The NEXT Level

Case Statement

“Next Level” Accessibility Project

Every Sunday some members of our St. Martin’s community cannot attend services and classes because they find accessing the Sanctuary and Parish House simply too difficult.  Although they want to share the beauty of God’s presence in worship, fellowship, and service, they are unable to climb the stairs or fear an unreliable wheelchair lift. These are not just those who use wheelchairs, walkers, or canes; they are also those with small children in strollers. Our community is diminished by their absence.

We cannot say “All Are Welcome!” until we are accessible to everyone who wishes to partake in our dynamic and diverse community.  The “Next Level” Accessibility Project will build on what has already been done and bring our campus one step closer to 100% accessibility. 

The “Next Level” Accessibility Project will create easy and dignified access to worship, fellowship, learning, and service on the St. Martin’s campus.  People who in the past have been unable to navigate independently into our Sanctuary and Parish House will now be able to do so with ease.

An elegant ramp of Wissahickon Schist will curve up to the Willow Grove Avenue door, its profile so integrated into the building as to appear part of the original design.  

Willow Grove ramp rendering by McEwen Architects.

Dangerous steps will be replaced on the Willow Grove Terrace by gentle slopes and curb cuts so all levels are accessible and tripping hazards are removed. Handrails will be rearranged for the ease and safety of all.

Handicapped parking spots will be clearly demarcated on Willow Grove Avenue close to the accessible entrance and protected from traffic by set-backs from the street. 

The Willow Grove Terrace will be expanded and smoothed for safety, for liturgical gatherings on Palm Sunday and Easter Vigil and for hospitality before and after worship.

The Parish House Door will be rearranged to make it more easily operable. A friendly and welcoming glass door will be installed inside the existing wood doors that many find heavy and difficult to maneuver.  The beautiful wood doors will be hinged open during the day like shutters and closed at night. 

New lighting will be installed in the project area to illuminate the church and grounds at night for the comfort and safety of our members, visitors, and guests. 

Construction on the Next Level Project is planned for summer 2014, beginning in June and completed by September.  Fundraising will begin in February of this year after a public presentation of the project on February 9.  We will need to raise approximately $200,000 to fund the project.

When Jesus preached the Kingdom, all people – no matter their status or ability – had room by his side.  The “Next Level” Accessibility Project is about the Gospel, the Good News that reaches out and includes all in God’s unconditional love.  Together we will make the renovations necessary to support our mission to Welcome All People as Christ welcomes us.

A Door to Inner Life

For a long time I struggled to understand what my inner life or soul-life is about. Part of the challenge was setting aside the time to cultivate and tend to my interior life. My usual routine of praying the Daily Office and attending Sunday services was just not enough; I needed time to be engaged by God in silence. But part of me feared the unknown and was afraid to take risks.

There came a time, however, when God’s invitation to “come and see” became more persistent and louder, and I was no longer able to ignore it. So I mustered the courage I needed to accept the invitation. And that is how I came to enter my inner life--taking one little step at a time.

In the mid-90’s I participated in a facilitators training conference on a program called Women of Vision, a leadership curriculum that was developed by women in the Episcopal Church to raise women leaders in the church (and beyond) and to affirm their gifts. One of the gifts I received from this training is the question “WHAT STANDS OUT FOR YOU?” From that time on this question has become a very practical tool for reflection. It has become my regular practice to ask myself this question.

I have been making literal and mental notes of words and quotes that jump out from my readings or sermons I hear from others; of thoughts and feelings that arise from activities like gardening, knitting and cooking; and, images that arise in my dreams and elsewhere. I have come to see and understand these occasions as invitations from God to look within. I have found a home for these thoughts, feelings, and images in my heart. And I have found that I may return to them there from time to time. Surprisingly, each time I turn within in this way, I discover how my life has changed and in so changing, these thoughts, feelings, and images reveal new and deeper meaning. I become aware of the differences they have made and continue to make in the way that I relate with God, others, myself and the rest of creation.

- The Rev. Harriet Kollin

Threshold Anxiety

I am obsessed with doorways.  Thresholds consume my imagination.  What does it take to cross through a portal into a new experience, a new community, and new way of living?

Our front doors. Photo: Lucy Baber Photography

Long term church members forget the anxiety which grips newcomers and visitors when they approach the church door.  When that door is approached questions percolate as the pituitary sends a rush of endorphins to our brain.  What is waiting for me?  Will I be warmly greeted?  Will my space be respected?  Will I be gravely disappointed by the worship?  Will someone try to convert me or come on too strong?  Will I be ignored? 

If you are a gay, lesbian, or transgendered person, or a person of color in a predominately white church, the stakes are even more intense.  Is this community homophobic and hateful?  Will the words and the looks sting and hurt and raise my anger when I am looking for solace and connection to God?  Is the community racist and exclusionary in behavior and in culture?  Is my culture and my person respected here?

I call this response, threshold anxiety.  A focus of my ministry is to decrease this anxious experience as much as possible.  I want people to immediately feel welcome, acceptance, curiosity, and kindness when they enter our space.  We need to send clear signals that each person is a delight and an addition to the goodness of our community.  Why?  Because, however imperfectly, we represent a God who delights in all Her children and has room for all at Her table. 

Concretely, our buildings send signals.  Are there signs directing newcomers or is the building indecipherable and poorly lit.  The latter state of affairs sends a message that says, “We are not expecting you and we are not going to make life easy for you here.”  

Our buildings must communicate to all people that we are expecting their arrival and have a space in our web of relationships prepared for them.  For example, when we designed the rehab of the first floor of Hilary House, we chose a front door with a glass window in it.  Solid doors obscure what lies within.  Glass in a door sends a message of welcome and gives the reassurance that whatever is behind that door is accessible, open, and transparent.    Most shops – except those that wish to communicate exclusivity- have glass doors for exactly this reason.

I told you that I am obsessed with doors.

Over the next few years we will continue to work on our thresholds both physically and spiritually.  The vestry is working hard on the design and funding for an access ramp for people in wheelchairs, those who use walkers, and young families with strollers so the church will be more welcoming.   We will also make the door to the Parish House fully accessible and add glass to make it less foreboding and more embracing.  By the time we are done with this phase and the work at Hilary House about 65% of the facility will be fully accessible.  Not enough, but progress.

Spiritually we need to remember that the word “catholic” means “embracing.”  As a Church in the Anglican Catholic tradition we embrace God’s creation in every facet finding sparks of God’s light and grace wherever we go.  Thus, our buildings and our spirits must strive to be equally embracing.  We will continue to build on our Anti-Racism training (all the staff and the vestry attend this training!) so that we have the knowledge and skills to dismantle racism at St. Martin's and to work across significant divides of race without further aggravating the hurts and grievances of historic racism.  

Our mission statement says we exist to “Welcome All Seekers,”  and the good news is that we are receiving much positive feedback from newcomers who call us friendly, warm, and welcoming.  Our website, yet another modern threshold, is also telling, we are told, a welcoming story for families approaching us electronically.  May these words motivate us to be obsessed by thresholds and empathetic to all with the courage to cross.  Each newcomer is God’s delight and God’s gift.  Our spiritual work is to make room and make welcome.

- The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel