Disability Inclusion Sunday — Weekly Christian ed lesson

Lesson background

September 8, 2024, has been designated as Disability Inclusion Sunday by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This designation provides an opportunity for congregations to celebrate and continue to explore ways they might ensure people with disabilities can fully engage in the life of the church. Children are both people who have disabilities and they are part of the body called to facilitate inclusion. In this lesson, children will explore the story of Jesus healing Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) and they’ll consider where and how God is calling them to enable inclusion of all God’s people in Christ’s church.

What you’ll need

• A Bible
• Chart paper or a whiteboard, markers, a computer with Internet access connected to a television or data projector, video “Understanding Disabilities (for Students)”
• Shifting perspectives activity: marbles or coins and a glass jar (optional)
• Invisible disabilities: a computer with Internet access connected to a television or a data projector and video “Raising Awareness of Invisible Disabilities” (optional)

Starting out

Greet the children when they arrive.

Write disability on the chart paper or whiteboard. Ask the children how they would define this word. Record their responses on the chart paper or whiteboard. Then ask them to share some examples of disabilities. Write their responses.

Show the video “Understanding Disabilities (for Students).” After watching the video, ask:

• What new information about disabilities and people with disabilities did you learn from the video?
• How do you think Jesus views people with disabilities?

Hearing and exploring the story

Prepare to read aloud Mark 10:46-52.

Provide the children with context for the reading:

• This passage comes from the New Testament Gospel of Mark.
• Prior to this story, Jesus and his disciples have been traveling from town to town. Jesus has been teaching people and healing people. He has healed a young boy who likely had a seizure disorder and he restored the sight of a man who had been blind.
• During the time when Jesus was alive, people didn’t see disabilities the way we do today. Sometimes people saw a person’s disability as caused by some sort of spirit or demon. Other times, people saw a person’s disability as a sign that God was displeased with that person or their family. Often, people with disabilities were not able to fully be part of the life of the community. They might be forced to beg for what they needed to survive and pushed outside of the community.
• Bartimaeus, the man featured in this story, was a person with a disability (blindness) who sat outside of the walls surrounding the city of Jericho begging for people to help him get his basic needs met.

Read aloud Mark 10:46-52

After reading the story, ask:

• Why do you think the disciples didn’t want Jesus to speak to Bartimaeus?
• Why do you think Jesus chooses to respond to Bartimaeus when he speaks to him?
• What does Bartimaeus ask of Jesus? How does Jesus respond?
• What does Bartimaeus choose to do after regaining his sight?
• Why do you think Jesus heals Bartimaeus?
• How will Bartimaeus’ life be different now that he can see?
• What do you think this story might say to us about people with disabilities?
• How do you think Christ’s church can make sure people with disabilities are included in the full life of the church?

Responding to the story

To help the children connect the story to their own lives and experiences, invite them to engage in one or more of the following activities:

• Shifting perspectives Gather the materials you’ll need for this activity: marbles or coins and a glass jar. Hand each child a number of coins or marbles. Tell them these represent all of the parts of themselves — their bodies, their minds, their personalities, etc. The jar represents the church. Pass the jar around and ask the kids to place a marble/coin in the jar and say a gift they have that they can share with the church. Encourage them to think of the strengths they have and the ways these can be used. Repeat this for a few rounds. Then, ask the children to think of parts of themselves that they don’t consider strengths. You may need to give an example or two. Pass the jar around again asking them to place a marble/coin in for one of these “non-strengths.” Have the group brainstorm ways what we see as parts of ourselves that aren’t as good or strong can be beneficial to the world. Repeat this for a few rounds. Ask the children how it felt to think of their “non-strengths” as beneficial or useful. Note that sometimes disabilities are viewed negatively, as deficits rather than assets. Discuss ways a disability can be seen as a gift or a benefit to a person and/or the community they are a part of.
• Inside-outside game Have all of the children stand in a circle. Ask one child to step out of the circle and for the others to move closer together so that there is no space between them. Have the children in the circle place their arms around the shoulders of the person next to them so that the circle is joined together by their arms. (Alternatively, you can spread the circle out more and have the kids hold pieces of rope or pool noodles to join the circle together). Tell the children in the circle that it is their job to keep the child on the outside from getting into the center of the circle. The goal of the child outside of the circle is to penetrate the circle and move into the center space. No one can hit or kick the child trying to move into the circle. The children in the circle also cannot let go of the person (or rope/pool noodle) next to them. If the outside child is able to move into the center of the circle, they join the circle replacing the child who failed to keep them from entering. Play the game for a few rounds. Then, discuss what it felt like to be part of the circle and what it felt like to be the outsider. Discuss how a person with a disability might feel like an outsider. How might those in the person’s community (circle) make them feel included?
• Invisible disabilities Gather the materials you’ll need for this activity: a computer with Internet access connected to a television or a data projector and video, “Raising Awareness of Invisible Disabilities.” Ask the children if they know someone who has a disability. Have them share how they found out the person had a disability. Note that some disabilities are easier to notice than others. Sometimes disabilities that aren’t easily observable are called invisible disabilities. Show the video. Discuss what the children noticed about the teens who spoke in the video. Imagine that these people are part of your church. How can your church community ensure that each person is able to fully engage in the life of the church?