MennoCon Sensory Room
Accessibility at Mennonite Convention 2023
by Emily Hunsberger
The MennoCon sensory room featured low-lighting, beanbag chairs, and low-stress activities. Photos by Jeanne Davies. Used with permission.
Anabaptist Disabilities Network hosted a sensory room at the national Mennonite Convention in July 2023. Youth attending the conference and the following Climate Summit could enter the quiet space to rest, recharge, and reset. With low lighting, bean bag chairs, and weighted blankets, the Sensory Room offered tools for youth and young adults to de-stress. Fidgets, puzzles, and coloring pages were activities that allowed people to relax and mentally process their participation in seminars and worships. Since the conference, some Mennonite churches have implemented a Quiet Room or Sensory Space during their weekly worship services to provide a space for congregants to take care of themselves and experience God in a different way.
How could your congregation incorporate a sensory room into Sunday worship and accommodate the needs of people with disabilities and mental illness?
