{"id":3016,"date":"2018-11-06T17:36:29","date_gmt":"2018-11-06T17:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arthurrankcentre.org.uk\/?page_id=3016"},"modified":"2022-07-15T14:24:24","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T13:24:24","slug":"accessible-welcome","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/arthurrankcentre.org.uk\/mission\/accessible-welcome\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessible Welcome"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='full_slider_1'  class='avia-fullwidth-slider main_color avia-shadow   avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_one_full  avia-builder-el-first   container_wrap sidebar_left' style=' '  ><div   data-size='no scaling'  data-lightbox_size='large'  data-animation='slide'  data-conditional_play=''  data-ids='5376'  data-video_counter='0'  data-autoplay='false'  data-bg_slider='false'  data-slide_height=''  data-handle='av_slideshow_full'  data-interval='5'  data-class=' '  data-el_id=''  data-css_id=''  data-scroll_down=''  data-control_layout='av-control-default'  data-custom_markup=''  data-perma_caption=''  data-autoplay_stopper=''  data-image_attachment=''  data-min_height='0px'  data-src=''  data-position='top left'  data-repeat='no-repeat'  data-attach='scroll'  data-stretch=''  class='avia-slideshow avia-slideshow-1  av-control-default av-default-height-applied avia-slideshow-no scaling av_slideshow_full   avia-slide-slider '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><ul class='avia-slideshow-inner ' style='padding-bottom: 41.1%;' ><li  class=' av-single-slide slide-1 ' ><div data-rel='slideshow-1' class='avia-slide-wrap '   ><img src='https:\/\/arcentre.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/21131842\/ARC-LG-Accessible-welcome.jpg' width='2000' height='822' title='ARC LG - Accessible welcome' alt=''  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\"   \/><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><div id='after_full_slider_1'  class='main_color av_default_container_wrap container_wrap sidebar_left' style=' '  ><div class='container' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-3016'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_slideshow_full  el_before_av_hr  avia-builder-el-first  fours \" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><h1>A toolkit for rural churches<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3898 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/arcentre.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/28114101\/Accessible-Welcome-FRONT-COVER-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"161\" height=\"228\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcentre.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/28114101\/Accessible-Welcome-FRONT-COVER-1.jpg 900w, https:\/\/arcentre.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/28114101\/Accessible-Welcome-FRONT-COVER-1-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/arcentre.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/28114101\/Accessible-Welcome-FRONT-COVER-1-728x1030.jpg 728w, https:\/\/arcentre.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/28114101\/Accessible-Welcome-FRONT-COVER-1-768x1086.jpg 768w, https:\/\/arcentre.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/28114101\/Accessible-Welcome-FRONT-COVER-1-498x705.jpg 498w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 161px) 100vw, 161px\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/arthurrankcentre.org.uk\/resources\/accessible-welcome-a-toolkit-for-rural-churches\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Accessible Welcome<\/a>, a new resource from The Arthur Rank Centre, is designed to help rural churches work towards ensuring that their church &#8211; both the building and their worship &#8211; is accessible to all.<\/p>\n<p>A minister was trying to encourage a church congregation to make adaptations to the building for people with disabilities. To get\u00a0ideas, a group decided to spend a day visiting churches who had made such provision. The group included Ted, a long-term\u00a0member who was a wheelchair user. Helping Ted to be loaded into the minibus in his chair certainly broke the ice, allowing\u00a0people to ask questions they might otherwise not have done. As they visited other church buildings, the group began to see\u00a0things through Ted\u2019s eyes, and became quite critical on his behalf. By the end of the day, the group were determined to change\u00a0things so that their friend Ted could feel comfortable in their building. What had begun as a way of complying with legislation had\u00a0become an exercise in true hospitality.<\/p>\n<h3>HOW ACCESSIBLE IS YOUR CHURCH?<\/h3>\n<p>The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 and the Equalities Act of 2010 make it clear that we have a legal responsibility to make\u00a0our church buildings accessible. On a practical level, an accessible building will be of benefit to everyone, not only those people\u00a0with disabilities; improving access for a wheelchair also improves access for a baby buggy. However, for Christians taking action\u00a0is about more than practicalities and legal requirements; making our buildings accessible is about love, care and welcome.<\/p>\n<p>This guide contains some practical tips to encourage that welcome. Some adaptations may be costly \u2013 ramps and adapted toilets, for example \u2013 but there are various pots of funding available for these (see the list of resources at the end of this booklet). Other\u00a0things may be a matter of good housekeeping and thinking about how we might feel if we needed extra help. If you undertake\u00a0any kind of structural work you will need to contact the relevant church bodies and seek professional help.<\/p>\n<h3>RURAL CHURCH BUILDINGS<\/h3>\n<p>Rural church buildings vary in size and lay out. There can be challenges with small doors and narrow corridors and uneven\u00a0floors. External access can also be an issue if, for example, a church is at the top of a steep hill. On the other hand, a small space\u00a0which is warm, comfortable and easy to access can be a great place to get to know people. Rural churches can sometimes be the\u00a0only community space in a village, so it is important they are accessible to everyone.\u00a0You may not need to do everything suggested in this resource; we are trying to offer advice to churches of all shapes and\u00a0sizes. Think of your building and your community and what would really make a difference to your ability to welcome people.<\/p>\n<p>Remember the story of Ted with which we began: is there someone in your community who may find it difficult to use your building? If so, do you know them well enough to ask them without causing them embarrassment what they might find helpful?\u00a0Remember their concerns may be with other aspects rather than physical access, such as the readability of signage or leaflets.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the resource you will find an extensive list of organisations and initiatives that support churches to become more\u00a0inclusive and accessible; we hope these will be useful as you work out what your next steps are as a church. We\u2019d love to hear\u00a0your stories of the ways in which you are seeking to offer an accessible welcome to those in your church and community!<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Accessible Welcome really helpfully brings together good advice; having cared for my Mum through her dementia I\u2019m a big advocate of recognising those needs in our congregations.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel Wakeman, Trust Officer, United Reformed Church<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/section><br \/>\n<div  class='avia-button-wrap avia-button-center  avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_textblock  el_before_av_textblock ' ><a href='https:\/\/arcentre.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/03150149\/ARC-Accessible-Welcome-A4-2020_170220.pdf'  class='avia-button   avia-icon_select-no avia-color-red avia-size-x-large avia-position-center '   ><span class='avia_iconbox_title' >DOWNLOAD ACCESSIBLE WELCOME HERE<\/span><\/a><\/div><br \/>\n<section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><h4>Printed copies of Accessible Welcome<\/h4>\n<p>We would be happy to send you a free sample copy of Accessible Welcome!<\/p>\n<p>Multiple copies of Accessible Welcome are available for a suggested donation of \u00a31 per copy.<\/p>\n<p>For information and to request your free copy please email <a href=\"mailto:info@arthurrankcentre.org.uk\">info@arthurrankcentre.org.uk<\/a> or phone 024 7685 3066.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PLEASE NOTE:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>This resource is designed to supplement, not replace,\u00a0denominational and statutory advice regarding work\u00a0with people with additional needs. It is neither the first\u00a0nor the last word on enabling churches to become more\u00a0accessible, just a step along the journey!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div><div  style='height:100px' class='hr hr-invisible   avia-builder-el-5  el_after_av_one_full  avia-builder-el-last '><span class='hr-inner ' ><span class='hr-inner-style'><\/span><\/span><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":120,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Accessible Welcome - The Arthur Rank Centre<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arthurrankcentre.org.uk\/mission\/accessible-welcome\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Accessible Welcome - 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