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‘Not just the ramp.’ Worship spaces need more accessibility

Jerry Lamb, who has a spine condition, talks to Pastor Adam Kelchner at Camden First United Methodist Church Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, in Camden, Tenn. The church at the urging of the pastor recently had a couple pews cut in half so Jerry, and anyone else who uses a wheelchair, walker or other aid, can still sit with the rest of the congregation. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Jerry Lamb, who has a spine condition, talks to Pastor Adam Kelchner at Camden First United Methodist Church Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, in Camden, Tenn. The church at the urging of the pastor recently had a couple pews cut in half so Jerry, and anyone else who uses a wheelchair, walker or other aid, can still sit with the rest of the congregation. (AP Photo/John Amis) Jerry Lamb, who has a spine condition, talks to Pastor Adam Kelchner at Camden First United Methodist Church Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, in Camden, Tenn. The church at the urging of the pastor recently had a couple pews cut in half so Jerry, and anyone else who uses a wheelchair, walker or other aid, can still sit with the rest of the congregation. (AP Photo/John Amis)

By HOLLY MEYER / The Associated Press 7 min read


NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Jerry Lamb could not maneuver his wheelchair into the rows of pews at his church. It wouldn’t fit. Nor could he sit in the aisles without awkwardly blocking the way.

So he adapted. It’s a regular part of his new life with limited mobility that requires near-constant calculations of how to navigate a world no longer set up for him. That included his longtime church in Camden, Tennessee – one of the many U.S. houses of worship with accessibility limitations.

Instead, on Sundays, he worshipped in the narthex at the back of Camden First United Methodist Church, separated from the rest of the congregation, with his family at his side in folding chairs. It didn’t really bother Lamb, 66, who “was already over it,” having struggled to walk since 2019 due to a worsening spine condition.

But it bothered the Rev. Adam Kelchner, the new pastor: “I was preaching one Sunday and was rather distraught that one of our families literally could not be in the same worship space just because we didn’t have a seating arrangement that made sense.”