Notes from Yukiko’s Desk

Dear AGAC community,

Disability Awareness Sunday is the third Sunday in June each year. It is a day where Churches are invited to dedicate their service to an important message: Christian communities need to be places for people with disabilities to grow in their faith, have opportunities to lead and to contribute.

When you hear the word “disability,” what comes to mind? Wheelchairs? Accessible parking? Walkers? A blind cane???? While it’s true that some disabilities are very visible, many types of disabilities are “invisible” like chronic pain, neurological disorders, learning disabilities, and mental health conditions. Many people with disabilities (visible or invisible) feel forced to “cover” aspects of their disability to be socially accepted, or “uncover” only when necessary to justify accommodations.

God affirms us in the Bible that personal impairments need not be a barrier to answering God’s call. For instance, Moses who initially had protested to God about his calling, citing his speech impairment as a barrier to ministry, but later he was supported in his calling by Aaron (Exodus 4:10-17). Having a Japanese accent when speaking English, this passage was a great encouragement when going through the discernment process for ordination. In the incarnation, Jesus’ humanity, in his life, death and resurrection, challenges and gives hope that, in vulnerability as well as in strength, we are called to be bearers of the Gospel and full participants in the Body of Christ. We recognise that some understandings of disability can create stigma and ultimately exclusion from full participation in the life of the Church.

How are we doing to show love and compassion in practical ways to each other including disabled people? Let’s ponder together.

In God’s embrace,

Yukiko

  
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