Church Accessibility Audits
This past summer I conducted an accessibility audit on my field education parish where I am currently serving an internship. This church has a long-standing culture of welcome and inclusion, including accessibility for people with disabilities. In the early 90’s their capital campaign included an elevator. A ramp was built to the chancel so all can access the altar along with spacious ADA compliant restrooms. The small parking lot prioritizes accessible parking spaces with an accessible entrance. Sound system improvements include adaptions for hearing aids and listening devices. The attention and care given to accessibility shows. Many children with various disabilities have been nurtured in this community, growing up to flourish, knowing they are loved by God and the church. Adults with disabilities serve in leadership positions, knowing they are valued members of the community. The people in this church truly care and want it to be a place of welcome for all people.
Even with this background and desire, doing an accessibility audit was still important. Yes, there has been attention to accessibility over the years, but the original church was still built in a time before accessible building codes were enacted. When measuring the doorways, I discovered the priest’s office door has a clearance of 28”, meaning a wheelchair is not going to fit. Although installing a new door isn’t reasonable with the awkward layout of the original plant, awareness allows us to consider alternative meeting spaces when the need arises. The accessibility audit also brought to our awareness other potential issues—a missing outdoor rail, a 1” threshold at our accessible entrance that could be mitigated with a $30 rubber threshold ramp. I wondered if we could replace the most used doorknobs with lever pulls. These are all low-cost additions that could enhance access and safety.
Going through the church with a tape measure and ADA Barriers Survey gave me the baseline for the building, but more information was gathered when I observed how the community used the space. It is challenging to get wheelchairs in and out of our two designated pew cuts that are on the side aisle, thus providing backside viewing. Many individuals have walkers, and the pew space is too tight to navigate. Could we remove a row of pews, providing more space for wheelchairs, walkers, service animals, kids, and anyone else who could use more space? How do our greeters orient newcomers that might have a disability? How about our signage? Does our website have information on accessibility?
Through observation, I discovered the one accessible door is locked except for Sunday morning services. This means anyone trying to access the offices during the week would need to climb a flight of stairs to ring the doorbell or walk downstairs and around the building to attend events in our parish hall, making the accessible parking lot and elevator unhelpful. This policy shift, appearing to have come after COVID, is the type of oversights accessibility audits can catch, especially when we focus on how the community interacts with the building, not just the structure. For this, I find the United Methodist Church’s Annual Accessibility Audit useful alongside the Americans with Disabilities Act Architectural Compliance Guidance.
Another way to gather information is to ask people with various disabilities to evaluate your church and give honest feedback. During my internship this year, I am hoping to create an Access Committee with a majority representation of people with disabilities to further evaluate our accessibility, inclusion, and belonging of disabled people in our community. Bridge Disabilities Ministries is another resource as we work to become more accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to individuals with disabilities.
Resources:
ADA Checklist for existing facilities: https://www.adachecklist.org/doc/fullchecklist/ada-checklist.pdf
UMC Accessibility Audit: https://www.wvumc.org/files/wordpress/uploads/2024/08/UMC-Annual-Accessibility-Audit-Updated-2024-LIVE.pdf
About the Author: Jessica Thompson became disabled as a young adult and has worked for accessibility and inclusion specifically in third places for over 20 years. Coming to the Episcopal Church after experiencing religious trauma from “faith healing,” Jessica feels called to break down barriers, both physical as well as spiritual by addressing the harmful theologies and behaviors that have shown disabled people that “we are not welcome as the Beloved People God created us to be.” She is blogger, speaker, and consultant for Bridge Disability Ministries.
Categorised in: Journey with Jessica