If you were to attend Sunday service at Holly Grove Lutheran Church in Lexington, North Carolina, you might notice that Pastor Anna E. Carter rarely leads worship alone. As she sets the table, serves communion, and processes down the aisle, there is a little boy at her side. His name is Brantley, and Pastor Anna has never met anyone else like him. “There is such a reverence that he has for worship at just nine years old,” she says.
Brantley serves as an acolyte at least twice a month. He hands out offering plates to ushers, helps Pastor Anna with communion, and says the words of dismissal at the end of worship. During hymns, prayers and the sermon, Brantley can often be spotted wandering around the chancel, bowing to the altar every time he passes it. This wandering is one of Brantley’s stims, something he does to regulate himself and his emotions. Like one in 36 children, Brantley has autism, a developmental disability that affects how people communicate and interact with the world around them.
Some members took a little while to adjust to Brantley’s presence in worship, but now he is a beloved fixture during worship services at Holly Grove. “There were a few people who mistook Brantley’s wandering for irreverence,” Pastor Anna said. “I don’t think they understood my comfort level with it. But the joy Brantley brings to Holly Grove has reminded them of how special worship really is. He has so much to contribute, and we offer this space for him to do that.”
Getting to know Brantley has transformed Pastor Anna’s perspective on God. “Brantley is not neurotypical, but his autism is not some kind of glitch. As he is, right now, today, Brantley is completely made in the image of God,” she said. “Anybody with a limb difference, Downs Syndrome or any kind of disability is complete, and [they are] entirely made in the image of God. There is nothing defective or less than about them. The image of God is so vast [and] so expansive, it takes all of humanity, with all our differences, to help us understand how big the image of God is.”
Many congregations have found ways to welcome people with disabilities into worship and the life of the church. Some, like Peace Lutheran Church in Gahanna, Ohio, have created robust disability ministries in response to a need in their community. Since 2001, Peace has been home to Friendship Ministry, a program for adults with disabilities. Friendship Ministry includes:
- Camp Friendship, a week-long summer resident camp.
- Friendship-Faith-n-Fun, a bi-weekly Bible study and social group.
- Saturday Respite, a monthly gathering offering a meal and a wide variety of activities.
Friendship Ministry is run by a team of more than 100 volunteers, many of whom come back year after year. “Our congregation members eagerly welcome the opportunity to share time with Friendship Ministries,” said Minda Bickley, outreach ministries director, who oversees Friendship Ministry. “Our volunteers express that they feel so much joy and learn from each other as they develop beautiful relationships.”
Using grant funding from the ELCA, Peace also offered a series of educational, coaching, and hands-on experiences to challenge unconscious bias, increase understanding, and build confidence in interacting with people with disabilities. One participant, who attended “with the goal to become more comfortable with people with disabilities, is now a vital volunteer for our Friendship-Faith-n-Fun program,” Bickley said.
Other congregations have focused on making worship more accessible. With the help of a generous grant, Cross of Peace Lutheran Church in Shakopee, Minnesota, has created an entire sensory service. Through cards and PowerPoint slides, the congregation uses social stories with pictures to communicate exactly what will happen, from the moment someone enters the church for worship. The worship space offers flexible seating, including yoga balls, wobbly stools and rocking chairs. Special sensory kits are available for use. Even the front page of the bulletin is a coloring sheet, designed for members who like to do something with their hands.
Making worship more accessible doesn’t have to be expensive. Faith Lutheran Church in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, put together a dozen sensory kits for less than $200 by ordering in bulk.
“People of all ages with different neurodivergent diagnoses can have a hard time participating in worship, and sensory kits can really help,” said Kallie Jo Hollman, director of children, youth and family ministry. “Some people are sensitive to light and sound, so we included sunglasses and noise-cancelling headphones. We made a few kits for youth and adults, so we have different headphone sizes.” Also included in the kits are fidgets, soft comfort items, mint and lemon candies, and small notebooks for nonverbal communication. Faith also encourages members to bring sensory items from home if they prefer using their own. “Just knowing that they’re welcome to have that in the space is a huge thing,” Hollman said.
Some changes can be made without spending a penny. Linnea Peterson, who was diagnosed with autism after learning about the disorder at an adult forum at her church, encourages congregations to make touch optional. “There is a lot of touch at church: the passing of the peace and games during Sunday School and youth group,” Peterson said. “Passing of the peace was always hard for me.” After Peterson spoke to her college pastors about it, they adopted new language: Please share a sign of peace in a manner that is comfortable for you.
Creating worship spaces that welcome people with disabilities will require the whole congregation to make changes. “We had to do some education in the beginning on what this means, and that it’s okay if there’s noise sometimes,” said Cross of Peace’s Pastor Stephanie Espinoza.
Many families with children with special needs eventually leave the church due to an unwelcoming environment. Mosaic, the largest faith-based provider of services to people with disabilities in the United States, is working to change this through its Rejoicing Spirits program. Rejoicing Spirits empowers leaders and congregations to create worship experiences that welcome people with disabilities.
“Rejoicing Spirits has a hallmark rule of ‘no shush,’” said Rev. Twila Schock, Mosaic’s vice president of church relations and international programs. “People with disabilities can be themselves with no one giving disapproving looks or telling them to ‘be quiet.’ This allows many families to worship together.” There are 56 Rejoicing Spirits communities in the United States, with more in developmental stages.
Peterson encourages congregations to include people with disabilities in conversations about inclusivity, especially when there are potentially conflicting needs. “There may be people who are hard of hearing or have low vision,” Peterson said. “How do you balance people’s needs for significant sound and bright lights with other people’s needs for the opposite? There needs to be open and frank conversation, rather than just deciding unilaterally as a pastor to try to favor one group or chart a middle path that doesn’t work for anyone. People with disabilities being able to say what they need and what doesn’t work for them is important.”
Churches that want to welcome people with disabilities may also face the practical struggles of aging buildings and limited funding. As the coordinator for ELCA Disability Ministries, Lisa Heffernan works with congregations that don’t have the financial resources for ramps, accessible bathrooms and other upgrades. “I challenge holy creativity in a lot of spaces,” Heffernan said. “Every congregation has its own financial circumstances, and the hard reality is that not every church is going to have every fully accessible option. But what are some initial small steps you can take to get where you need to be?”
Heffernan encourages planning ahead and being creative with funding. “Put it in your budget for next year,” she said. “Think together about a capital campaign or grants.” ELCA Disability Ministries is one of several organizations that offer such grants.
Another key to greater inclusivity is investing in community relationships and learning from other leaders. “I always encourage churches to connect with ELCA Disability Ministries [as well as] other congregations that are doing good work,” Heffernan said.
“My big charge to churches is to get to know your neighbors,” said Chaplain Sarah Menke of encircle (formerly Lutheran Family Services of Virginia). “It’s not just about welcoming who is already in your church. It’s about anticipating who might come. If you don’t have people in your community yet who have disabilities, build up those community partnerships!” When looking for partners, Lutheran social service organizations like encircle can be a gift to congregations, Menke said. “We have amazing staff who are doing amazing things and we are connected to lots of community service organizations.”
Part of creating inclusivity is thinking differently about people with disabilities, even in scripture. “The gospels put a lot of emphasis on healing and trying to make people not disabled. I’m not a big fan of that,” Peterson said. “A lot of people have different feelings about their disabilities, but I don’t want to be ‘cured’ or ‘healed.’”
Peterson encourages people to think differently about stories such as Luke 5, which describes how friends of a man with paralysis lower him through the roof of a building where Jesus is teaching. “I think the best part of that story is that this paralyzed man is in community and has people who care about him,” Peterson said. “He has several friends who are really willing to go out of their way on his behalf, and do things that are not socially acceptable—and seem kind of extreme or even just inconvenient—to help someone with a disability.”
Heffernan added: “I never want the disability community to be pitied or seen as less than in the church or in society. Having been born with spina bifida and being a full-time wheelchair user has shaped me and who I am in the world. The fact that I have a disability is a part of my reality I want others to see!”
“I am a whole person,” Hefferman said. “All people with disabilities are whole. I pray for a day when we are seen more fully as part of God’s diversity in the world. It’s about doing ministry with us, not always for us.”
“Disability ministry and theology are vital to our lives together; to help us live authentically and to understand why exclusion and inaccessibility don’t work in God’s economy as followers of Christ. And to be the body of Christ most fully we must remain faithful to where we begin: that we have all been made in the image of God. And that disability is a beautiful and holy part of that diversity.”
Maggie Taylor is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Fast Company, and Gather. She lives in Ohio with her husband and son.
This article appears in the March/April/May 2025 issue of Gather. To read more like it, subscribe to Gather.