Beloved Everybody, an ability-inclusive church that embodies the beloved community
At this church, people with and without disabilities both worship and lead.
“God loves you so much. No matter what you have done or not done. God loves everybody else too, including the people who make you mad. God’s love is unconditional.” As a hand-drawn picture of a heart flashed up on the computer screen, I realized that these were the words I needed to hear. The speaker reminded the 25 people gathered online that we all have gifts to share and that “we just are gifts to each other, just as we are.” As the picture of a wrapped present faded away and a picture of a butterfly appeared, the speaker continued, “but we remember God’s power of transformation, that us and our world are all being transformed just like a butterfly does, so no matter where we find ourselves now, we know God is still with us and making us and all things new.”
Each week at Beloved Everybody Church, these three symbols—a heart, a gift, and a butterfly—are used at the beginning of the service to remind the congregation of the community’s values. The Los Angeles church is intentionally ability inclusive: people with and without intellectual, developmental, or other disabilities worship there together. When I joined an online service from my home in Vancouver, British Columbia, 1,200 miles away, I expected to be there as an observer. Instead I was generously ministered to.
Bethany McKinney Fox, the church’s organizing pastor, stands out for her inclusive and integrated approach to worship. Bethany, who does not have a disability, has long had a passion for the inclusion of those who do. In high school, she formed a meaningful friendship with a student with physical and intellectual disabilities. She served as a longtime volunteer in a L’Arche community, a home in which people with and without disabilities share life together. She was a special education teacher. She has a PhD in Christian ethics, focusing on disability, healing, and the Gospels; she also worked for Fuller Theological Seminary as director of its disability services office. She and her spouse, Michael, are preparing to open their home to a person with an intellectual disability.
