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Community Conversations on Faith and Disability: Identifying New Practices, Postures, and Partners for Congregations

Authors:
Erik Carter at Baylor University
Erik Carter
Jennifer L. Bumble at American Institutes for Research
Jennifer L. Bumble
Brianna Griffin
Brianna Griffin
Brianna Griffin
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Matthew P. Curcio
Matthew P. Curcio
Matthew P. Curcio
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
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Abstract

For many people with disabilities and their families, involvement in a congregation provides an important source of spiritual connections, community, and support. Yet congregations often express uncertainty about how to support meaningful participation for these members of their faith community. We used “community conversations” as a methodology for identifying potential pathways through which congregations—individually and collectively—might foster inclusion and belonging for people with disabilities and their families. We analyzed the nearly 1000 ideas generated by 175 participants representing an array of local congregations within two distinct counties in Tennessee. Their recommendations fell within 23 categories spanning five themes: disability-specific efforts, internal activities, external activities, influencers, and resources. Attendees’ impressions of their own congregation’s actions and attitudes related to including people with disabilities were quite mixed. However, they strongly affirmed this approach to community dialogue and considered it to be fruitful. We offer recommendations for future research at the intersection of faith and disability and suggest ways in which congregations might move forward in this aspect of their ministry.
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Community Conversations on Faith and Disability:
Identifying New Practices, Postures,
and Partners for Congregations
Erik W. Carter
1
&Jennifer L. Bumble
1
&
Brianna Griffin
2
&Matthew P. Curcio
1
Published online: 5 May 2017
#Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017
Abstract For many people with disabilities and their families, involvement in a congregation
provides an important source of spiritual connections, community, and support. Yet congregations
often express uncertainty about how to support meaningful participation for these members of their
faith community. We used Bcommunity conversations^as a methodology for identifying potential
pathways through which congregations—individually and collectively—might foster inclusion and
belonging for people with disabilities and their families. We analyzed the nearly 1000 ideas generated
by 175 participants representing an array of local congregations within two distinct counties in
Tennessee. Their recommendations fell within 23 categories spanning five themes: disability-specific
efforts, internal activities, external activities, influencers, and resources. Attendees’impressions of
their own congregation’s actions and attitudes related to including people with disabilities were quite
mixed. However, they strongly affirmed this approach to community dialogue and considered it to be
fruitful. We offer recommendations for future research at the intersection of faith and disability and
suggest ways in which congregations might move forward in this aspect of their ministry.
Keywords Disabilities .Inclusion .Religion .Spirituality
Congregations have long strived to serve the communities gathering both within and beyond the
boundaries of their buildings. This double posture of inward and outward attention reflects decussate
desires. On the one hand, congregations actively create contexts in which their members can come
together in community for worship, learning, discipleship, support, and fellowship. At the same time,
they often invest substantially in meeting pressing needs in the communities that surround their
congregation. People with disabilities and their families comprise core members of both communities.
Pastoral Psychol (2017) 66:575–594
DOI 10.1007/s11089-017-0770-4
*Erik W. Carter
erik.carter@vanderbilt.edu
1
Department of Special Education, Peabody College, VanderbiltUniversity, Nashville, TN 37203, USA
2
School of Occupational Therapy, Belmont University, 37212 Nashville, TN, USA
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Accessibility scores ranged widely and were lowest in the areas of restrooms; no church had a perfect score. More recently, Carter et al. (2017) found that 77% of individuals attending two community conversations on faith and disability agreed that their congregation's buildings were accessible to people with physical disabilities. Holland et al. (2016) examined the physical accessibility of a national sample of Catholic churches. ...
... In their community conversations with cross-sections of stakeholders, Carter et al. (2017) identified a number of potential influences on congregational inclusion, including the characteristics of individuals and families, congregational features, theology, training, community partnerships, denominational supports, disability ministries, and societal trends. Some of these influences have been studied well, others have been entirely overlooked. ...
... Although many features and resources of congregations are likely to shape their practices and priorities related to disability (e.g., culture, denomination, facilities, finances, governance, history, staffing, style), few have been extensively studied (e.g., Ault et al., 2013b;Carter et al., 2017). Indeed, church size has been the main focus of researchers and the findings are somewhat confusing. ...
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The United States is home to more than 60 million Americans with disabilities and more than 300,000 churches. Yet the relationships among these individuals and congregations is alternately described as encouraging or concerning—sometimes stellar, other times deeply disappointing. Although anecdotes have characterized much of these depictions, a growing body of research also focuses on this area. This research review addresses the current landscape of congregational participation and practices related to individuals with disabilities and their families. What is known about the participation of individuals with disabilities in relation to faith community life? What is known about the practices of local congregations in relation to individuals with disabilities? This paper highlights key findings, identifies gaps in the current literature, and concludes with recommendations for future research.
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... This study contributes to the growing body of evidence confirming the immense impact of systemic factors on persons with disabilities' own functioning, societal participation and quality of life, as well as that of their primary caregivers and families, be it in relation to the disability-related supports received, or the lack thereof (Ault et al., 2013;Breen, 2009;Carter et al., 2017;Erasmus et al., 2016;Fischer, 2018;Kazou, 2017;Light & McNaughton, 2015;McDaniel & Pisani, 2012;McDougall et al., 2010;Murray, 2007;Prendeville & Kinsella, 2019;Schlebusch et al., 2017;Vernhet et al., 2019;Walsh, 2012). The findings of the current study corroborate the latter outcome, where the perceptions of all the participants culminated in the collective observation that their own congregation does not yet reflect disability inclusivity that would enable participation and make persons with disabilities and their families feel welcome and accepted. ...
... While it is important for persons with disabilities and caregivers to develop agency and speak out about their needs, desires and preferences (Gurbai, 2014), it is also important that the church leaders are aware of possible avoidant behaviors to enable them to reach out to persons with disabilities and caregivers, instead of waiting on them to come forward by themselves. In order for this awareness to occur, it will be necessary for the persons with disabilities, caregivers, and church leaders to develop trusting face-to-face relationships where fruitful dialogues can be had to jointly identify the areas where action is needed most (Carter et al., 2017). ...
... As important as this is, such intervention should not be limited to children and their families only. Consistent with the caregiver and church leaders participants' focus on supporting children, recent research on the participation of persons with disabilities in their faith communities shows that congregations generally give more attention to younger children, than to adolescents and adults concerning their accommodation and inclusion (Carter et al., 2017). In order to honor their equal right to inclusion and participation in this congregation, it is important that the same level of support is extended to all persons with disabilities, children, youth and adults alike. ...
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... The California Employment Consortium for Youth with I/DD (CECY) relied on collaboration between agencies and organizations, among other stakeholders, to develop policies and capacities that would increase likelihood of community employment for youth with I/DD (Raynor et al., 2017). Religious organizations that collaborate with state agencies have been found to improve opportunities for people with I/DD who live in rural regions by providing wide ranging resources along with social and employment supports (Carter et al., 2017;Stewart-Ginsburg & Kwiatek, 2020). Agency and organization alignment can also support improved health outcomes for people with I/DD. ...
View
... This might entail surveying congregation members, interviewing selected individuals who are impacted by disability or lead particular ministries, conducting an accessibility audit, visiting other churches known for their inclusivity, or hosting open listening session. For example, Carter et al. (2017) advocate for the use of "community conversations" as a one unique way of soliciting diverse perspectives. Using an adaptation of the World Café approach (www.theworldcafe.org), a cross-section of parish members is invited to a two-hour event comprised of a series of small-and whole-group conversations addressing three key questions: What could we do to include individuals with disabilities and their families well in all aspects of parish life? ...
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... Carers need to be aware of meanings of spirituality, comfortable with their own spirituality; and aware of how to provide spiritual support (Barber 2013). At the same time participation in community activities such as religious services is viewed as very important by older people with intellectual disability (Carter et al 2017). These authors recommend this form of engagement in terms of inclusivity and what can be gained from this connection. ...
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... They can interview or survey others in the congregation to solicit their input. And they can convene the entire congregation for a "community conversation" (Carter et al., 2017) or hold more focused listening sessions with particular stakeholder groups. Based on what they learn, the team crafts a written plan that addresses the steps the congregation will take moving forward. ...
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... While "inclusion" is still commonly used in the literature, welcoming is being more frequently used in the literature when describing strategies and attitudes communities and programs have toward immigrants and other marginalized populations (Forde, Lee, Mills, & Frisby, 2015;Ryan et al., 2020). Additionally, places like religious communities (Carter, Bumble, Griffin, & Curcio, 2017) and parks (Burke, 2013) are intentionally focused on creating welcoming environments for individuals with disabilities. ...
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