Power Grid Blog
IDAC: Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition
May 29, 2012 | AAPD Power Grid Blog Team
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Did you know? 83 percent of Americans identify with a religious denomination, 40 percent state that they attend services nearly every week or more, and 58 percent say that they pray at least weekly. |
Faith is a common thread among Americans of all backgrounds, and some of our most important social justice movements—from abolition to the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s—originated in communities of faith.
Yet while faith can and ought to be a unifying force, too often it is not. In fact, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., once said "it is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning."
AAPD’s Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC) works to engage people and communities of all denominations in service of disability rights.
IDAC convener Ginny Thornburgh, who has 40 years’ experience working for civil rights from an interfaith perspective, has nurtured this diverse and growing coalition to pursue this mission.
Here’s how you can get involved:
- Join IDAC’s Facebook community: http://www.facebook.com/InterfaithDisabilityAdvocacyCoalition
- Introduce your congregation or denomination to IDAC’s Statement of Solidarity, and encourage them to sign on: http://www.aapd.com/what-we-do/interfaith/idac-statement-of-solidarity.html
- Check out Amazing Gifts: Stories of Faith, Disability, and Inclusion. This new book tells 64 stories about disability and faith. http://www.aapd.com/what-we-do/interfaith/amazing-gifts-stories-of.html
- Share all of these action items with friends, family, neighbors, and members of your congregation.
- Stay tuned for more exciting ways to take action that AAPD’s IDAC coalition will produce over the summer. You can do that here on the blog or through the IDAC Facebook page.
The civil rights movement is not only in Washington, DC. Not only in internet petitions—though they are important. The civil rights movement is wherever we are. Wherever we express and reaffirm what’s in our hearts. AAPD is proud IDAC and we welcome you to join in this important part of our work for justice.
Comments
Submitted by Anonymous at 12:38 PM on May 4, 2013