On Friday, October 17, 2008 Zach and his support staff (John the outreacher and Shari the nurse) made our first church visit. We were looking at wheelchair accessibility at Atonement Lutheran Church (ELCA) in NW Jamestown, up the hill by the new high school. And what we found was one of those great churches where they not only accept wheelchair users, they encourage them.
The need for extensive repairs after storm damage on Labor Day weekend 1997 was viewed by this congregation as the perfect opportunity to address their handicapped accessibility concerns. Pastor Steve Berntson (pictured above) was a part of that decision-making and he still serves this vibrant congregation.
Pastor Steve showed us around while Zach snapped pictures. There is much here that would make a wheelchair user feel at home, including other wheelchair users on most Sundays. There is handicapped parking on the south and east sides along with ramps and automatic doors to provide unassisted building access and exit.
The Church is almost completely on one level and there is a large handicapped restroom. Wheelchair areas are available in the sanctuary and there are even accompanying custom built hymnal holders for those areas.
For more info on the Church, check out their web page at www.atonementjamestown.org
Wheelchair Accessibility Highlights:
* Handicapped parking on the south and east sides of the building;
* Automatic doors on the south and east sides of the building;
* Interior all on one level with minor exceptions;
* Wheelchair spaces in sanctuary; and
* Wheelchair accessible restroom.
Text by John Andrus
Photos by Zachary
