In November 2023, Immanuel UCC was granted A2A standing in the UCC. A2A stands for Accessible to All! We are striving to be a place where all feel safe, welcomed, and included.
UCC Disabilities Ministries acknowledges that becoming accessible will be different for each congregation, and to become fully accessible may require different work for each setting. A2A is as much about becoming attitudinally welcoming to people with disabilities and mental health issues as it is about working to make our buildings physically and programmatically accessible to persons with disability. The A2A process allows for churches to complete the A2A process, even if they are not fully physically accessible provided they have identified changes and created a plan to address those accessibility issues within the coming five years.
Our building is accessible and we have some things to assist people to worship more fully, but we want to make it better Some of the things we have to assist are below. We are a work in process…
We have have a hearing loop (sometimes called an audio induction loop) in our sanctuary. It is a special type of sound system for use by people with hearing aids. The hearing loop provides a magnetic, wireless signal that is picked up by the hearing aid when it is set to ‘T’ (Telecoil) setting.
If you need hearing assistance but do not have hearing aids or your hearing aids do not have a T coil setting, we also have headsets that you can use during the service.
We have a few neck lights for more light. We love our sanctuary, but the lighting is not consistent throughout the room, and adding more celling lights is proving very difficult. We know that some eyes need extra light to see, and we have neck lights available so that you can sit anywhere and still be able to have enough light. Our neck lights have no flickering, and a blue light filter design with advanced LED beads. No eye strain any more for both kids and adults! The arms are supple and adjustable so you can get the angle most comfortable to you. Ergonomic neck-around design, and it is totally hands free!
We understand that sitting and focusing can be difficult. Neurodiverse individuals, folks with anxiety, or others may fidget or make small movements when they are feeling anxious, restless, impatient or nervous. Fidget toys give these movements an outlet, which can help calm a person's nerves, relieve stress and serve as a distraction in an overstimulating environment. We have a basket of these fidgets at the entrance to the sanctuary.
We know that loud sounds can hurt our ears and make us participate in worship. We realize that to many the sounds of the organ laying, the choir singing, and the bells playing all at the same time is music to their ears, and it causes them pain.