Deviations from the ideal and beautiful creation in the "image of God" are stigmatized as sin and curse and thus become a cause of shame in society, in the church, or in the family. For this reason, persons with disabilities are often excluded from the life and practice of Christian communities, especially where the understanding of inclusiveness is reduced to the need to quickly cure their "abnormality." The church's focus on disability as a problem of impairment to be cured fails to recognize that the presence and active participation of persons with disabilities in ministry can be a gift of healing for the church community itself and its practices of hospitality, where no one, regardless of ability, feels excluded or unwanted.

Recognizing that most theological institutions and religious communities do not pay due attention to disability issues, the Eastern European Institute of Theology is organizing a Summer School on the Theology of Disability. We hope that this school will be a small step towards creating communities of healing and unity in diversity because life in the body of Christ is not only about belonging to a community but also about living with different people gifted with different abilities with which we learn to serve each other.