Developing Congregational Guides to Accessibility

The need for a policy statment for Accessibility Standards for Customer Service is the first standard to come into effect from the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act 2005 (AODA). The deadline for compliance with this standard for churches is January 1, 2012.

Let's see this task as another opportunity for us to continue to make our churches welcoming!

What does "Customer Service" refer to in a church context?

(This information was in a General council e-mail document in December 2009)

• This term is understood as our interaction with those who come through our doors – parishioners, community ministry participants, campers, students, seniors, and so on.
  

• It may also include how we interact with those who are seeking religious services – weddings, funerals, baptisms.

Conference Support to Individual Congregations

• “Welcoming Communities; Developing your own policy statement: Accessibility Standards for Customer Service”

Hamilton Conference, working with London Conference and Toronto Conference, has created this policy statement guideline to assist you in creating your own policy template. A copy of this document has been sent to the Chairs of Boards/Councils of each congregation. The document is also available for download by clicking on the link above. Information in this document is current as of October 2010.

Training

• Hamilton Conference will discuss with Presbytery Executives how to offer training to support you in the implementation of the requirements.

• In the meantime, you may want to set aside 45 minutes to watch the training video provided by the Ontario government. Is is availaale at: www.mcss.gov.on.ca/mcss/serve-ability/splash.html.