Vine and Branches
Vine and Branches
by Thom Shuman

We recently completed a major renovation at our church, to make it completely accessible to persons with disabilities - elevator, ramp, new sound system, improved printed materials, etc. Our goal is to become a church "Where Every Single One of God's Children is Welcome!"

As part of our hope that everyone will feel included, our CE chair spent a great deal of time drawing a huge vine with lots of branches on the walls on each side of the hallway in our educational wing. People are invited to put painted palm prints at the ends of the branches (as the 'leaves') and to sign their name. Our hope is to devise a way to attach individual pictures to the palm prints as well. It has become a marvelous way to make folks feel a part of this particular body of Christ.

Each time I walk down the hall, I put my palm on top of one of the palm prints, and say a short prayer for that particular person.

(Comments to Thom at Thom.M.Shuman@ecunet.org.)