Thrive is excited to share a new resource on multi-sensory worship practices developed by the Disability Ministry Network!
Last year, Thrive was one of seventeen organizations that participated in a project conducted by DNM that concentrated on accessibility in weekly worship services. For those in a congregation who are nonverbal, have cognitive disabilities, or have varying sensory needs, worship can often lean heavily on words, creating a barrier to full participation, so this project centered on exploring ways in which all of our physical senses might be connected to the various components of worship gatherings.
Thrive contributed to this research by hosting a Creative Worship Listening Session which brought together worship leaders, pastors, disability advocates, and other church leaders from five regional classes in West Michigan. Attendees explored ways to engage in corporate worship without relying on words, sharing ideas on how their own congregations have incorporated nonword-based practices such as visual examples, physical movement, art, music, dance, and sign language. Ideas shared at the listening session played a part in the development of the larger ecumenical project from the Disability Ministry Network.
The DMN project directly led to the creation of Worship for the Whole Body: Creative Ideas for Multi-Sensory Worship Practice. This resource invites congregations to look for ways to explore how all of our senses can be connected to the various components of a worship service.
In addition to the main resource, DMN has created a Multi-Sensory Worship Resource Guide, which is a curated collection of helpful links and centers focused on multi-sensory worship that can support congregations looking to further engage all in their worship experiences.
Thrive remains committed to supporting congregations in being places where everyone belongs and everyone serves. Both of these resources are attached below or can be found at disabilityministrynetwork.org/resources/ with additional disability and accessibility resources found at crcna.org/thrive/resources .
Comments
Thanks for sharing! This is a great resource.
Several years ago I needed a new sewing machine. The salesman, on hearing that I was left-handed, said “Oh, Husqvarna makes machines for disabled people.”
I understand that churches generally rely heavily on reading and listening but I wouldn’t have thought multi sensory worship falls in the category of Disability ministry. When will we treat one another as individuals wonderfully made to be multi sensory and multi skilled. We are all different, not a category.
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