Explanation

The Church, over several decades, has promised to be accessible for disabled and Deaf people at all levels of the Church, and to commit to voluntary compliance with accessibility laws, notably the Americans with Disabilities Act (and, for diocese outside of the United States, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities).

In 2018, the 79th General Convention created a Task Force on Disability and Deaf Access to assess disability and Deaf accessibility throughout the Church. The Task Force’s Blue Book Report made several suggestions for becoming an accessible Church, but did not publish or make available resources for the wider Church to use in taking this significant step forward.[i]

The Diocese of California created its own Task Force on Disability and Deaf Access at its 170th Diocesan Convention in 2019. That Task Force has developed both a Best Practices Guide for the voluntary, low-cost, and easy means of access and inclusion for disabled and Deaf people at all levels of the Church, including at the parish level. The Best Practices Guide was completed during the COVID-19 pandemic so as to include recommendations relevant to pandemic life and post-pandemic life where video conference platforms are more frequently used. The Task Force also created a disability sensitivity and awareness training that the Diocese has required all diocesan staff, both lay and clergy, with hiring responsibilities and the Commission on Ministry to take every three years. The Diocese mandated this disability sensitivity training at its 173rd Diocesan Convention in 2022.

The DioCal Guide and Training were developed by two members of the Disability Community, each of whom has not only lived experience with disability but also professional experience working for and with nationally-renowned disability rights organizations such as Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc. and the National Association of the Deaf. These resources were developed specifically for use within a faith community and especially in The Episcopal Church. These resources were also inspired by existing resources in the Church of England’s own disability resources, including the Disability Officer for the Diocese of Oxford.[ii]

The current House of Deputies Committee on the State of the Church includes multiple members who identify as disabled and/or as neurodiverse. The Committee thus recognizes the importance of making these resources widely available to the Church at large, particularly once the DioCal resources have been appropriately vetted, and urges this Convention to pass this resolution so that concrete steps towards Church-wide accessibility, as each Church institution and parish or congregation is able, can be made available throughout The Episcopal Church.

[i] https://www.episcopalarchives.org/e-archives/gc_reports/reports/2022/bb_2022-R038.pdf

[ii] https://www.oxford.anglican.org/environment-and-social-justice/deafness-disability/

 

Support Document Links:

Diocese of Oxford - Deaf Church and Disability

Report to the 80th General Convention of the Task Force on Disability & Deaf Access

Informe a la 80ª Convención General del Grupo de trabajo sobre discapacidad y acceso para sordos

 

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