Gospel Ministers Join the Disability Inclusion Chain
Pastors and students of the International School of Theology Bamenda have been schooled on disability inclusion. This was during presentations on disability inclusion from the Empowerment Disability Inclusive Development (EDID) Program of the CBC Health Services at the Center for Biblical Studies, which is now known as the International School of Theology. The one day presentation which took place recently was held under the theme “Disability Inclusion Amongst Ministers of the Gospel”.
In a presentation from the EDID Program Manager who was represented by Pastor Chia Peter , bringing ministers onboard the disability inclusion chain is informed by the fact that the church is a converging point for all, including people with disabilities. “Disability inclusion is what everybody is fighting for, and the church cannot be left out,” she noted
The objective of the presentation was to equip the pastors so that they can be inclusive in their services.
Speaking during the training, Peter Chia who is passionate on disability inclusion in the church stated that the church is incomplete in its vision and mission on earth if people with disabilities are excluded. The pastor, regretted that in the past, people with disabilities were seen as those punished by God for the sins committed by their parents, treating them with disgust. He noted that Jesus came for all including people with disabilities. Pastor Chia regretted the fact that persons with disabilities sometimes face a lot of stigma from the society even in church. He implored ministers of the gospel to set the pace for inclusion in their churches “as pastors we must ensure that persons with disabilities in our churches do not feel excluded from religious activities”.
During his presentation on the topic “Are you the one who was to come or should we wait for another?”, Pastor Chia observed that there are people with disabilities who will not have the opportunity to come into contact with God or experience him because they have been excluded from church activities.
The pastors and students pastors of the workshop expressed gratitude to the EDID Program and its funders for equipping them to ensure inclusion in their religious activities. They acknowledged that inclusion is a new concept which the church must embraced in order to meet up with the spiritual needs of everyone.
At the end of the presentations, the 11 participants were encouraged to make use of sign language interpreters and also make their church environment more accessible because they are key stakeholders in disability inclusion.
The workshop ended with the handing over of attestations to the participants, made up of pastors and student pastors.