Among the many workshops at the annual Worship Facilities eXpo (WFX) was one led by United Methodists entitled, “Disability-Friendly Churches: How to Become One.”

Sharon McCart, Chair of the Cal-Pac DisAbilities Ministries Task Force as well as the DisAbilites Ministries of The United Methodist Church, led the workshop which included the theological foundation that all are included in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12), the statistic that one in five people in the world today has a disability, and the barriers that prevent the inclusion of people with disabilities in our churches.

Resources provided at the workshop included a copy of The Voice newsletter, brochures from the DisAbility Ministries Committee of The United Methodist Church and The United Methodist Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Committee, as well as the “Accessibility Audit” and a list of other resources. Dale McCart, who accompanied Sharon, presented on Assisted Listening Devices.

Sharon and Dale also met two teams from United Methodist Communications (UMCOM) who were present at WFX and learned that the United Methodist “Find-a-Church” site will include an accessibility badge for listings of churches that are well accessible.

To obtain copy of any of the resources distributed, including the presentation used in the workshop, contact Sharon McCart (smccart@aol.com), Chair of the Cal-Pac DisAbilities Ministries Task Force.

Correction: The story previously stated incorrectly that Sharon and Dale met by happenstance.