Rest Ministries, the largest Christian organization that specifically serves the chronically ill, recently did a survey and asked people to "List some of the programs or resources a church could offer to make it more inviting comfortable" They have provided a sampling of some of the 800+ responses, all of which could be done in 20 minutes or less.
1. Send out encouraging emails.
2. Make sure the handicapped stalls in the restroom are functioning and clean.
3. Padded chairs or cushions, room for wheelchairs, and plenty of room for my family to sit with me.
4. Be open-minded about a support group for the chronically ill like HopeKeepers. It would make me feel very special, knowing that there is an understanding of people's needs that are not always visible.
5. More handicapped parking.
6. Inform the ushers that people arriving late may have difficulty walking or getting out of cars and may need some assistance.
7. Have some volunteers who will call the chronically ill people just to check on them when they don't make it to church.
8. When suppers are given, recognize that I may need help getting my meal--or at least understand that I won't be able to wait in a long line.
9. Be gentle when giving people big hugs. It can topple over or hurt a person.
10. Video tape of the service for DVD, don't just do a live web cast. My computer doesn't work that well.
11. Make sure that the church doors aren't too difficult to open or at least have mechanical assistance if they're unusually heavy.
12. Stop telling me that if I truly believed and had faith I'd be healed by now. Please don't go on and on about how good I look even though I know for a fact that I look terrible and miserable that day.
13. Offer me ways to serve within the church that can be performed regularly, but not on a set schedule. I still want to contribute, but I need some flexibility so that I can do a job when I feel well enough to do so.
14. Make the sermon notes available to download and print out so I can listen later or even just review what I didn't catch the first time.
15. Acknowledge National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. A selection of books on the topic in the church bookstore would be nice. Rest Ministries has a top 100 list of Christian books for the chronically ill for some ideas.
16. Just mention chronic illness occasionally! Don't forget to talk about it in sermons as one of the challenges many people face just like unemployment or divorce.
17. Let me know about Christian volunteers from church that will clean house for small fee. Some have offered to clean my house, but I am not able to accept charity yet, but neither can I afford to pay a regular house cleaning service.
18. Help with some of the small costs of providing encouraging books and resources for the church library the chronically ill can check out.
19. Remember there are lots of caregivers in the church--not just caregivers of parents, but spouses and ill children too.
20. Have copies of sermon for free on CD or computer.
Get a free list of 200 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend from "Beyond Casseroles" by Lisa Copen, just <a target="_blank" href="http://www.restministries.org/res-ezine_ill.htm">signup for to HopeNotes</a> invisible illness ezine at Rest Ministries. Lisa is the founder of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.invisibleillness.com">Invisible Illness Week</a>
In Christs Love
Michelle~