En-abling, not dis-abling

Being wished by the Bish into a small group reviewing how the diocese is doing ministering with people with disabilities has certainly made me more aware of the whole area. I guess that I fall into the general category as one ear isn't as good as it should be and my sight is somewhat impaired, and has been since I was a child, but most people end up needing some sort of sight correction so it's no big deal. And I neither consider myself to have a disability nor think about it much. I guess that's where people with more major disabilities would like to be too - just able to get on with living life as they want to. If I can't hear/see too well in a meeting I move to where I can hear/see or - occasionally - give up, on the grounds that if it's that difficult to hear/see then the information isn't considered by the organisers to be that important. And something the Bish said last week was quite thought provoking too - that we disable people by the way we treat them and expect them to be, rather than accepting them as they are. On the evidence so far, the diocese has a way to go...