Thinking Differently About God: Neurodiversity, Faith and Church 2

Day 2 of the 'Thinking Differently About God: Neurodiversity, Faith and Church' weekend at St Martin-in-the-Fields in partnership with Inclusive Church began with a Eucharist. This service continued the reflections begun on Day 1 with input from conference participants, including Krysia Waldock and Ann Memmott, plus a liturgy, parts of which were written by the Disability Advisory Group at St Martin's.

I said that we are able to think differently about God because the Trinity is diverse, as is the world that God created, and because the Bible contains a huge variety of different images of and names for God. These create the space in which those who are neurodiverse share their perceptions of God to the benefit of us all. Krysia Waldock's introduction to neurodiversity and the experience of neurodiverse people in church can be read here, while Ann Memmott's excellent address can be heard here.

Our afternoon programme used insights from the creative Arts to explore the weekend's themes. Phillip Hickman said that as a “Visual Theologian”, his aim is to minster to the effectiveness of the Christian Contemplative practice of photography and thus come to understand a deeper realisation of the divine nature of God. His work as a photographer helps him question his own identity and its implication to the wider world.

We also watched Me, My Mouth and I, a film which follows Jess Thom as she stages a neuro-diverse version of Samuel Beckett’s short play Not I. Jess is co-founder of Touretteshero and may or may not lead a secret double life as a superhero. Artist, playworker, and expert fundraiser, Jess currently helps coordinate a large play project in South London. Jess has had tics since she was a child but wasn’t diagnosed with Tourettes until she was in her twenties. With some encouragement from her friends, Jess decided to turn her tics into a source of imaginative creativity and the Touretteshero project was born.

Fiona MacMillan then discussed the themes of the film with Jess exploring what the arts have to teach the church regarding diversity, acceptance and belonging. In particular, Touretteshero are pioneering work creating relaxed spaces where all can belong. Relaxed performances offer a warm welcome to people who find it difficult to follow the usual conventions of theatre behaviour.

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The Cranberries - Linger.

Thinking Differently About God: Neurodiversity, Faith and Church

 

 

 

 

Thinking Differently About God: Neurodiversity, Faith and Church
Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October

A weekend of events to mark our 8th annual conference on Disability & Church, a partnership between St Martin-in-the-Fields and Inclusive Church.

Neurodiversity is the idea that there are natural variations in the way people think and process information. These include autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and Tourette's - each a particular combination of needs and gifts. 

We explored our understanding of God and sharing experience of discovery, discrimination and discernment. Speakers included: Bingo Allison, Dan Barnes-Davies, Sue Hartley, Phillip Hickman, Naomi Jacobs, Ann Memmott, Rachel Noel, Krysia Waldock, WAVE and Sam Wells.

We welcomed 80 people from across the country and are hugely grateful to the many people who supported the event. Participants said:

• Brilliantly stimulating conference at St MitFs on neurodiversity. Speakers telling their stories. "Divinely disruptive", "Different not broken". God loves and accepts all of us.
• Fabulous day! Thank you all so spoke with and whose company I enjoyed - church should be like this more often!
Thank you for being a bright bulb in our lives. I am motivated and moved following today’s Neurodiversity Conference. I engaged with many participants who were uplifted because they had the space to unpack hidden challenges.
• Every year I leave the conference at St Martins in the Fields thinking that it truly is a prophetic voice to the wider church. Today is no different - a truly transformative and challenging day. Thank you to all the speakers and especially to Fiona and her team.

Tomorrow at the 10.00am Eucharist at St Martin-in-the-Fields we welcome Ann Memmott, author of Church of England guidelines on welcoming autistic people, as our visiting preacher. Parts of the liturgy have been written by our Disability Advisory Group, under the guidance of Sam Wells. The service is BSL interpreted.

Something Worth Sharing: we'll also be launching a new booklet on disability and church. Based on our 2018 conference it shares ways to create change in church. Includes our own Disability Advisory Group, theological reflection by Sam Wells and an introduction by the Bishop of London. Copies are available after service in the Lightwell. Donations to support this work are welcome.

At 2.00pm in St Martin's Hall we explore the ideas via the creative arts. Including an introduction to Contemplative Photography by Phillip Hickman and a special screening of ‘Touretteshero: Me, My Mouth and I’; a documentary exploring neurodiversity in the visual arts through the lens of Samuel Beckett's play, 'Not I'. We'll be joined by Jess Thom (aka Touretteshero) – to explore what the arts have to teach the church about diversity, acceptance and belonging.

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Let Us Build A House Where Love Can Dwell.