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Including People with Mental Retardation in Religious Activities
 From the July 2002 Disabilities newsletter.The inclusion of children and adults with mental retardation in religious and spiritual activities should be a given. "If the sign outside [the religious institution] says 'All Are Welcome,' then everyone should be welcome," says Bill Gaventa, coordinator of community and congregational supports and assistant professor of pediatrics at the Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey. Barriers Rev. Gaventa says that many factors contribute to a lack of participation of people with mental retardation in religious life. These include individuals and their families being "turned off" due to previous negative interactions with clergy and congregational leaders and the reluctance of agencies to provide religious supports because of concerns about church-state separation. He also notes that many clergy and congregational leaders equate faith with intellectual understanding, and assume people with intellectual disabilities won't understand beliefs or traditions. Yet congregations can overcome these barriers as long as they have the desire to make inclusion work. One-On-One "Start talking to individuals [with disabilities and their families] one-on-one," says Rev. Gaventa." He emphasizes that, because of previous experiences with intolerance or rejection, families may be wary at the beginning. "Sometimes, it takes a while to build trust." Once individual needs are assessed, the congregation can develop a committee to create a plan for meeting those needs. Rev. Gaventa notes that several programs around the country have managed to provide excellent supports at a low cost and without extensive programming. One example is Bridges to Faith in Massachusetts, which recruits people from the community to be "faith companions" and accompany and assist people with developmental disabilities in activities at the congregation of their choice. Above all else, Rev. Gaventa emphasizes that congregations should see themselves as "bundles of different groups [people with different abilities and interests]." Of utmost importance is the commitment to "be aware of and celebrate differences. Help people with disabilities have a valued role in the congregation. "Recognize that everybody has gifts and see how they can use them." Rev. Gaventa's Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities works with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Department of Family Medicine and other departments in the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey to meet the needs of children and adults with disabilities. One of their current projects, headed by Rev. Gaventa, is the New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Ministries. For information on this and other Boggs Center projects and resources, see their web site. For more information on religious life and people with developmental disabilities, the University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration published a recent newsletter on the subject.
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