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BY CARRIE MADREN
UMCONNECTION CORRESPONDENT

Understanding why God creates people with differing abilities or even "disabilities," is deserving of the church's attention.

Nearly 20 percent of people in the United States are living with some sort of disability. Our churches' theology needs to address this fact, some conference leaders are saying.

"A theology of disability takes in a broader meaning of being disabled and yet made in the image of God," said the Rev. Nancy Webb of Grace UMC in Baltimore, who chairs the conference Persons with DisAbilities Committee.

"God made all people," said Webb, "and some of us are not perfect specimens of all the physical or mental or developmental capabilities that humans can have, but we were made by God, and God thinks we're very good. Some folks may look at a disability as meaning we are less than or not what God intended, but God takes what God has made and gives us strength and courage to do what God wants."

"All of us carry around this wonder of ‘God in earthen vessels,' and that passage is a reminder that being human is something we all share, and everyone has some kind of limitations or disabilities," said the Rev. John Nupp, of Wards Chapel UMC in Randallstown who has two children with developmental disabilities.

In the Baltimore-Washington Conference, churches are doing a lot of things well, Nupp said. In its metropolitan areas, supportive education systems and a generally sensitive society helps raise the bar. But Nupp doesn't see the church as a leader on disability issues.

Among the biggest challenges for integrating a sound theology of disability is attitude, he said.

"God's spirit works through each person, and everyone has something to contribute," Nupp said. "So instead of seeing a category of people who need to be ministered to, churches can understand that people with disabilities have gifts to contribute to the body of Christ - and help provide support for them to do that."

One person at Ward's Chapel has a degenerative disability, but is excellent in prayer, Nupp explained, so the church has taken steps to make room for that member to be able to give to the church through prayer.

In today's churches, the mentality that we segregate people with disabilities is common, but it's not what people with disabilities want. "We need a more inclusive mind set instead of a segregation mind set," Nupp said.

A great first step for churches is talking to people who have disabilities or caregivers to get a sense of what would be truly helpful, rather than trying to guess what people need.

Another way churches can better serve people with disabilities is to consider accessibility: handicapped accessible bathrooms, ramps, large-print bulletins and hymnals or other accommodations.

"If you don't have anyone with disabilities in the congregation, expect it and begin preparing in a more proactive way," Nupp said.

At one of his former churches, a midweek outdoor worship service drew many families with kids with disabilities, because the kids couldn't sit through a typical worship service.

Another proactive approach might be to provide an afternoon or day of respite care for people with disabilities, to give caregivers a much-needed break from care
giving responsibilities. Sunday school classes could become more interactive for all different learning styles.

"At some point in our lives," Nupp said, "just about all of us will have a disability - it's a natural part of life." If it's to be relevant, the church must respond.