Posted October 31, 2011

A disabilities workshop was held Saturday, Oct. 22 in the meeting hall of Maternity B.V.M Church in northeast Philadelphia. Mark Overwise led the workshop, and Josephine Raspanti, Nancy Zimmer, Joan Kelly and Julie Herrmann also gave presentations.

The workshop included a discussion about how disabled people have been treated in the past and the changes taking place in society to create equality for people with disabilities. Some attendees at the workshop had visible physical impairments and spoke about their personal experiences and shared difficulties they had encountered in the past.

The main focus of the committee will be to increase disability awareness among local parishes, get more people to participate in upcoming workshops, improve services to church members with disabilities, and ultimately change attitudes of parishioners toward people with physical and emotional handicaps.