Disability, Belonging and Faith
About 1 in 6 Australian people live with a disability, that is, with a condition that restricts their mental, sensory or mobility functions. It may have been caused by accident, trauma, genetics or disease; it may be temporary or permanent, total or partial, lifelong or acquired, visible or invisible. Disability can have minimal or substantial impact on a person’s abilities.
The statistics play out with 100% accuracy in my family and while my loved one with a disability experiences frustration each day, to the majority of people, the disability is completely invisible. And while medical technology has been remarkable in providing increased capacity and ability for some with disabilities, it has also, tragically, relegated others into a “problem to be solved” category.
The Christian church has a long history of caring for the poor, the sick, and the marginalised. Inspired by Jesus’ care and compassion, the earliest Christians offered shelter and hospitality to people who had been shunned and rejected by others in their society. The early Christians were known for their insistence on the value and dignity of all human life, a belief deeply rooted in the Bible’s depiction of human beings as the unique bearers of God’s image (Gen. 1:26-27).
For this reason, the stories of the early church are filled with accounts of Christians working to preserve and nurture the lives of those considered without value in the Roman Empire – the exposed infant, the person with mental illness, the frail and elderly, widows, orphans, and many others. It is core to our faith that Christians are people who love, accept, and welcome all people.
And it is for this reason, on Sunday 13th August at 2pm we are holding a special Care Seminar to discuss the topic of Disability, Belonging and Faith.
Dr Louise Gosbell who has researched and written extensively in this area is coming to help us continue our journey together in creating an inclusive church where families, children, and individuals with additional needs feel they belong. You can read more of Dr Gosbell’s research in her paper Everyone Welcome.
We are running this seminar because we want to demonstrate our commitment to care for, support and include individuals and families with disabilities; because we want to provide an opportunity for sharing and to enable all of us to have a greater awareness of the needs of individuals and families with disabilities; and because we want everyone to be equipped with knowledge that will help them to be able to facilitate inclusion, belonging and participation in church for all members.
Please come and join us. Hear the stories. Understand the issues. Help us be a church where we don’t just say people are welcome but where all people actually do feel welcome.
