July 16, 2001
Churches urged to make their buildings accessible
___By Sue Ann Miller
___Alabama Baptist
___BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP)--Removing barriers in church environments--both figuratively and literally--is a crusade Bob Anderson eagerly looks forward to on a daily basis.
___It's the focus of his work as director of the religion and disability program at Birmingham's Lakeshore Foundation.
___The non-profit organization, which has been operating since 1984, centers its services on issues dealing with individuals with physical disabilities.
___"Our mission is to provide opportunities for people with physical disabilities to live healthy, active lifestyles and participate fully in their community," Anderson said.
___As the former chaplain of Lakeshore Rehabilitation Hospital, Anderson became acutely aware of the many challenges that individuals with physical disabilities face in the able-bodied world. He was especially in tune to the limited accessibility people with physical disabilities face when attempting to find a place of worship where they can easily maneuver their adaptive devices such as a wheelchair, scooter or walker.
___When Anderson approached the foundation's board of directors in 1995 about creating a program to assist the church community in this area, they agreed. The Lakeshore Foundation Religion and Disability Program was born, with Anderson being the driving force behind it.
___Anderson knows firsthand the struggles a person with a disability must overcome to attend a church service, let alone participate in one. He is inspired by the childhood memory of his wheelchair-bound cousin raising money door-to-door for a ramp so he could enter his church without the indignity of being carried.
___As part of Anderson's job, he visits churches interested in learning how to better include people with disabilities or make sure their facilities are compatible to the needs of the disabled.
___"A growing number of churches are increasing their ability to welcome and include people with disabilities and their families. People need access not only to buildings but to the programs and activities of the church as well," said Anderson, a member of Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham.
___Making way for people with disabilities will be a wave of the future, Anderson predicted, noting that 63 percent of older adults have some type of disability. The number of older adults in America is growing rapidly, due to the aging of baby boomers and the lengthening of lifespans.
___"Now is the time for churches to start preparing for this," he said.
___The changes churches need to make go beyond structural issues, Anderson explained. "Even something as simple as the wording in your church bulletin can make difference. It's just as easy to say, 'The congregation may sit or stand' as it is to say, 'Will the congregation please stand.'
___"Many people assume that they have no church members with disabilities because they do not see them," Anderson said. "That's just not the case."
___The No. 1 reason people with disabilities don't return to church is not having access to restrooms, he explained.
___"I once had a man tell me that it was easier for him to get his wheelchair into a bar than into a church. We've got to change that."
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