Our Redeemer Lutheran Church is an
All Inclusive Congregation
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church makes every effort possible to ensure that anyone who has a disability can be included in all aspects of congregational life. We provide the resources and assistance necessary to ensure that no disability hinders people’s ability to experience all of the benefits and joy of participating in the church.

* With advanced notice. Please call the Church Office (518 393-5031) to inquire about other adaptive needs.

Our Redeemer Wins Honorable Mention award for Accessibility
ELCA NEWS SERVICE
December 7, 2006
ELCA Congregations Win Accessibility Awards
06-193-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Christ Lutheran Church, Aptos, Calif., and Saron Lutheran Church, Ashland, Wis., are the winners of the 2006 Disability Ministries Accessibility Awards. The award is given annually to congregations of the ELCA that display commitment to providing care and concern among people who are living with disabilities. This year two awards were given -- one to a church with more than 300 members (Saron) and another to a church with less than 300 members (Christ).
Each winner received a grant of $1,000 from the ELCA Mission Investment Fund and the National Organization on Disability, and a plaque from ELCA Disability Ministries through ELCA Vocation and Education.
Four congregations -- two with 300 or less members and two with more than 300 members -- earned an "honorable mention" and received $250. Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Garland, Texas, and Beckville Lutheran Church, Litchfield, Minn., each with a membership of less than 300, received honorable mentions. Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Scotia, N.Y., and Augustana Lutheran Church, Grand Forks, N.D., each with a membership of more than 300, received honorable mentions.
Applications are judged by a selection committee made up of people from program and service units in the churchwide organization. The congregations are judged in three areas: physical accessibility, outreach in the community to people with disabilities, and inclusion of people with disabilities in the life and worship of the congregation, according to Jonathan Vehar, intern for Disability Ministries, ELCA Vocation and Education.
"The award money was given by the ELCA Mission Investment Fund and the National Organization on Disability through their Partnership Program sponsored by Wal-Mart," said Vehar. For information about ELCA Disability Ministries is at http://www.ELCA.org/disability on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org

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