By Jennifer Colosimo

Mary Stanfield, Dr. LaTonya M. Penny’s grandmother, was a woman who made everyone feel like family. She shared the Gospel with her children, grandchildren and community through her spiritual lifestyle. She often cooked big meals where everyone was welcome to her table—especially those who most needed a place to feel welcome. It’s no surprise that Penny developed her own inclusive mindset from a young age. “[My grandmother’s] commitment outside the church was more powerful for me than what I witnessed her do in the church. Anyone at her table was family, no questions asked,” Penny said.

Combining that intrinsic love for hospitality and serving others, Penny began helping a local church re-assess what their ministry could look like through the lens of someone with different needs as a part of her academic thesis. She realized that more churches needed this kind of information. This thinking led to the birth of Mary’s Grace, Incorporated— inspired by and named for her grandmother.

Today, that organization helps equip churches and ministry leaders to better serve families and individuals who may be differently-abled (a term she and her children coined to more accurately describe the fact that those they seek to serve can do the same things that other people can do but may have to do them differently).

From building assessments to teaching methodology and adopting an open mindset, Penny and her husband help churches execute new, evolving forms of ministry so that they can better serve their communities and welcome everyone to their table. The duo are also pastors of Belonging Fellowship, a virtual ministry open to all viewers with Sunday services, weekly Bible studies and community involvement opportunities. It was not created as a model for inclusive ministry but has become an illustration of what that can look like.

            “Right now, churches are either doing nothing or they’re overthinking the possibilities; with either, not a lot gets done,” Penny said, adding that churches get bogged down with the potential expense, in defining who their audience is or in how it’s going to interrupt their usual order of service. But she believes it’s much simpler than that.

It starts with an assessment by a team of church members with varying abilities, challenges and church leadership roles who do a walk-through of the church grounds and building.

“Let them tell you what they see, feel, don’t see, what they can’t access,” she said. “Most of the time you may have someone with physical challenges, maybe just someone who broke a leg and is in a wheelchair. What is it about your building that is a hindrance or a plus for them?”

There are organizations who will help the church with new adaptations for free, or someone in the congregation who might be willing to help. It’s possible the building may not need to be changed. One church couldn’t afford to replace their heavy doors, so they created a hospitality committee and now have two individuals to open the doors for everyone each week. It cost nothing and stoked a little extra fellowship. It was simply “thinking beyond.”

Secondly, look at teaching in the church. Penny challenges pastors and leaders to think about how their message is received. Are they using multi-sensory methods to get their message across? Are they using the correct language? Are they leaving anyone out?

“When you’re sitting in the service, you have to think about all of the senses,” she said. “If my sight is limited, but my hearing is fine, can I hear clearly? What am I touching, feeling? If I have hearing challenges, is there audio amplification? If you’re asking me to sit still, what’s going to help me pay attention? Is there a fragrance-free zone?”

When discerning these things, Penny explains that there are two types of ministries churches can adopt: holistic and individualistic. It depends on what the church wants to do, or what they can afford to do, she says. Some churches offer separate services to accommodate everyone. Some churches employ things to soften sensitive moments in their services, like headphones to reduce loud noise or sunglasses to block out bright light.

“Some of the things a church does are in the expectation that anyone might show up—that is holistic thinking. These might include sensory bags, fidgets or weighted blankets. They’re there for anybody, every Sunday,” she explained.

“In an individualized model, it’s almost like having an IEP (Individualized Education Program) in the school system. It’s sitting down with the family or the specific individual and figuring out how we can best serve this individual. We come up with a plan that takes extra work, and with a goal to help just one person. I believe in taking both of these approaches.”

The next step is making sure that people are aware of what you’re offering. If you have Braille printouts, put that on the church website; if you offer multiple kinds of services, put that on the website. Let people know that they’re welcome by helping them feel prepared and cared for.

“Shortly after a worship service we led in a local school, a woman came up to me and told me her nephew had never been able to participate in activities and wanted to know how my people got him to color during the service,” Penny said. “She said to me, ‘He was coloring; he doesn’t do that at school; he’s not able to do that.’ She was baffled that she could sit by herself and receive a worship moment knowing the child was getting something, too.

I told her that most of the people who volunteer with us understand our mindset trying to meet children and adults where they are. If we knew about any IEP for him at his school, we could probably have helped him more; but she had never heard of an IEP. We became her advocate to navigate the public school system and now we’re able to offer wrap-around services in this child’s school because she had shown up for free coffee. She had always been told what he couldn’t do; but we showed her there are many things that he can do. He’s just differently-abled.”

In all her efforts, especially as the mom of now-16-year-old twins who were born prematurely and who face physical and learning challenges, Penny wants to debunk the ideas of guilt or the shame that come along with being differently-abled. Many families never even ask for help because they’re ashamed of their disability, worried about being judged or creating a burden. To Penny, there should be no shame; but more importantly, for churches there also should be no other option. “For churches, this is not a choice, it is a command,” she said. “It’s a command that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves and be a part of this body of Christ, no matter how that body shows up.

“I hope people hear the message that everyone is welcome at God’s table, and that it’s everyone’s job to make other people feel welcome,” said Penny. “No one should have to force their way to the table. It’s our job to create spaces where they are loved and seen as human beings. We all have a place there.”

To find out more about LaTonya Penny’s ministry, Mary’s Grace Incorporated, click here.