Built for Everybody
Built for Everyone: Accessibility at Camp Friedenswald
by Sarah Werner
Camp Friedenswald, a Mennonite camp in southern Michigan, has worked hard to make their camp a place that is accessible and welcoming for people of all abilities. On my first visit to Friedenswald in 2019, I was surprised and impressed at how accessible it was to me as a wheelchair user. I stayed with my youth in an accessible cabin near the dining hall that was fully equipped with an accessible bathroom and ample room to maneuver between the beds. Paved paths connected the main buildings where we ate and worshipped, and there were also handrails along all paths that were on an incline. The whole weekend, I felt like I was just another member of the group as we learned, sang, and played together. It was an incredible blessing to be able to go on retreat to such a welcoming place.
Caption: Emily Graber enjoying the native wildflower prairie at Camp Friedenswald via her off-path transportation, a golf cart. Photo: Peter Graber.
Since my first trip, they have made several additional improvements. Every time I visit, there are new accessibility features that have been added. Most of the lodges have accessible rooms with roll-in showers and I’ve had the privilege to stay in several of them. They recently added a push button to the doors of the dining hall, so it’s even easier to get inside. There is a family all-gender restroom in the dining hall and there is a smaller room for eating where neurodivergent campers can eat in a quieter and more peaceful environment. The newly-built playground includes an access ramp around the perimeter and a ramp up to the first level of the play structure with a swing nest that can accommodate children that need additional support. There is also a beach wheelchair available for use on the waterfront for navigating sand and other off-road conditions. The excellent food service staff are able to accommodate a variety of dietary needs, and operate a nut-free facility, ensuring the safety of campers with life-threatening nut allergies.
Caption: The play structure at Camp Friedenswald was built using locally-harvested timber and is accessible via a ramp around the perimeter and a ramp to the first level of the structure.
Whenever I come to camp, I feel immediately welcomed and valued. I don’t feel that my disability is a burden, but simply another aspect of who I am. Each camper and guest who comes through the doors is treated as a unique and beloved child of God, which is a wonderful gift in a world that is often inaccessible and unwelcoming of people with disabilities.
If you’d like to learn more about Friedenswald’s commitment to belonging, visit their website at: https://friedenswald.org/
Caption: Emily Graber using the wheelchair cutout and solid surface access at the Friedenswald ampitheater accompanied by her sister, Naomi Leary, and her niblings, Sammy Graber-McCrae and Maggie Leary. Photo: Peter Graber.
Sarah is the Communications Director at Anabaptist Disabilities Network. She is the author of Rooted Faith: Practices for Living Well on a Fragile Planet (Herald Press, 2023). Sarah experiences life in the body of someone with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, an inherited connective tissue disorder that affects her mobility. In her free time, she enjoys nature photography, gardening, and camping.
Sarah Werner is the communications director for ADN. She lives in Columbus, Ohio.
