Let my people lead: leadership of persons with disabilities

As I was reading the passage, I was struck by Moses’ question in Verse 11: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" This reminded me of how, in Exodus, Chapter 4, Moses complains to God that he can’t be a leader because he is “slow of speech.” Now, instead of asking Moses to therefore step aside, God asks Aaron to help Moses with that side of things. Moses is speech-impaired and he needs an interpreter, but he’s still the leader. 

Moses, not Aaron, is the one who will be revered as a great father of the Jewish (and Christian) faith. He is also the person who receives the ten commandments, which became the basis of morality for so many people in world for the next 3,000 years, and the father of monotheism, being the first Jewish leader to guide his people from a belief in multiple gods, like the other religions around it, to one which had a single God.

So, Moses is a very important person, in Jewish history and culture, Christian history and culture, and in the history and culture of the world generally, and he is a man with a disability. Moses had already pointed this issue out, protesting that he has “never been a man of words.” His own people took some time to accept him, too. 

God was sure about Moses and had chosen him as a leader. In Verse 12, God reassures him by saying to him, “I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” God responds to Moses’ fears about his speech impairment by saying: in the next chapter ‘“Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” In opposition to all the damaging healing narratives of the Christian church throughout history – the perpetuation of the idea that persons with disabilities  are broken and they must be made whole by healing – here is God in Exodus telling his important leader that he made him just the way he is, and that the world is full of a variety of human beings, all made by and loved by God just as they are. 

This year's theme for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is: ”Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future." This theme underscores the importance of empowering individuals with disabilities to take the lead in shaping their own destinies and contributing to society. These individuals might need some assistance just like Moses needed Aaron because we are all a mixture of needs and gifts, and when our needs are met, our gifts can flourish. Moses’ gifts were able to flourish because his needs were met by his interpreter Aaron and this enabled him to be the leader that he was for the Israelites.

As an institution, the World Council of Churches keeps aspiring to include and value everyone by working towards that goal and always learning more each day about how to meet people’s needs and let their gifts flourish. We must not misunderstand what working for inclusion means – it doesn’t mean we only care about certain groups, like persons with disabilities; it means we care about every person in our congregation, but we have recognised which people are not usually included fully or treated as valuable. 

From this passage we realise that marginalised people are often extraordinary leaders with the most extraordinary gifts. The barriers and hurdles that we have put in place have formed our attitudes and made us assume that they cannot be considered for leadership roles. These attitudes and actions hurt the marginalised people first and foremost, but they also hurt the church from benefiting from their leadership roles.

The leadership of persons with disabilities is based on the principle of "nothing about us without us." This phrase highlights the crucial need for their participation, representation and inclusion. It emphasizes the importance of their active involvement in decision-making processes to influence the conditions affecting their lives, ensuring that policies and initiatives consider their viewpoints and priorities.

Over the years, the WCC Ecumenical Disabilities Advocates Network has led important community-driven efforts among the churches with the aim of not only advocating for the rights and wellbeing of persons with disabilities, but also promoting inclusive development. By using both specific and general approaches, the network has helped improve universal access to essential services and resources. 

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and UN Security Council Resolution 2475 are key international human rights frameworks which highlight the leadership of persons with disabilities in creating a treaty and creating a resolution on the protection of persons with disabilities in peace and security situations, highlighting their crucial impact on shaping international policy.

“Now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt….”