Pastor: The Lord calls us as his covenant people to care for each other.
Congregation: We who belong to Christ must answer his call to serve each other in his name.
Pastor: Remarkable examples in the Bible teach us how God uses each member of his community in surprising ways to enrich and enlarge his church.
Congregation: Our Lord is our supreme example. He wanted and welcomed people with disabilities whom society rejected as useless.
Pastor: We have not always made it possible for people with disabilities to participate fully in this community. We have often isolated them and their families.
Congregation: We pledge ourselves to be the caring church we should be, paying special attention to the needs and gifts of people with physical, sensory, mental, and emotional impairments.
Pastor: We pledge ourselves to remove the barriers which keep these people from being fully included in our fellowship:
Congregation: The barrier raised by attitudes we hold which make those with disabilities feel unwanted among us; the barrier raised by communication we carry on which ignores those who don't hear, see or learn like us; the barrier raised by architecture we tolerate which makes it hard for some people to join us.
All: Lord, alert us to barriers. Teach us to eliminate them; and show us that in serving we will be served. AMEN.
