Happy September and welcome to a new year of Uplift Access newsletters and webinars! Each month, we’ll provide you a deep dive into an accessibility or disability justice topic, UU access updates, and resources ready to help you increase the inclusion of disabled people in your congregation. By sharing and discussing these topics and resources with your church members, you work toward our goal of radical welcome, creating an environment where access barriers don’t prevent anyone from being in community with one another.
One of the many reasons I love September is its celebration of the friends and mobility aids I hold dear, via National Guide Dog Month. I’ve been a Guide Dog handler for the past 15 years, and I’m grateful for it. Royal, my Seeing-Eye Dog (a brand of Guide ‘Dog) helps me to travel safely and independently. While I’m able to do this with a white cane, I find it easier with a dog; each blind person has their preference. He helps me navigate obstacles, such as sandwich-boards and pedestrians on the sidewalk, locates items for me like doors and trashcans, and has keen eyes to back up my ears when I take in traffic sounds in order to safely cross the street.
Image description: Gretchen kneels with one knee on the floor next to her guide dog, Royal, at the Missouri State Capitol building. They are standing in front of a decorated railing with swirls and vines. Gretchen is wearing a red top with a black cardigan and black pants. Royal is a light buff colored dog wearing a brown harness.
Guide Dogs are only one type of Service Dog, a working dog trained to help a disabled handler with various tasks. No matter what kind of assistance the canine provides, it knows how to behave properly in public spaces, and the disabled handler knows how to reinforce that good behavior. Your congregation may have a member with a service dog already, or may be visited by one in the future, making it important for all members, but especially those in leadership, to know service dog etiquette.
The most important rule to follow is to not engage with the working dog, unless the handler has explicitly said it’s ok.
When a person tries to pet, talk to, or catch the eye of our dog, it can distract both members of the team, leading to annoyance in the best-case scenario, and danger in the worst. If your congregation is welcoming a service dog team, you may consider asking the handler if there’s anything you can do to increase accessibility for them and their dog, as well as put up some signs in high-traffic areas that remind congregants to respect and ignore service dogs.
When we make space for all the various ways of moving through the world, whether they involve canine companions or not, we put love at the center. This center has room for everyone, be they two or four legged.
Wishing you a beautiful and blessed September!
Gretchen Maune (she/they)
Accessibility Resources Coordinator
As Accessibility Resources Coordinator, Gretchen provides virtual resources for Unitarian Universalist congregational and organizational leaders to create spaces, events, programs and communities which are accessible and inclusive to disabled participants. [learn more]
UPLIFT Access Monthly Accessibility Resource Webinars
Sacred, Collective Care and Safe, Clean Air
Thursday, September 19th @ 12pm-1:30pm ET / 11am CT / 10am MT / 9am PT
CB Beal, with Meghan Garvey
In June 2024, the General Assembly passed the Action of Immediate Witness to Center Love Amidst the Ongoing Impact of COVID-19, and now we begin to explore how we can live into this commitment.
Archive of previous UPLIFT Access Monthly Webinars
Mosaic Fall Conference 2024: Fostering Belonging and Liberation
Registration is now open for the 2024 National Fall Conference of Mosaic: Fostering Belonging and Liberation!
Mosaic is a hub of connection, resources, and support for Unitarian Universalists dismantling racism and oppression.
This multigenerational National Fall Conference is a dynamic, multi-platform gathering for congregational teams and individuals engaged in the work of building multicultural communities. Running from October 17-20th this event will bring together congregational leaders dedicated to building multicultural communities withlove at their center.
Over two and a half days, participants will share in collaborative conversations, cutting-edge workshops, and gain invaluable insights from community leaders within Unitarian Universalism and beyond. Participants will depart from the convening with renewed hearts and spirits, with new Mosaic tools in hand, ready to support and inspire others to foster belonging and liberation.
Opportunity to Take Action
Protest to Stop The Sthock & End The Torture
October 5, 2024 from 1pm – 4pm
at Judge Rotenberg Center, 250 Turnpike St. Canton, MA 02021
Join the #StopTheShock Coalition to speak out around human rights concerns over skin shock devices used on autistic and disabled individuals!
Can’t be there in person? The #StopTheShock website has ways to take action from a distance including donating and sharing posts on social media.
Accessible Publications from Skinner House
Skinner House Audiobooks are NOW AVAILABLE through Libro.fm and other channels!
- Searching for Solid Ground: A Memoir by Reggie Harris, with Linda Hansell
- Swinging on the Garden Gate: A Memoir of Bisexuality and Spirit by Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew
- Trusting Change: Finding Our Way Through Personal and Global Transformation by Karen Hering
- Spilling the Light by Julián Jamaica Soto (coming soon!)
- Mistakes and Miracles: Congregations on the Road to Multiculturalism by Nancy Palmer Jones and Karin Lin
- Incantations for Rest: Poems, Meditations, and Other Magic by Atena O. Danner
- Why Can’t I Fix It: The Questions We Ask When We Love Someone with Addiction by Nathan Detering
- A Fire at the Center: Solidarity, Whiteness, and Becoming a Water Protector by Karen Van Fossan
- The Tending Years: Understanding Your Child’s Earliest Rituals by J.L. Shattuck