Opening Doors at Immanuel Mennonite Church

by Chris Moore

In 2023, eleven members of Immanuel Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, VA, gathered several times to conduct an accessibility audit of our church. This audit led to several straightforward yet impactful changes to make our church spaces more accessible, such as replacing round doorknobs with lever handles to facilitate easier opening. 

Our largest project was undertaken the following year. It focused on improving the accessibility of our church entrance for people who may have trouble entering the building without assistance. We already had a gently sloped concrete walkway that leads from street parking spaces and connects to a curb cut. At the building end of this walkway, however, there was a short, narrow, metal ramp over the entrance threshold and a fairly heavy front door, both of which posed accessibility challenges. To address these, we applied for and were awarded an Anabaptist Disabilities Network (ADN) Barrier Free Grant, which allowed us to help make two significant improvements.

First, we installed a wider threshold ramp, completed by two church members, which now enables a second person to assist another to walk up the ramp or easily push a wheelchair across the threshold. Second, the grant partially funded an automatic door opening kit. This was installed by two church members, which reduced the cost considerably. Now the door can be opened from either side with wave buttons mounted both inside and outside the entrance. These updates have made the sanctuary much more accessible for everyone. 

Since we made these changes, we were excited to discover an additional, unexpected benefit: the automatic door now allows church members who previously couldn’t manage the heavy door to serve as greeters. This includes both adults with physical limitations and children. The accompanying pictures show Lex Halterman and the Crissman family (Steven, Lydia, and Simeon) joyfully performing this role. We are deeply grateful to ADN, both for their encouragement to continually review the accessibility and inclusivity of our spaces and gatherings, and for the financial support that helped us address the barriers we identified. We look forward to further collaboration with ADN again to make our life together even more inclusive and welcoming.