Kumasi, March 3, GNA - Religious bodies have been urged to remove architectural and attitudinal barriers, inhibiting people with physical disabilities from becoming actively involved in the church. Pastor David W. Anderson, President of the Crossing Bridges Incorporated, a group dedicated to the cause of the disabled in the Unite= d States (US), said this on Wednesday and noted that the Church environment=

should be made disabled friendly. He said persons with disabilities also need salvation. Pastor Anderson was delivering a lecture on "Ministering to Persons with=

Disabilities: The Church's Responsibility: Ministry Challenge or Opportunity" at a five-day all pastors seminar organized by the Brotherh= ood Church in Kumasi. "Evangelism and Nation Building" was the theme and in attendance were 30= 0 Pastors from Ghana, Togo and the US.

Pastor Anderson said "God does not measure persons by what they do or co= uld do and His vision for the disabled is also not limited to this world." He said it was unfortunate that people were allowing traditional religio= us thinking to cloud their minds, adding that, they lacked accurate understanding of the Bible's teaching.

He said there was the need for ministers of the gospel to broaden and deepen people's friendships to include persons with disabilities and also=

assist the disabled to develop personal competencies. Reverend Seth K. Adofo, Primate of the Brotherhood Church, stressed the need to end the stigmatization of the disabled and ensure their integrati= on into the society. He said the Church should also be a reliable partner of the state to promote development in the areas of agriculture, construction of schools,=

health facilities and job creation. Primate Adofo advised Christians to desist from spending working hours i= n churches because it negatively affects productivity.