How to create a church for all: KIN launches new e-guide book to help churches design disability-inclusive events  

At Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church, there is a special room fitted with two cushioned chairs. It is a small window-less space that serves a big function. During its annual youth camps, this room, simply dubbed 03-08, is a safe space for some of the youths who have sensory hyper-sensitivity or socio-relational challenges.

“When they are overwhelmed by all the activity and sound, the youths can ask to go to 03-08 for a short while,” Chantal Aw, Youth Lead, told Salt&Light. “They can chill in the room, with the lights off. Then when they are ready, they can join the activities again.

“We started this two years ago, and some youths have used the room and found it helpful.”

This is inclusivity on a minor scale. For churches that want to do more, Koinonia Inclusion Network (KIN) recently launched an e-guidebook to help them design disability-inclusive events.

Inclusive Events Guidelines (IEG), written by KIN and its research and publication arm Centre for Disability Ministry Asia (CDMA), is a practical resource that can be downloaded for free from KIN’s website.

Church for all

While disability inclusion ultimately requires culture change and genuine relationships with Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), IEG offers a handy checklist for quick reference. Designed for church events such as services, conferences and outreach events, IEG aims to help church leaders and event planners include people of all abilities.

The publication, endorsed by the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS), notes that inclusion is not about “us” making changes for “them”, but discerning how “we altogether” can live as one united Body so that churches no longer disable persons with disabilities.

The e-guide is structured along 3Ps: Principles, Practicipants and Plans.

Principles

The Principles of inclusion are:

A – providing Access so PwDs can enter all areas and participate in all programmes that others can

B – nurturing Belonging so PwDs do not feel like second-class citizens

C – enabling Contribution so they can contribute and serve at the event

Participants

The e-guide is particularly helpful in listing the different people groups who might need extra consideration and how their needs can be met. The breakdown of the groups recognises the diversity of special needs, taking into consideration visible as well as invisible disabilities:

• People with mobility difficulties
• People who are blind or with low vision
• People who are deaf or hard of hearing
• People who have sensory sensitivities
• People with cognitive impairment and learning difficulties
• People with mental health or socio-relational challenges

Plans

Finally, the practical considerations of planning accessible events:

• Organising (the Big Picture)
• Marketing and registration
• Physical accessibility
• Transportation
• Programming
• Content and materials
• Online accessibility
• Post-event activities

Each category comes with a checklist. This makes the guidelines easy to practice and also provides a good starting point for inclusion in events.

Download IEG here.
You may support KIN’s ministry in disability missions here.

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