Church welcomes gifts of the disabled
TORONTO, ON—When The Abilities Church was launched this fall, one staff member received an angry letter informing him that people with disabilities "were not qualified to lead a church."
For ministry pastor, Robert Gagnon, this reaction was nothing new.
"All my life I've had people telling me what I can and cannot do," says Gagnon. "So it really doesn't faze me. After all, when I was born I wasn't supposed to live more than 48 hours."
Gagnon has cerebral palsy, which slows his speech pattern and causes him to slur words. When he graduated with a Masters of Theology from Tyndale Bible College he found it hard to find a ministry position.
"They want pastors who can speak clearly," he says, laughing. "But God gives gifts to people regardless of what people can see on the outside.
"But I know my gifting. I know where God is calling me. What someone else says is irrelevant. I know what God is calling me to do, and therefore I am able to do it."
Hollywood mentality
The Abilities Church was founded this fall, with the goal of maintaining a 50 per cent congregational balance between those who have mental, physical and intellectual disabilities and those who do not. Three members of their six-person ministry team are disabled.
The church is currently using space being donated by the First United Pentecostal Church of Toronto. On January 3 it will launch its grand opening at International Celebration Church, with the support of senior associate pastor Peter Karl Youngren. Some 200 people attended the church's inaugural service in September where a man who was intellectually disabled performed the national anthem.
"He just hummed it," says founding pastor Jaime Castro, "It was the best he could do. Everybody was in tears."
Castro has been working with the disabled for over 12 years. He explains he had the vision for a "spiritual group, facilitated by people with disabilities" while working with Community Living Toronto.
"Many churches have developed a Hollywood mentality where only the beautiful, the smart and the well spoken are given opportunities to minister," Castro says. "Most churches have just a handful of people with disabilities, and they hide them at the back. We are able to break those barriers, and bring the community together by putting people with disabilities at the forefront."
Normal but not equal
Pastor of motivation, Jackie Morris, survived spinal meningitis as a baby. The disease paralyzed the right side of her body. She says many people assume that those with disabilities are unable to speak for themselves.
"They don't give us a chance to really voice our opinions," Morris says.
She says that can push those with disabilities to withdraw.
"It's like nobody cares so why should God?" she says. "It's unfortunate that so many so-called 'normal' people don't see us as equal beings. My mind is working perfectly and I would like it if people would just open up their hearts and see that there is more to me. It took me a long time to actually put myself out here, because every time I put myself out there I wasn't taken seriously.
"For me to be able to get this opportunity to show that disabled people have more to say is a gift. It is a great gift."
Making room
The Abilities church also aims to come alongside others wanting to set up their own ministry or event. So far they have been contacted by several groups in the United States, Canada and elsewhere, including groups of other faiths.
"Most churches are not set up for or geared structurally to accommodate large numbers of people with disabilities," Castro says. "They do not have enough room for wheelchairs and the stages of most churches are not wheelchair accessible.
"Also, most congregations would be overwhelmed by the noise level. We clearly state that at The Abilities Church, people can express themselves as loudly as they wish. Anybody can get up and walk around. Anybody can dance. Anybody can worship in their own way.
"For some their cognitive skills are very low. They may have the body of a 40-year-old but the brain of a child. So we use a lot of big pictures to help them visualize."
"We all have disabilities"
"We all have a disability," Castro adds, "whether it is visible or invisible.
"People who are 'normal,' from the world's perspective, tend to have more spiritual or emotional disabilities than those with disabilities. I grew up in a very rigid denomination, and it was people with intellectual disabilities who helped me to really see the love of Jesus.
"There I was, a Bible college grad. I knew theology, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. All they knew was that Jesus loved them and a hug. They would sing 'Jesus Loves Me' with a big smile on their face. And I would think 'What are they so happy about?
"With people with disabilities you can be yourself. You can cry. You can laugh. You can be yourself. And they will accept you. They have incredible faith to deal with the challenges in their lives. They inspire us not to focus on our problems but on our strengths."
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