This past Sunday, we read a litany, lit a candle, commemorating the 35th Anniversary of the passge of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Here is the liturgy:
For People Living with Disabilities on the 35th Anniversary of the Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act
July 20, 2025
By Sarah Malaier, Member, Mount Vernon Place UMC, Washington DC
One of the authors of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Congressman Tony Coelho, aspired to become a priest but was denied this opportunity because of a 1600-year-old church law that proclaimed that people with epilepsy were possessed by demons. Outside the church, he was rejected by employers, health insurance providers, and even his own parents.
He struggled with his exclusion, resorting to alcohol and considering suicide. Yet, he had heard his call. One of his mentors would tell him that people can be in ministry not only in the church—but in entertainment, business, and everyday life. Tony Coelho soon discovered his unique call was to serve in politics.
In Congress, he used his power to turn his experiences into hope and justice for the one in six people who have a disability. He was joined by numerous advocates who also had been excluded and who were willing to put their bodies at risk to pass the ADA – people who chained themselves to buses that they could not ride, and wheelchair users who crawled up the steps of the Capitol building.
As we light this Candle of Peace, Hope, and Justice, we give thanks for the passage of this legislation 35 years ago this week and the trailblazers who put their lives on the line, transforming opportunities and enabling inclusion for people living with disabilities.
And we remember the work is not done. Many people are still excluded, institutionalized, or degraded. Even the gains we have made in building more accessible communities and in growing diversity are seen by some in power as wasteful rather than life-giving.
In 1 John, it is written: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are.”
Forgive us, God, for leaving people behind and diminishing their belovedness as children of God. Have mercy on us for making it harder to access healthcare and for weakening rules that enable everyone to have the opportunity to choose where and how, and with whom they will live.
Forgive us for fighting to have churches exempted from disability rights laws. Forgive us for locking people in nursing homes instead of allocating resources to let them live freely in the community. Forgive us for complaining that it is too expensive to make our workplaces, businesses, schools, and technology accessible to all your children.
Remind us that a disability or medical condition does not make us less beloved. Allow us to see the whole being of each person we meet and to acknowledge their hopes and dreams as our own.
And give those of us with a disability the courage to continue to speak up, and those of us without a disability the humility to listen as you inspire in all of us the creativity to reshape our communities in ways that fit all people, adapt and bend, and prioritize humanity over money.
One: The light shines in the darkness.
All: We stand in this light, unshaken,
knowing that the darkness has never overcome the light.
One: Let us recommit ourselves to walking in Jesus’ ways of justice.
All: Empower us, Jesus, to boldly use
the freedom and power given to us
to resist evil, injustice, and oppression
in whatever forms they present themselves
Peace Be With You. – Paul
Mayfair Heights United Methodist Church 