A priest who is working towards becoming a certified interpreter puts his all into signing the nearly hour-long mass. A parishioner with a disability carries the wooden ramp the lector with a disability uses to approach the altar for the reading of the scripture. Soft hymns play as parishioners sit, stand, pace and stim during the Christmas mass — two days after the actual holiday.
At St. Bernadette's Church in Orchard Park — they're living out their belief that all people are a reflection of the God they believe in. And thus, everyone should be able to fully participate in their church.
St. Bernadette's Inclusive Christmas Mass on Saturday, December 27, was their seventh. But many of the lessons they've learned over the years, through both the mass and their Open Doors Ministry for disabled Catholics, have carried into their weekly worship.
Parishioners in wheelchairs can roll up to cut outs in the pews, to be able to sit with their family, instead of in the back of the church. They can also access the reception in the cafeteria after using a lift on the stairwell. A sensory room in the rear features a window to the sanctuary, adjustable speakers, rocking chairs and open pews. A low-gluten host is available during communion.
It's been decades since the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops declared a need to better serve disabled people. But still — division on teachings about disabled people and a lack of accessibility exist in many churches.
A 2024 survey in U.S. Catholic showed 41% of respondents have heard deafness or blindness used as a metaphor for sin. That same survey also showed 56% of respondents said they don't have disabled people in positions of leadership in their parishes.
So what can be learned from a small church in Orchard Park, New York? That's on this week's Disabilities Beat.
Emyle Watkins: Hi, I'm Emyle Watkins, and this is the Disabilities Beat
[Intro music fades into sound of soft hymns and a flute]
Emyle Watkins: On Saturday, December 27th, soft hymns were sung as St Bernadette Catholic Church in Orchard Park celebrated a Christmas Mass two days after the holiday. Those soft hymns were just one of a few changes that made this mass very intentional.
[Sound of soft hymns and a flute]
Emyle Watkins: At the pulpit, Father Joe Wolf preached that every person, including people with disabilities...
Father Wolf: ...are reflections of a little baby boy born among animals in a manger in Bethlehem, over 2000 years ago, who has changed humanity's history.
Emyle Watkins: In this church they were speaking of and living out a faith that honors all people as a reflection of the God they believe in.
Father Skrzynski: He emphasized that everybody is included, everybody's invited, and it's nice to see many accepting that invitation
Emyle Watkins: Father Jerry Skrzynski, from the Diocese's Deaf Ministry, interpreted the mass.
Father Skrzynski: But the mass is for a lot more than the hearing impaired. It's for blind, it's for autistic. It's for many different challenges that people are facing, and we don't care if there's noise or an outburst. We understand that that comes with it, but we're just happy we have the dimmer lights, softer music.
Emyle Watkins: Father Skrzynski realized five years ago that he was being called to serve people who are often missed by the way the church traditionally celebrates.
Father Skrzynski: The Deaf especially, don't have any choice. We need to learn to communicate with them. They cannot learn to hear.
Emyle Watkins: At all levels, disabled people participated in the mass. Parishioner Matthew Whittman, who lives with a disability and is nonverbal, sat towards the front to move the wooden wheelchair ramp when it was time for communion. I asked Matthew if it was meaningful to be seen participating in his church, and he enthusiastically nodded yes. His mother, Patty, who is part of the church's Open Doors ministry for disabled parishioners, added some more context.
Patty Whittman: You know, he'd rather keep busy with his hands and his feet and do things to help others.
Emyle Watkins: Matthew's role in the service was essential, as was lector Ashley McGlaff's reading of the scripture. McGlaff used the wooden ramp Matthew handled to wheel up to the platform and read during the service.
Ashley McGlaff: I actually started being a lector when I was 13, and I wanted to do that because I wanted to be involved somehow in the church.
Emyle Watkins: I asked her if Father Wolf's message felt radical, given division and differing beliefs around disabled people.
Ashley McGlaff: I don't think it's as radical as it used to be. I think, you know, back when the ADA law was passed, that was the beginning of having more respect for people with disabilities.
Emyle Watkins: At this church, disabled people are fully respected as participating members. Patty shared that Matthew participated in a faith education program tailored to disabled people. In the back of the church, there's a room with speakers and a window to the sanctuary, their own version of a sensory room.
[Fades into music played during communion]
Emyle Watkins: In 1978 the Pastoral Statement of the U.S. Catholic Bishops on Persons with Disabilities stated "we must acknowledge that at times we have responded to the needs of some of our disabled people only after circumstances or public opinion have compelled us to do so."
[Communion music]
Emyle Watkins: In the decades since, churches have taken up social doctrine and church guidelines that compel them to do better by their disabled parishioners. But still, programs like Open Doors don't exist at every church. If you need an interpreted mass every week, you don't have your choice of parishes and may not be able to go to the one closest to you. Like many places in the US, churches perhaps have come a long way, but there's still ways to go.
[Communion music]
Emyle Watkins: At the end of my interview with Father Skrzynski, I also asked him: was Father Wolf's message of everyone, including people with disabilities, being made in God's image a radical one?
Father Skrzynski: It's not radical, it's not heard as often as maybe we should preach it from the ambo.
Emyle Watkins: You can listen to the Disability Beat segment on demand, view a transcript and plain language description for every episode on our website at btpm.org, I'm Emyle Watkins, thanks for listening.
