Passing the Peace - June 23, 2023

Dear Beloved Passing the Peace Readers, 

As some of you may be aware, this past month has been an interesting time at the manse. The front yard has not only seen the efforts of my first attempts at gardening but an extreme makeover has also taken place. What started as a project to update a bathroom has grown into a project that will enable the first floor to be fully wheelchair accessible, including the downstairs bathroom (including the shower). 

While I have no intentions of being someone who uses a wheelchair in the foreseeable future, I’m still so grateful to see the home where I live transform in these ways. So often with accessibility, we wait until some form of necessity dictates having to adapt spaces that were not designed with all access needs in mind. We offer accommodation if we can. 

This project shows that as a community, we believe that true welcome is shown by taking action to make spaces accessible so when (not if!) someone using a mobility aid shows up at the manse we can simply invite them in. 

A friend of mine stopped by the house this week and commented: “As someone who spent years caring for someone in a wheelchair, seeing this brings tears of gratitude to my eyes.” I’m looking forward to hearing more stories like this of how deeply appreciated this project will be for many. The project is still very much in process but I’m excited for what comes next! 

In moments when you experience welcome, may the Peace of Christ be with you, 

In the ways making a community more accessible blesses all of us, may the Peace of Christ be with us all, 

Yours in Christ, 

Rev Michiko