers a camping immersion for teens on the Autism Spectrum.
• Under Rabbi Landsberg’s guidance, the RAC co-founded the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition, which mobilizes religious communities to speak out and take action on disability policy issues with Congress, the President and Administration, and society at large.

Still, there is more work to be done. Disability awareness is more than putting up signs in Braille and adding ramps outside our synagogue doors. It means being cognizant of the needs of individuals with disabilities every step of the way when it comes to congregational and community planning by asking ourselves questions like:

• Are there elderly or impaired people in your community who may need a ride to services on Friday evenings? What about to local programs or other important events, such as Voting Day?
• Is the print in your prayer books large enough for visually impaired people to read along easily, or might it be helpful to print off some large-print versions of the service?
• Is there space in your sanctuary for people with limited mobility to worship comfortably? Is your bimah accessible?
• If a child with autism or Down Syndrome – or deafness or blindness or cerebral palsy, or any number of disabilities – wanted to become a bar or bat mitzvah at your synagogue, are there tools in place to ensure he or she could do so with the necessary support and attention?
• Are all of your synagogue resources – brochures, prayer books, kippot, and the like – at a level reachable to individuals in wheelchairs?
• Does your congregation or community offer programming for or support to individuals who suffer from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder?

Ryan Mathews had served as a student pastor while in seminary and was hoping to serve as an ordained pastor in a UCC congregation following his graduation. Said our mutual friend Robin, “The sentiment at [Ryan's] funeral was that he had just graduated from seminary and was awaiting his assignment but was having difficulty finding a church to fit his needs, and God called him up to the Ultimate assignment: to watch over us all.” May our synagogues’ work toward full accessibility and inclusion be a model for other faiths to do the same – and may Ryan’s ultimate goal of fully accessible places of worship eventually be realized across denominational borders.