August 10th was no ordinary Sunday at St. Albans Episcopal Church.
Last month, we welcomed Bishop Amy Dafler Meaux for her inaugural visit. The service was beautiful and full of meaning. Because I use a wheelchair, it is often easier for me to receive communion where I sit. Once everyone else had been served, Bishop Amy stepped down from the altar, stood beside me, and we received communion together.
Ephesians 2:14 tells us, “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…”
Similar to Jews and Gentiles, people with disabilities—both visible and invisible—also struggle with people’s misconceptions of them. I am deeply grateful to be part of this church community, where I have been given many opportunities to serve. Yet, as a wheelchair user with no arms or legs, I still encounter barriers: small bathrooms, heavy doors, stairs that keep me from the altar. And I still experience people’s misconceptions—parents shushing curious children, awkward glances, condescending tones, or at times, no acknowledgment at all.
That is why being part of Access for All God’s Children is such a blessing. It is a way of helping to break down those dividing walls.
As I reflected on Scripture and did my research, I realized that Bishop Amy’s act of inclusion to share communion with me was its own expression of breaking barriers—a quiet embodiment of 1 Corinthians 10:17: “For we all share the one loaf…”
We are one in Christ—receiving Him in our own form together because of the barrier He already destroyed. For the Jews, Gentiles, as well as the disabled. Christ’s own body was torn apart to bring us together, and His own image was disfigured to create a new image of unity that brings all of us together.
This article was written by Minda Cox, a member of the Access for All God’s Children Committee and St. Albans Episcopal Church in Bolivar.
