Just published: ‘Making church accessible for all’
There are ten million disabled people in the UK today—one person in six. Among people over the age of 50, the proportion rises. In addition, it is estimated that 95 per cent of people will experience a disabling condition at some point in their lives. These are the facts stated in a new book from BRF called, ‘Making Church Accessible to All’ (pp. 9–10)
Most churches have made adjustments to their premises to enable wheelchair access. Many have installed systems to aid the hard of hearing, but are these efforts enough if the church is to welcome all disabled people into their community? With only seven per cent of disabled people being wheelchair users, definitely not, says Tony Phelps–Jones, Director of Ministry for Prospects, the lead Christian organisation for people with learning disabilities and their families.
This is no marginal issue… It needs to be brought into clear focus for attention and action so that the church of Christ becomes fully accessible and inclusive. Think of it like this. One family in four is affected by disability. If a church is able to welcome, support, encourage and include the disabled family member, the impact on the whole family will be positive and lasting. The converse is likely to be equally true. (p. 10)
‘Making Church Accessible to All’ provides a strong argument for rethinking the way church is presented to the disabled community. Working from the biblical basis for including people with disabilities, Tony considers the obstacles that church can put in the way and the practicalities of establishing an effective ministry with the aim of encouraging churches to move from merely being accessible in terms of premises to being inclusive.
This book is in two parts. The first part looks at issues for churches to consider, regarding what it means for a church community to be inclusive in seven different ways:
People inclusive: How to welcome disabled people into the church community
God inclusive: Presenting God’s inclusive love for all people, disabled or not
Thinking inclusive: Shaping the church community’s attitudes towards people with disabilities
Ministry inclusive: Thinking about who might be inadvertently excluded by thoughtless or careless actions, words or attitudes
Language inclusive: Using language that is positive and avoids terminology that reinforces negative or incorrect assumptions and stereotypes
Church life inclusive: Considering the accessibility of church study groups, conferences and social events for disabled people
Buildings inclusive: Ensuring church premises and facilities are fully accessible
The second part is a practical approach, tackling seven areas of disability. Each chapter takes the theory of Part 1 and examines how to put it into practice. This section of the book is written by people who have significant personal experience in the disability under discussion. This section includes advice for including people with learning disabilities, autism, sight loss, hearing loss, mobility difficulty, mental health issues and families with children with additional needs.
“While much progress has been made by the church community in making the church accessible for all, there is still much ground to be taken. This is not a time to relax but a time to push through to the next level. The good news of the gospel welcomes all.”
Steve Clifford, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance
Authors
Tony Phelps–Jones is the Director of Ministry for Prospects, the lead Christian organisation for people with learning disabilities and their families. He has been helping people with learning disabilities to engage with worship and Bible teaching since joining Prospects in 1987. Other contributors to Making Church Accessible to All are Gill Behenna (Signs of God), Jonathan Clark (Premier Life), Ann Memmott (autism accessibility consultant), Kay Morgan–Gurr (Children Worldwide), Mike Townsend (Torch Trust), Tracy Williamson (author) and Tim Wood (Through the Roof).
Making Church Accessible to All is published on 15 Feb 2013, priced £7.99, ISBN 978 0 85746 157 5, pb, 144 pages.