wfn.org | ELCA Hosts 'That All May Worship' Conference September 28

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 6, 2002

ELCA HOSTS 'THAT ALL MAY WORSHIP' CONFERENCE SEPTEMBER 28
02-214-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) plan to host a conference for the religion and disability
program of the National Organization on Disability (NOD) Sept. 28 at
Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, Mill Run Campus, Hilliard, Ohio.  The
"That All May Worship" conference is designed to promote the full
participation of people with disabilities in the worship, study, service
and leadership of congregations.
     "That All May Worship" is the title of one of three guides the
NOD's religion and disability program has published.  Others are "Loving
Justice" and "From Barriers to Bridges."  The guides look at barriers in
church buildings and in congregations, the impact of the Americans with
Disabilities Act on religious institutions, and how to coordinate a
conference promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities.
     The Abled/Disabled Awareness Ministry (ADAM) task force of the
ELCA's Northwestern Ohio Synod will host the conference with the
Southern Ohio Synod.  Congregations of the ELCA are organized into 65
synods across the United States and Caribbean.
     The Rev. Ray G. Gottschling, assistant to the bishop, ELCA
Northwestern Ohio Synod, Findlay, said putting an elevator or a ramp
into a church building is only part of making a congregation accessible.
Accessibility includes adjusting "the mindset of congregations who don't
'see' people with disabilities in their midst," he said.
     The ADAM task force sponsored a similar conference two years ago
in northern Ohio, said Gottschling.  This year's conference is near
Columbus in the Southern Ohio Synod.
     Gottschling said the conference should attract people who make
decisions in congregations and who are concerned about their ministries
being open to everyone.
     Since 1993, NOD has conducted That All May Worship conferences in
more than 150 locations, including churches, synagogues, community
colleges, rehabilitation hospitals, senior citizens' centers and
seminaries.  The conferences bring together people of every faith to
identify and remove physical and spiritual barriers, and to promote
dialogue between people with disabilities and religious leaders.
     Ginny Thornburgh will be the conference keynote speaker.
Thornburgh is coordinator for the NOD's religion and disability program.
She authored and edited the "That All May Worship" guide.  She has
coordinated programs for people with disabilities at Harvard University,
Cambridge, Mass., and currently serves on the board of trustees for
Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J.
     Thornburgh is married to Richard L. Thornburgh, former governor of
Pennsylvania, U.S. Attorney General and Undersecretary-General of the
United Nations.  As parents of a son with mental retardation, they have
worked worldwide to maximize opportunities for people with disabilities.
     The conference will include five workshops:
 + Perspectives of Disability -- the Rev. Lisa Thogmartin-Cleaver,
director for disability ministries and deaf ministry, ELCA Division for
Church in Society
 + Building Accessibility -- Art Hoffman, Church Building Consultant,
ELCA Mission Investment Fund, Cincinnati, and the Rev. Richard A. Moe,
Trinity Lutheran Church, Fremont, Ohio
 + Beautiful Mind -- Juanita Hollis, minority outreach coordinator of
the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Toledo, Ohio
 + Sunday School and the Difficult Child -- Sharon Nelson, a youth
outreach coordinator with the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Toledo
 + Jesus and Disability -- the Rev. James C. Ritchey II, Arcadia United
Methodist Church, Arcadia, Ohio
     In 1989 NOD founded its religion and disability program to work
with congregations, national faith groups and seminaries to remove
barriers of architecture, communications and attitudes that prevent
people with disabilities from full and active religious participation.
     NOD launched its Accessible Congregations Campaign in 1998.  When
the campaign reached its initial goal of enrolling 2,000 congregations
of all faiths that commit to removing their barriers and welcoming
people with all types of disabilities, about 400 of those congregations
were Lutheran.
-- -- --
     Information on accessibility, resources and the ELCA Accessibility
Award is available at http://www.elca.org/dCS/accessibility.html on the
Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html