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By Jacqueline L. Salmon
Staff Writer
February 3, 2007

When Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld arrived to lead Ohev Sholom, the National Synagogue, two years ago, it didn't take him long to notice a serious problem.

Steep staircases in the 50-year-old synagogue in Northwest Washington made it difficult for the elderly and people with physical disabilities to attend services and celebrations.

Now, Herzfeld is leading an effort to remedy the situation. After raising almost $150,000, the synagogue is installing two elevators and a stair lift so the steps no longer prevent disabled worshipers from participating in the life of the Orthodox Jewish synagogue at 16th and Jonquil streets.

After years of low-key resistance or inertia, houses of worship such as Ohev Sholom are increasingly trying to make their facilities, their programs and their worship services more accessible to the country's 54 million people with disabilities.

But for disability activists, the victories are coming slowly. Seventeen years after the sweeping Americans With Disabilities Act threw open the doors of workplaces, schools and other institutions to the disabled, disability activists say that religious entities have been less responsive because they are exempt from most of the act's requirements.

Historic religious buildings lack ramps and elevators, services are difficult for people with hearing problems to decipher, religious texts cannot be read by those with vision problems and religious education program leaders tell parents of emotionally disturbed children that they are not equipped to handle the childrens' special needs.

Many religious institutions simply don't know how to respond to the needs of members who are disabled, says Ginny Thornburgh, director of the National Organization on Disability's Religion and Disability Program, which is pushing religious entities to become more accessible to the disabled.

"There is relatively little interaction between houses of worship and people with disabilities. There's no antagonism, but there is very little dialogue," said Thornburgh, who is hard of hearing and has a 46-year-old son who suffered brain damage as a child.

According to a 2004 Harris poll, 84 percent of people with and without disabilities describe religion as "very important" or "important" to them. But less than half of people with disabilities attend religious services at least once a month, compared with 57 percent of people without disabilities.

"We are incomplete as long as people with disabilities can't come," said Herzfeld, whose synagogue also hosts programs for people with developmental disabilities. "The congregation needs these people. It's not a house of God if not everyone can come and worship."

To nudge congregations along, the National Organization on Disability launched the Accessible Congregations Campaign several years ago to urge national faith groups, congregations and seminaries to remove barriers to the disabled.

By signing on, a religious organization commits to removing obstacles that hinder the full participation of all people with disabilities. So far, 2,270 houses of worship have signed on. Locally, 173 congregations in the District, Maryland and Virginia are participating.

More than 100 religious leaders, educators and seminary faculty members have also signed up for the organization's Interfaith Directory of Religious Leaders with Disabilities, which lists religious leaders with disabilities who can serve as bridges between the disability community and religious organizations, said Thornburgh.

Jackie Mills-Fernald, director of Access Ministries at McLean Bible, trains leaders at other churches on how to increase services for the disabled. She also recently organized the Capital Area Disabilities Ministries, a coalition of 20 Washington area churches interested in improving access for people with disabilities

Parents of disabled children are often the spark that ignites a faith organization's move to become more open to those with disabilities, said Mills-Fernald.

"They're just dying -- begging -- for a place where the entire family can worship," she said.

Many houses of worship mistakenly assume that becoming more accessible to the disabled will be a financial drain and that it involves making expensive renovations to their facilities, Thornburgh said.

But, she said, the adjustments can be low-key and inexpensive. People with intellectual disabilities, such as mental retardation, can be invited to serve as greeters. Ushers can be stationed by heavy doors to assist those with mobility impairments. Churches that use video screens can display the text of the sermon for the hard of hearing.

"Money is a distraction," Thornburgh said. "We urge congregations to begin with low-cost ways to make the congregation understand the gifts and talents which children and adults with disabilities bring to the congregation."

Then, when a house of worship opts to make more expensive investments in ramps and elevators, members are more likely to be supportive, she said.

"Congregations get stuck on the issue of money, or they believe that once they raise the money and address the barriers of architecture, the job is complete," she said. "The greater challenge is to eliminate the barriers to attitude."

At the Covenant Community of Jesus the Good Shepherd, a Catholic church in Calvert County, lay leaders this month launched a disability ministry called "Accommodating Hearts" that is aimed at educating parishioners about those with disabilities and reaching out to disabled parishioners.

Children in the religious education program will learn about disabilities and their impact, special prayers will be inserted in the worship services and volunteers are starting up a resource library with materials on disabilities in the church.

"It's not expensive things that we're trying to do," said organizer Jean Reams, whose 12-year-old daughter has cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder. "But it's kind of beginning small steps to get the community going and to reach out to the disabled community."