“Our work here is not only about making soup; it’s about building confidence, community, and faith.” Monica Theysen reflects on her transformative journey at The Raw Carrot, where meaningful employment and a faith-centered environment have brought purpose and hope to her life and others.
A genuine welcome goes beyond simply opening the doors; it requires sacrifice, as Christ sacrificed himself to welcome us into his body. To imitate Christ, we must extend that same welcome to all—abled or disabled—who seek to come to Christ.
Disability is not a barrier to the work of God’s grace in someone’s life. Jesus saves disabled people, as they are, without condition. The Church must embrace this truth, welcoming people with disabilities into full participation in worship and community, recognizing their unique gifts and the ways God is working through them.
God works through disability, using what the world sees as weakness to accomplish His plans. Jesus Himself chose to bear the scars of suffering even after His resurrection, showing solidarity with the weak. As the Church, we are called to do the same.
What does it mean to be an integral part of the Church when attending worship means facing barriers? While I’ve never felt unwelcome as a disabled person, many disabled individuals have. Some of this exclusion stems from a lack of access, but often there’s also a lukewarm or resistant attitude toward disabled people in the church.
It might sound cliché, but I was hired to help others and they helped me just as much, perhaps even more. I learned about acceptance, trust, diversity, and what it meant to have a place to belong. Looking back, I realize God was beginning to teach me about 1 Corinthians 12 and what it means to be whole.
Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ Luke 5: 22
It is a long and slow process for me, a well-educated and nondisabled white male, to appreciate and to pay attention to the ways that God is working on the margins. But whether it is in pausing my frantic productivity to gaze for a moment at crisp pin-points of light in the night sky or in turning my attention to a neighbour who does not use words to communicate, I am “Learning how to say ‘Hallelujah’ from the ones who say it right.”
God’s order is not our own, and the upside-down Kingdom is often led by those whom we might prefer to ignore or condemn. “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” the Pharisees demand. I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Pay close enough attention, he instructs, and if we’re quiet we will hear even the voice of these silent rocks.
Although it is good to minister to people and families affected by disabilities, the body of Christ is not complete without the gifts each of these members possess when equipped to serve.