During the July 4 weekend, 28 of us gathered for our third UB Island BIPOC Retreat Day, an unforgettable experience filled with joy, reflection, and community. Thank you to everyone who joined us on Spectacle Island in the Boston Harbor. It was a blessing to spend the day with friends new and old as each of us left feeling rejuvenated and inspired in the presence of God and one another.

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31

From the moment we set sail on the boat, the energy was palpable. Rev. Devlin kicked off the day with a heartfelt devotional focused on laying our burdens down. This time of reflection set a peaceful tone, reminding us of the importance of rest and renewal amidst our busy lives.

One of the highlights was our collaboration with Ani Inoyo, local Christian entreprenuer and founder of Ani Design House. Ani Inoyo provided the beautiful gifts that added a touch of elegance to our gathering. Be sure to check out Ani Design House and explore her incredible range of products. Share your purchases and tag them on social media: @AniDesignHouse

Our day was also filled with fun and relaxation. Stiggity Stackz once again brought their freestyle dance battles, infusing the retreat with vibrant energy and creative expression. We enjoyed beach games, massages, and a delicious catered lunch that allowed us to connect and savor the company of friends old and new.

The retreat was not just about relaxation but also about coming together as a circle of restoration. The work of reconciliation can be exhausting, and this intentional space was created for BIPOC leaders involved with UniteBoston to focus on self-care and foster deeper connections. Participants shared how enriched and refreshed they felt after this day-long retreat.

What did the attendees think of the retreat?

Jesus told us that when we have a banquet, we should invite the poor, crippled, the lame and the blind (Luke 14:13-23), yet would these neighbors feel welcomed and desired in our churches today? 

We are honored to have Maggie Austen as our guest blogger this week, in the wake of July’s Disability Pride Month. Last month, Maggie called a group of leaders together to have a conversation on Ableism, Racism and the Church with Dr. Lamar Hardwick. Maggie is a member of Reality Boston and describes herself as a “daughter, sister, friend, neighbor, and attorney.”

 Below, Maggie takes us into a real-life scenario that she faces and invites us to consider how we might show God’s welcome to those in our community that society has failed, ignored, excluded, or abandoned.

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(ID: Rainy city sidewalk, left foreground includes a silhouetted person crouched on the sidewalk and center midground includes shoppers on the curb with some parcels.)

One steamy morning this July, I stood red faced, with two full bags of groceries in my cart, on the curb in front of a local grocery store. I am legally blind, born (in September 1990) with underdeveloped optic nerves, severely impacting my visual acuity and depth perception. Importantly, I do not drive. You might ask, like many youngsters in grocery store check out lines, “how are you going to get your groceries home?” Most days I harness my guide dog, walk the mile to the store, purchase only the amount I can carry, and walk the mile (uphill) back home. 

This sticky July morning, my trip to the store was a bit more unexpected. So I was a little further from home, it was a lot hotter than I realized, and I had purchased more than I could carry. So I pulled out my phone and requested an Uber, the cost of which would be subsidized by the MBTA’s Ride Pilot program. When the driver arrived, he took one look at my red vested, German shepherd service dog and said NO, he would not take the dog (which means he wasn’t taking me either). You thought my face was red before.

I tried to argue, tried to explain that the law and Uber’s policies required him to take me and my service dog (a scenario I do generally try to avoid for just this reason). Another shopper stopped and tried to explain it to him too. Despite my best legal arguments (Did I mention I am an attorney by trade?), the driver just wasn’t going to take me home.

I eventually made it home. A friend had come shopping with me so thankfully she was able to take me, my service dog, and my bags of groceries home. For me, this was allyship in action, that felt akin to the friends in Mark 2 lowering the paralyzed man down through the thatched roof to be healed by Jesus.

(ID: Maggie and guide dog O’Bella, both dressed in Juris Doctorate graduation regalia, cross the stage.)

I wish I could say being excluded because of my abilities was rare, that it didn’t happen that often. Yet in 2022, JetBlue wouldn’t let my service dog and I on a flight home because I hadn’t submitted the proper paperwork in time (a symptom of the new ACAA regulations – thank you emotional support peacocks). I fought to get the accommodations I needed to take the Bar Exam, and enter a profession I had studied for years to achieve. I stayed unemployed for months after graduating law school and passing the bar, while my classmates and colleagues all started meaningful work in our field. 

I hope it does not seem like I am complaining, I am simply telling it as it is. Oftentimes the people who need something the most (like a simple ride home from the grocery store), are the one’s denied or excluded.

What does this have to do with church unity? 

I think, like me, Jesus was disabled. Jesus was fully God, and fully man (Luke 4:1–13). Yet Jesus chose a physical existence that likely limited, or disabled, some of his holy abilities. Jesus was beaten and crucified, and when he rose from the grave, his resurrected body bore the marks of his injuries (John 20:27-29). (For more theology on a disabled Jesus, and disability liberation, see Nancy L Eiesland’s The Disabled God or Chapter 6, p. 101, of Dr. Lamar Hardwick’s How Ableism Fuels Racism). 

Somehow when I am standing there, red faced and frustrated, not sure how I am going to get home with my groceries, it is a disabled Jesus that meets me there. A Jesus who lived in a society where the laws allowed him to be betrayed, beaten, abandoned, and sentenced to death, just for being who God created him to be. A society where Jesus healed the blind, the lame, the deaf, and the sick – because otherwise they were usually ignored, excluded, abandoned, and ostracized. 

But Jesus’ disabled body is also his resurrected body. A body marked by the brutality of an exclusive, inaccessible, and opportunistic society and yet capable of more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). 

Today, the Church in Boston has the opportunity to BE the resurrected body of Jesus in our city; the opportunity to do whatever it takes (like making a hole in someone’s roof, Mark 2:4, or dealing with some left behind dog hair in your Uber) and help our disabled friends and neighbors meet Jesus. 

Consider who in your community has society failed, ignored, excluded, or abandoned. Who is standing on a curb in our city, with their baggage and their anger, and their disabilities on display for all to see – and just needs a ride home? 

What could you and your Church do?

Besides the obvious, coordinating rides to church for elders or other participants that do not drive a car, there are many other ways your community can BE the resurrected Jesus and DO disability justice (Micah 6:8). 

1. Create Social Stories, ‘Know Before You Go,’ or ‘What to Expect’ content for your website and events. Using easy read / plain language, pictures (w/ alt text), and/or videos to help people with disabilities know what to expect before attending your service or event could be an incredibly inclusive addition to your marketing strategy. 
2. Provide Sensory Bags that families can check out during your services or events or provide fidget toys to allow participants with sensory processing disabilities a way to stay engaged. 
3. Design sensory friendly spaces at your services and events, areas where guests know they will not be hugged or touched, or areas where overstimulated brains can rest and re-engage. 
4. Involve your congregation and community. 1 in 4 Americans have a disability, they are already going to your church and in your community. Invite them to be a part of an inclusive advisory counsel that has real change-making authority.   
5. Celebrate Disability Justice landmarks as a community, i.e. April is Autism Awareness Month (4/2 is light it up blue), July is Disability Pride Month (7/26 is the ADA’s Birthday), October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and many more. 
6. Do your research, then do the work. My suggestions end here, because now it is your turn. Get on google, find some reputable resources, ask your community, and stop leaving us on the curb.