A Place for All: Faith and Community for People with Disabilities

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

A Place for All: Faith and Community for People with Disabilities

>Begins 11/14/2010: Horizons of the Spirit

See: http://www.ncccusa.org/news/101020placeforall.html

New York, October 20, 2010 -- Making faith communities more 
accessible to p ersons with disabilities is the topic of a unique 
interfaith documentary th at may air on NBC-TV affiliates nationwide 
beginning November 14.
 
A Place for All: Faith and Community for Persons with Disabilities is 
prese nted by the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission (IBC), a 
coalition of Jewish , Muslim, Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic faith 
groups, as part of NBC's  2010 Horizons of the Spirit series. 
 
The issue addressed by the program is critical, as it is estimated 
that 1 o ut of 5 Americans has a disability, says The Rev. Dr. 
Michael Kinnamon, gen eral secretary of the National Council of 
Churches.  In the documentary,  Kinnamon notes that both the faith 
community and the persons with disabilit ies lose when special needs 
aren't properly addressed.  

"There's no substitute for face-to-face faith interaction," Kinnamon 
remind s the viewers, noting that faith groups, of all the 
organizations in societ y, should be at the forefront of facilitating 
the full participation of tho se with disabilities in every aspect of 
community life.

Other faith leaders contributing include: Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, 
Executive  Vice President of the New York Board of Rabbis, Bishop 
Peggy Johnson of the  United Methodist Church; Dr. Ingrid Mattson, 
President of the Islamic Soci ety of North America; Rev. Bill 
Gaventa, Director of Community and Congrega tional Supports at The 
Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities, Robert W ood Johnson 
Medical School. 

Others interviewed include Rev. Bill Bixby, Director Of Youth 
Ministry, ELC A; Imam Mohamed Magid, Executive Director, All Dulles 
Area Muslim Society a nd Rabbi Robert Levine, Senior Rabbi, 
Congregation Rodeph Sholom, New York.

The documentary also features Rabbi Darby Leigh, spiritual leader of 
Congre gation Bnai Keshet in New Jersey and one of the handful of 
deaf rabbis in t he world; members of ELCA's DAYLE program where 
Definitely Abled Youth gath er at the 40,000 strong triennial 
Evangelical Lutheran youth gathering; Pas tor Beth Lockard, the 
leader of Christ the King Deaf Church; and Brandon Ka plan, a 
severely disabled boy with limited sight and speech who recently ha d 
the privilege of becoming a Bar Mitzvah.
 
NBC stations may begin airing the program at local times on November 
14, 20 10 as part of NBC's Horizon's of the Spirit series, in 
cooperation with  the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission (IBC). The 
documentary is produced  by Debra Gonsher Vinik.

A partial list of stations planning to carry the program can be found 
at ww w.interfaithbroadcasting.com. A trailer can be viewed at  
http://www.youtub e.com/watch?v=lwCM2vtx42Q.

>---

Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of 
Christ  in the USA has been the leading force for ecumenical 
cooperation among Chri stians in the United States. The NCC's 36 
member faith groups -- from a wid e spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, 
Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African  American and Living Peace 
churches -- include 45 million persons in more t han 100,000 local 
congregations in communities across the nation.

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 
646-853-4212 ( cell), pjenks@ncccusa.org