Announcements

Last year, two of our North Carolina Conference UMCs made facility changes and completed the UM Disability Ministries accessibility audit to achieve official Silver Badge status. Silver-status churches have worked to make most areas accessible and have accommodations for people with limited vision and hearing loss. Silver status is determined by self-reporting an audit score of 85% of the Bronze and Silver items on the list.

We are grateful to Grace UMC in Wilmington and Ocean View UMC in Oak Island for their commitment to accessibility! Is your church eager to be accessible? Follow this link for more information about the Audits and Accessibility Badge.

Grace UMC’s Accessibility Journey 

Every year, the Board of Trustees, as part of their Annual Report to the Charge Conference, included the results of the Accessibility Audit, and for several years our church did not meet the standards for even the lowest level of recognition. To be perfectly honest, with all the issues that plague an older church, working on a recognition badge was not high on the priority list. That was until the issue of accessibility became very noticeable during one of our Sunday morning services.

While our pastor was delivering his sermon, a church member who uses a walker for mobility began to leave the sanctuary. She and her walker became wedged in the opening as she attempted to exit through two narrow doors of the transept. One of the two doors became latched and could not be opened from inside the transept. Several members quickly freed her, but the incident was discussed at the Trustees meeting and later at the Administrative Council meeting. At that point, Grace UMC launched a project to improve accessibility and safety significantly by removing obstacles to emergency exits.

During the next year, Grace UMC made sufficient improvements to meet the standards of a Silver Badge. The church expects to meet the Gold Badge standards by the end of 2024. The motivation is not to receive recognition – we recognize that an old church is not the easiest to maneuver, and many in our congregation have various levels of mobility. Had there been a fire in our sanctuary, rather than a member needing to leave the sanctuary, and the doors being restricted, the results would have been devastating!

While there was an expenditure to improve our older church, many, especially those with limited mobility, have recognized the improvements. We will continue to remove any obstacles that interfere with accessing our buildings and strive to increase the consideration and awareness of all who use our church. 

Written by Marvin Evans, Trustees Chair, Grace UMC