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The Gimp Goes Christmas

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Event Name: The Hymns of Christmas Featuring Jennifer Knapp and Margaret Becker
Location:Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis
29th & Broadway
Date: December 7, 2012

  • Accessibility- ***
  • Performance/Reliability: - *****
  • Problem-Solving/Conflict Resolution: ****
  • The Intangibles- *****
  • Overall Experience- ****

I’ve been making a concerted effort to add more Christmas activities into my life this year, both a product of my general state of “blah” during the holiday season and my awareness that my workaholic tendencies aren’t exactly contributing to a healthy lifestyle. One of my relatively early events this year, and one about which I’ve been most excited, has been the Margaret Becker/Jennifer Knapp “The Hymns of Christmas” tour that stopped in Indianapolis last night for a show at near downtown’s Broadway United Methodist Church.

I’d always wanted to visit Broadway United Methodist Church, because it has a strong reputation for social justice and truly welcoming all people. For some reason, that visit has simply never occurred. It could have something to do with being a minister myself and, well, I tend to be busy on Sundays. This is one of Indy’s grand ole’ churches. It’s right next to Indy’s inner city, a solidly working class neighborhood in close proximity to just about every ethnic group you could imagine. In short, this is not a church for those who preach diversity but then silently whisper when someone “different” walks in – this is a church with a full-on, open arm embrace.

But, I have to admit that I’ve been a bit intimidated by visiting Broadway United Methodist Church. Being a pastor, I’ve learned quickly how difficult access for a wheelchair can be in even contemporary churches. Older churches? It’s downright impossible at times. I’m fortunate to be serving a church right now as interim pastor where despite small numbers, they have a truly open heart and set out right away to improve some access issues even knowing I would only be there for a six month period. But, most churches sort of fumble their way through the issue of accessibility or choose to ignore it completely.

The worst churches are the ones who say “We have strong men who can lift you into the church.”

Um, I don’t think that’s the point folks.

First off, I was right to be intimidated by Broadway United Methodist Church. This particular congregation has been around since 1873, while they’ve been present at this location since 1926. In other words, Broadway United Methodist Church has been around since 95% of those born with spina bifida died and folks with disabilities weren’t getting around much. The church is an old gothic style church with huge columns, stained glass windows and your traditional wooden pews that don’t exactly scream out “easy access” even for those with simple mobility issues.

I arrived at the church early, anticipating that there might be some access issues. I’d e-mailed the church earlier through their page with the ticketing agent they use, Brown Bag Tickets (which I highly recommend, by the way). I’d not heard back, but I’d also been super busy the last couple days and hadn’t checked the page again. So, I arrived in plenty of time to check out any potential obstacles – Some consider this unacceptable in terms of disability access, but to me “advanced prep” is simply a way of life. It’s like a vegetarian not asking about a menu before going to a banquet. You can certainly survive without it, but things tend to go much more smoothly if you plan.

I was already starting to cop an attitude upon my arrival. If you’ve never been to the church, the parking may be a tad confusing even though it’s rather obvious. I tend to get confused about the obvious quite a bit anyway. There’s two large parking lots across from the church, though they are beside the church as the church frontage faces what is known as “Fall Creek Parkway,” a rather busily traveled street that isn’t exactly pedestrian friendly. It’s not the ideal set up, but it works. I drove around the church twice as I didn’t see any clearly marked parking for the disabled, a fact that is rather rare these days even for older churches. On my second time around, I cruised through the two parking lots again (the first cruise through I simply observed that no parking spots with signs existed). This time, I noticed two parking spots with the wheelchair emblem on the concrete. They are located at the front of the parking lot, though the emblems have faded enough that on this dreary, rainy night when it was starting to get dark they could barely be seen.

I also need to note that they are not even close to ADA compliant, with neither spot truly designed for wheelchair access. I had to park slightly over the line to ensure I had room to get out in my wheelchair (as the driver). If I’d been the passenger in teh vehicle, access would have been even more difficult. This is an easily remedied issue that is also not expensive. For a church that advertises being “open to all,” I’d highly recommend addressing this basic issue. There’s nothing I hate worse than parking in a wheelchair-designated space and coming out of somewhere to find myself blocked in. It happens more than I care to mention.

To their credit, however, the sidewalks that are adjacent to these spaces do have curb cuts that aren’t quite ADA compliant but are close. The only snag last night was that it was rainy and a puddle had formed on one of them. If you’ve ever gone down a curb cut expecting it to be smooth only to hit a bump and fly out of your chair, as I have, then you’ll be able to picture how slowly I approached this area to ensure I wouldn’t be drenched when I arrived at the concert. Fortunately, it was actually smooth and obstacle free. The next obstacle came in the fact that I had to cross a residential street and go up the next sidewalk adjacent to the church. There was a curb cut, but it was at the end of the street. It’s definitely an option for those who need it, but I wouldn’t call it appropriately placed. While less than ideal, it’s available and helpful. For those who are more independent in wheelchairs, the curb itself is a relatively small curb and pretty easy to jump (as I did).

Then, the final obstacle. How do I actually get in the church? There are two entrances on this side of the church – one has about a dozen steps while the other is a smaller entrance into the sanctuary with about a half dozen steps. I initially thought I spied a ramp next to the larger entrance, though it looked like a rather sad ramp. It ended up not being a ramp, but a side column of concrete. You’ll regret it if you try to go up it. With no easy way to contact anyone inside, my next thought was “Okay, I’m going to wheel around the church and explore. I’m glad I arrived early.”

Then, someone came out and I was able to ask “Do you know if they have an accessible entrance?”

“Yes,” was the reply though they seemed a bit unsure about exactly how to get to it. Fortunately, right as this woman was helping me another woman came out and this, my friends, is where Broadway United Methodist Church really began to shine. She was extraordinarily helpful and the initial greeting said it all “We’re expecting you! I was going to have someone out here waiting with an umbrella,” she replied.

Ah, sublime.

But, you say “Why didn’t she have someone waiting?” You must remember that I arrived early – in fact, a good 30 minutes before doors were scheduled to open. While I’d intentionally arrived early, it was even earlier than I planned simply because I was in the neighborhood anyway and didn’t want to drive all the way home. So, had I arrived “on time” my guide would have likely been present. I’ll admit that the church’s solution to access isn’t exactly a perfect solution. There is a wheelchair friendly entrance in the front of the church (and there’s no danger with the aforementioned traffic). There’s a smooth sidewalk the entire way, though someone who can walk but has mobility issues may actually find the steps closer and more convenient. This entrance isn’t exactly close, which could prove to be a major pain during bad weather or snow. However, given that this is a nearly 100-year-old church it’s a pretty good solution to a challenging problem. If you throw into the solution the fact that someone was readily available to serve as guide, I’ll give the church major credit for providing a creative solution to a difficult problem.

Once you arrive at the entrance, the door itself is a traditional one-sided wooden door. It’s a fairly light door, though by now it’s probably fairly established that you’re better off attending this church with a companion or notifying them in advance of your arrival. When you get inside, the experience itself is surprisingly friendly in the “we creatively figured this out” kind of way. There’s an elevator lift to at least three common areas including the huge main sanctuary. This lift can easily work with two people, however, it is a “lift” and not an elevator. You have to wheel your way around a couple hallways, including one that is a modest incline right before you get to the sanctuary. My guide was insistent on helping, and those with muscle weakness would probably have difficulty with it.

The sanctuary itself, as previously described, is huge and gothic and wondrous and beautiful. I was in love. Just once in my life I want to preach from a sanctuary such as this one…I’ve preached in many old churches, but never a grand ole’ church. The pews are all wooden and possess a high back (old school “high” back). They are the kinds of pews that reflect a more traditional theology of realizing our smallness before God.

Yes, there really is theology put into place behind pews.

I certainly realized my smallness and my shortness. These high pews had me a bit concerned should someone taller sit in front of me or should people stand during the concert. However, out of this older and more traditional setting the fine folks at Broadway United Methodist Church managed to create designated wheelchair sitting (Of course, the ideal is that a personal in a wheelchair could sit anywhere – however, that’s simply not always possible). This particular place where I sat offered a place for my guest for the night and easy view of the area set up as a stage. They’d also set up two modestly sized video screens so that should the church become packed those in the back could clearly see the two artists. The first three rows in the sanctuary were “VIP Seating,” which I had not purchased.

As a side note, many folks with disabilities tend to gloat (myself included) when we get “moved up” because of access issues. It happens in concerts, special events, airplanes, etc. I tend to frown on this, as it provides unrealistic long-term expectations and also holds an individual with a disability accountable. If I wanted “VIP Access,” I should pay for it. If folks with disabilities want equality, that means realizing that there are no “free rides.” Sometimes, it’s unavoidable. If I pay for a general admission ticket, and you didn’t bother to tell me that general admission had horrid access then I expect you to move me up. However, if both “general” and “VIP” offer access and I bought “general” then “general” it is.

Got it?

This was where, once again, Broadway United Methodist Church really shined as a host of a special event. On more than one occasion, someone from Broadway came over to me and welcomed me and made sure that the seating was working for me. On three occasions, concern was expressed about viewing and it was stressed all three times that should there be difficulty they would “figure something else out” to ensure that I could see well.

WOW.

Then, they followed up with me during the concert just to make sure everything was okay.

They did so not in a patronizing way, but in a way of genuine concern and service. I was amazed, impressed and in this moment figured out that even with the challenging accessibility issues this would be a church where I would return for other special events. There was also a tremendously relaxed spirit here, a spirit of acceptance of diversity that far transcended the usual. While the church itself has a formal feel to it, the attitude itself is warm and embracing.

Bravo.

The concert started with a local emphasis as Broadway offered up a delightful opportunity for three teens from Herron High School, an Indianapolis arts-oriented high school. The three teens served up four songs with – “Winter Wonderland” along with three that possessed a more haunting, moody holiday vibe.

The concert featuring Margaret Becker and Jennifer Knapp itself was extraordinarily good, though I already fancied myself a fan of both Margaret Becker and Jennifer Knapp. The two performed all ten of the tunes on their “Hymns of Christmas” CD (which I highly recommend) and another handful of their tunes that will be familiar to most fans. Becker and Knapp enjoy a sort of “sibling” kind of relationship, with Becker frequently looking at Knapp like “I’ve got the cutest little sister” and Knapp frequently looking at Becker with this look of “Man, I can’t believe I’m playing with Margaret Becker.” It was a warmth and camaraderie that added to an already existing warmth of the atmosphere. While the room itself wasn’t packed, it was crowded and you could tell that both Knapp and Becker were enjoying themselves. This was an acoustic show, and it’s the sort of low-budget concert that I think most artists enjoy – They’re making enough to justify their effort, but also keeping things rather simple and low-key.

I had a horrid headache going into the concert, but the warmth and the spirit present in Broadway and in Becker/Knapp won me over. It was a beautiful evening for someone who is trying to reverse my long trend of struggling through the holidays. I will confess, as a slight disclaimer, that I wished the concert had stuck with its title of “The Hymns of Christmas.” While I love both Becker and Knapp’s music, the diversion into a handful (I believe four) of their non-holiday tunes felt like a bit of a distraction and slightly lessened the festive mood. Fortunately, the two came back for a two-song encore that included a holiday-tinged tune of Knapp’s and what may be the best song on their CD, a marvelously folk/rock version of “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” the perfect way to end a truly beautiful evening.

I hope this review ends up in the Google Archive for both Margaret and Jennifer.



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