We've discovered that the beloved way that we were doing things created a barrier to some and actually kept people from taking the step of professing their faith.
We had the regular practice of having the person stand in front of the congregation, respond to the vows, receive a remembrance of the profession of faith, give a testimony if they so desired, and then be welcomed by anyone in the congregation as the congregation sings 1-3 songs. All of which could be tremendously meaningful--for some. For others, it was terrifying.
So we decided to tailor it individually to the person professing. We've had people simply stand in affirmation of the vows; we've had a husband/wife elder team stand next to the person as she responded to the vows; we've dropped the communal welcome in many cases--and we let everyone know that we can adapt anything to make it an affirming rather than a threatening experience.
We still need to find a way of publicizing this generally to the congregation. But moving away from a "one-size-fits-all" attitude has helped. I think too that when people see the church accommodating its practices to the needs of those in the Body, they catch something of the Spirit of Christ who did the same for each of us.
Posted in: How Is Your Church Doing With Accessibility?
Yes.
We've discovered that the beloved way that we were doing things created a barrier to some and actually kept people from taking the step of professing their faith.
We had the regular practice of having the person stand in front of the congregation, respond to the vows, receive a remembrance of the profession of faith, give a testimony if they so desired, and then be welcomed by anyone in the congregation as the congregation sings 1-3 songs. All of which could be tremendously meaningful--for some. For others, it was terrifying.
So we decided to tailor it individually to the person professing. We've had people simply stand in affirmation of the vows; we've had a husband/wife elder team stand next to the person as she responded to the vows; we've dropped the communal welcome in many cases--and we let everyone know that we can adapt anything to make it an affirming rather than a threatening experience.
We still need to find a way of publicizing this generally to the congregation. But moving away from a "one-size-fits-all" attitude has helped. I think too that when people see the church accommodating its practices to the needs of those in the Body, they catch something of the Spirit of Christ who did the same for each of us.