CHICAGO (ELCA) -- First Lutheran Church, Princeton, Ill., has won the Annual Accessibility Award of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for its current building accessibility projects and its inclusion of persons with disabilities in worship, leadership and other activities. The award includes a $1,000 prize, a certificate and prominence on the Web site of the ELCA Division for Church in Society.
"What stood out for us about First Lutheran was that they had gone 'above and beyond' in accessibility outreach and inclusion," said the Rev. Lisa Thogmartin-Cleaver, director for disability ministries and deaf ministry, ELCA Division for Church in Society.
Almost 600 Lutherans are members of the congregation, with almost 200 worshiping in the church each Sunday. Princeton is a town of about 7,500 residents in central northern Illinois.
The congregation has "a great outreach program to people who are developmentally disabled, and it has included many people with disabilities in the life of the congregation," said Thogmartin-Cleaver.
Lynne Swanson, administrative supervisor, First Lutheran Church, Princeton, said the area is served by the Gateway Center, which helps people with disabilities build skills to live independently or with a care provider. Since the church installed an elevator and ramps, many people from the center began to worship with the congregation, she said.
Several members of First Lutheran have disabilities and have taken leadership in adapting the congregation's programs and worship services, rather than creating special programs, said Swanson.
The Rev. Jerome A. Diers is the congregation's pastor. During worship services, he invites younger members to come into the altar area for a children's sermon. One boy uses an electric wheelchair to come forward, and members of the congregation built a carpeted ramp so he could join the other children at the altar, said Swanson.
The Rev. Barbara Ollila, a pastor of the United Church of Christ, serves the congregation as a "care pastor." The care pastor visits nursing homes, hospitals and the homes of those who are ill or disabled, said Swanson. Ollila "has been a blessing to our congregation" and has reached out to people with disabilities in the community, she said.
Ollila is legally blind, said Swanson, and the $1,000 grant will be used to purchase an embosser -- a machine that "prints" computer files in braille. The congregation plans to make the embosser available to Ollila and others in the Princeton area who may need it.
The National Organization on Disability and Aetna U.S. Healthcare provided the cash prize, said Thogmartin-Cleaver. The money is meant to help the congregation support its disability ministries.
Five congregations each received an "honorable mention" certificate this year and a $100 MissionTerm investment certificate of deposit from the ELCA Mission Investment Fund: + First Trinity Lutheran Church, Washington, D.C. + Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Ypsilanti, Mich. + Rejoice! Lutheran Church, Omaha, Neb. + Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Hickory, N.C. + Bonnet Prairie Lutheran Church, Rio, Wis.
St. Paul Lutheran Church, Hampton, Va., won the ELCA Accessibility Award in 2001; Ascension Lutheran Church, Albert Lea, Minn., won the award in 2000.
The ELCA disability ministries and deaf ministry assists congregations and other church institutions in inclusive ministry with people with disabilities. Four networks serve as the ministries' core: the ELCA Braille and Tape Ministry, the Lutheran Network on Mental Illness/Brain Disorders, the Lutheran Services in America-Disability Network and the Definitely Abled Advisory Committee of the Lutheran Youth Organization.
The ELCA Mission Investment Fund provides loans to new Lutheran mission congregations to purchase land and construct new church buildings. Fund investors earn competitive interest rates while furthering the mission and ministry of the church. -- -- --
The ELCA Division for Church in Society maintains information about the church's disability ministries and deaf ministry, including resources on accessibility, at http://www.elca.org/dcs/disability.html on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
