New York, October 17, 2024
Photo: goarch.org
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (Patriarchate of Constantinople) has received a substantial grant of $1.25 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to launch an initiative aimed at making the Divine Liturgy more accessible to children with disabilities.
The project, titled “On Behalf of All: Toward an Accessible Divine Liturgy for Children with Disabilities,” will span five years and focus on addressing barriers to participation in Orthodox Christian worship.
The initiative plans to bring together individuals with disabilities, caregivers, clergy, pastoral leaders, and disability ministry experts to develop best practices and create replicable models for inclusive worship. A key component of the project involves establishing a cohort of at least 12 pilot parishes across the Archdiocese to explore ways of ensuring accessible participation for children with disabilities in the Divine Liturgy.
Archbishop Elpidophoros of America expressed gratitude for the grant, emphasizing the project’s significance as a first-of-its-kind national effort to support the participation of children with disabilities in Orthodox Christian worship. He expressed confidence that the work of the pilot parishes would lead to fuller engagement of these children and their families in the faith community.
The grant is part of Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative, which aims to help Christian congregations better engage children in intergenerational worship and prayer practices. The project will also focus on resource design, assessment, collaboration, and dissemination of learnings to build capacity for replication beyond the initial grant period.
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