I went to the Piano Guys concert last night at the Taft Theater downtown. It is a beautiful space, and considering its age, they do a nice job making the room accessible for people with disabilities. There are nooks carved out of the permanent seating where people in wheelchairs can find a place, there aren’t any stairs between the doors and the main floor to break up the path, and there are ushers to help guide folks who need assistance through these paths to their seats. This is a great example of how hospitality, accessibility and diversity come together.
I go to concerts at Music Hall pretty often, too. Recent renovations have made that space accessible, as well. More importantly, the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestras have made an effort to program music by a diverse range of artists, breaking away from the Euro-centric sets we’re used to and choosing selections by African American composers and composers from around the world. Just as importantly, they invite guest musicians who will speak to all the varied interests in Cincinnati’s metro area. It is part of their mission to share music without barriers.
These are really important steps to diversity and hospitality, but I would say that both accessibility for disabilities and demographic diversity are fairly obvious things. What do they mean for us up here in Butler County, though? Lord of Life is already built without any steps or difficult thresholds. That is low-hanging fruit. We live in a county that is 82% white, so we can’t expect that we will attract a racially diverse congregation. Could we do some more things to be more accessible? Yes. Are there other ways we can continue to think of racial diversity outside of our lives here in West Chester? For sure.
There is a broader way to think of diversity and hospitality, too, though. And once we start thinking that way, it opens up the path to make things accessible to everyone. In our reading from the book of Romans this week, Paul talks about the diversity of how people worship God. Some people fast in God’s name and some people feast in God’s name. To continue in that line of thought, some people might kneel while other people stand. Some people sing while others choose to pray quietly. Some people worship God through an entirely different faith, and that is good, too.
Even among those of us who worship here at Lord of Life, we all bring different gifts, and we are all at different places on our faith journey. We invite people of all ages and skill levels to participate fully in each part of our worship and all of our other activities, too. Believe it or not, that isn’t true in all churches.
This week, we’ll unveil four new art panels in the sanctuary. They focus on the theme of “rising” and volunteers from eight years old to many decades older worked on them throughout the past week. You’ll see hands uplifting, a sun ascending, colors emanating, and a city shining - all rising so they can be part of lifting up the world.
I can think of so many more ways to broaden my view of diversity: I can think of people with mental illness with compassion; I can consider that people of other socio-economic classes may have difficult circumstances and not poor choices; I can be patient with someone with a personality I find difficult.
How can you broaden your view of diversity? What do you think that means for Lord of Life and your day to day life?
Yours in Christ,
John