faith

Interview

Bringing All Bodies to Church

Q&A with Brett Webb-Mitchell

by John Shorb

Written by John Shorb on December 12, 2011

John Shorb

John Shorb is the founder of Church Health Reader and served as editor from 2008-2011. He is a visual artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Visit him online at johnshorb.com.

See all articles by John Shorb.

Brett Webb-Mitchell, author of Beyond Accessibility: Toward Full Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Faith Communities, discusses how congregations can prepare themselves—not only their buildings—for full inclusion.

John Shorb: You titled your book Beyond Accessibility: Toward Full Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Faith Communities. Before we discuss going beyond accessibility, how do you think churches are doing in terms of accessibility?

Brett Webb-Mitchell: Anecdotally I hear, see and read about more people with disabilities being welcomed into various parts of congregational or parish life. While it would be wonderful if faith communities sent out a uniform census form to gather information about the number of people with disabilities in a congregation or parish, we are left to various networks of churches and other faith communities to let us know how many members self-identify as a person living with a disability through a well-phrased questionnaire. This is about as good as it is going to get, especially in light of some faith communities cutting back funds that were allotted for “disability ministries.”

Do you think basic accessibility is becoming more widespread? What comes beyond accessibility?

The language of “accessibility” and “inclusion” are more widespread, but I don’t think that the actual practices are widespread. A big part of the issue is that we do not have a shared understanding or comprehension of what is “accessibility” or “inclusion.” I’ve seen brochures for some conferences advertising “accessibility” but are more or less focused on practices of “welcoming,” while others hoist the flag for “inclusion” and are really talking about accessibility to programs.

What are the primary concepts people should know? Do you have a story or example that illustrates this point?

Being fully inclusive will mean that there is both the embrace and self-identification of one’s abilities and limitations while fully participating, without cultural barriers, in the dynamically contemplative life of a faith community. It is not found in ignoring our human frailties, which we all have, but claiming them, embracing them, as we share in the common goals and purposes of the community of faith in which we are members. After all, in communities of faith we are there, members, identified with the group, not because of what we can or cannot do, but because of who and whose we are: God’s own creation.

Is there a theological idea that you’ve found helpful for churches?

For a church, embracing Paul’s vision of the body of Christ is crucial for moving toward being and becoming fully inclusive, in which everyone acknowledges or is part of the movement that celebrates “one lord, one faith, one baptism, one birth” (Eph. 4:5). This very acknowledgement reminds us literally and figuratively that we are part of something and someone greater than ourselves, whoever we may be in this world. It means that we are part of this fantastically unreal gathering of God’s beloved, in which we all have a place and are an important presence as citizens of God’s realm of love. All the cultural signifiers—like our sex, socioeconomic class, age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability or limitation—are secondary to our primary calling as members of this immediate yet transcendent reality.

How do you see our physical bodies theologically?

I cannot separate physical bodies from spirit and mind. As I wrote in Beyond Accessibility and in Christly Gestures, our minds, bodies, and spirits are integrally related. To signify this enmeshment, I used hyphens (mind-body-spirit) in describing the very nature of who we are as members of the other triadic community: God-Christ-Spirit.

In your experience, what Bible passages open people’s eyes to full inclusion?

The first scripture is found in the Hebrew Bible: Psalm 139:13, 14, with a focus on our very creation. We were all formed by God, in which God like a potter shapes and molds our inward parts, knitting together the sinew, muscle, and spirit in our mother’s womb, which follows with the exclamation of “wonderful are your works!” Again: there is no separation in this text that only certain people were created this way, or merely a select few can claim the word, “wonderful.” God creates wonderful beings, regardless of what a person can or cannot do.

The second scripture is connected with this view of our creation: with the spirit residing in each of us—regardless of what we can or cannot do—there is the distribution of the gifts, talents, and services for the greater good of the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:1-7). That spirit and the gifts that are shared are widely distributed among all—and Paul meant all—members of the Body. Our task is to find the means or modes by which these gifts, talents, and services and be communicated.

If someone is interested in enacting change within their congregation, what are some first steps that you would recommend?

It all begins with worship, which is the reason for why we were created in the first place: we were created to worship God, enjoying the world God created. If our worship is not welcoming of all, accepting of all, and inclusive of the many, then we must reassess what is going on. So the first step is simply asking the question: can all who wish to worship God able to do so, in their own fashion, during our communal days and times of worship?

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disability
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