Something Worth Sharing

 

Together with Inclusive Church, St Martin-in-the-Fields and Accessible Synod, HeartEdge supported the launch during General Synod of 'Something Worth Sharing', a booklet sharing the fruit of an annual conference on disability and church.

Talks from the launch event by Fiona MacMillan, Emily Richardson and Tim Goode can be read here.

Read more about the conference, its approaches and learning from it in recent articles for anglican focus and The Plough:

• anglican focus: “If the Church is to be renewed from the edge it must make space for the edge to come to the centre. That space needs to be open to disruptive prophets and uncomfortable conversations – and accessible.”
• The Plough: Disability asks us questions that only more questions can answer.

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St Martin's Voices - A New Commandment.

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.

Something Worth Sharing Day 2

Something Worth Sharing was a weekend of events to mark the 7th annual conference on Disability and Church, a partnership between St Martin-in-the-Fields and Inclusive Church.

Today we began with a Eucharist and Healing Service for St Luke’s Day. This special service reflected the weekend’s themes using liturgy written by members of St Martin’s Disability Advisory Group and Healing Team. The service included the laying on of hands and anointing with oil, accompanied by prayers for healing. The service was followed by a Theology Group meeting which explored the history, theology of and approaches to Ecumenism.

Later we had a special screening of Defiant Lives, a feature-length documentary which was followed by discussion of the issues and ideas. Defiant Lives tells the story of the disability rights movement in the UK, US and Australia, mixing archive footage and recent interviews with disabled people who fought for a society where everyone can participate.

Twitter comment on the film and the panel discussion included:

• Defiant Lives is a documentary telling the story of the Disability Rights Movement in Australia, UK & US.
• "They weren't considered human." Harrowing reminders from history of #disability rights movement.
• "In a culture of Othering, the Others are in danger. Crimes against us aren't really crimes. We cease being human."
• Attitudes of paternalism & pity challenged by #disability rights movement. 
• "To boldly go where all others have been before" - history of direct action, hard-won right to travel on "public" transport.
• Beyond legislation - law is first step. Making it work is much harder... Usually "if someone complains, we'll fix it." Still not working.
• Ed Roberts, US pioneer of Independent living, on the importance Personal Assistants as valued and specialist role. "Disabled people do best when their support workers do best.
• "unless disabled people are involved, they're going to get it wrong" Lessons from history in #defiantlives.
• Why is taking so long, even now, to get our voices out there?
• The dominant charity stories diminish us. These must be changed. The language of hymns must change. 
• People with lived experience building own theology - church needs to hear authentic spirituality derived from lived experience.
• Church needs to reconsider its model of humanity - no steps to sanctuary and central altar saying God is in our midst.
• Fighting for the right to go where everyone else has already gone before - this is my daily reality.
• Church should be with marginalised but cut funding on disability issues at time when austerity cuts began to impact. 
• Disabled people are the canaries in the coal mine - more in poverty, more disadvantaged. Church must speak out on these issues. 

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June Boyce-Tillman: Blessing Song. 

Something Worth Sharing Day 1

Something Worth Sharing was a weekend of events to mark the 7th annual conference on Disability and Church, a partnership between St Martin-in-the-Fields and Inclusive Church. Saturday's Something Worth Sharing conference recognised that disabled people can be isolated by experience or geography, and face barriers to belonging in churches and communities.Therefore, the conference explored what we can do to unlock gates and open our gifts. From access statements to advisory groups, using language and structure, connecting and gathering, we explored ideas and shared practical resources for getting in and joining in.

Speakers included: June Boyce-Tillman, Tim Goode, Fiona MacMillan, Ann Memmott, Emily Richardson and Sam Wells. Through plenary talks and in small groups, with a silent space and a marketplace, this was a day to resource each other and the church organised by and for disabled people, supporters and people with an interest in disability issues.

Tweets from the conference provide an in-the-moment view of the content and delegate's responses to it:

• Fiona MacMillan introduces the day and reminds us that without one person here today, the day would be slightly different. We all bring something worth sharing.
• We have a full programme for the day but, as always, nothing is compulsory but everything is offered by invitation.
• Fiona introduces @KHedderly as our conference chaplain for the day. 
• Nikki Goodhew is our first storyteller speaker, sharing her story with us. Nikki experienced new issues with access in church when licensed as a reader. Services which she is involved in have to be adapted, restructured.
• "I have particular issues with vestries and chancel steps"
• Using crutches on funeral visits can be an icebreaker for families. Not a lot of people used to meeting a disabled minister.
• Nikki is interested in how technology could be used more in the diocese. Eg for training, involving people who are excluded by distance etc
• Listening & Learning today #worthsharing a great opening and stories of access and now theology from Sam Wells unpacking ‘practical’ theology
• Revd Sam Wells sharing on practical theology. Sam avoids the term "practical theology" as it implies that there is another kind of theology. If the Word became flesh, then all theology is practical.
• Next up, Rev Prof. June Boyce-Tillman on Language and the importance of story.
• We have a narrative, stories we live by. People who don't conform to those stories and stereotypes are often ignored.
• Our Hymnals contain many out-of-date notions of disability from the Victorian era. How can we change that narrative in our worship?
• We need new images of God because there is not a single person who cannot embody God. We need to expand our discourse about the Divine.
• What are we ‘accessing’ is it just the building? @AnnMemmott says no so much more we accessing God and enabling people to feel safe, and to be leaders, welcomers and includers.
• The internet makes negotiating access much simpler. Eg. Google Streetview for parking & pictures of the church layout on their website.
• We get caught up with "buildings" when we think about access. We are accessing God in prayer, worship & communion and also accessing each other in fellowship.
• Often we see disabled people as those needing to be welcomed/included but we should see disabled people's gifts as those doing the welcoming/including.
• Observation from the floor: we often make God inaccessible through the use of our language. We need to be mindful of this.
• Problems begin when our cultural stereotypes are then assumed to be God-given.
• Focus on society as problem rather than impairment or condition was radical idea.
• Today I met a young man at today’s conference who I learnt so much from as I did others today.
• Our artspace and wailing wall offer opportunities for more creative, reflective responses to the day.
• Utmost gratitude for a very reflective afternoon on Disability & Church. Such good discussion held on access, vocation, language, & differing needs. Special thanks to @emjric for your social media talk!
• Such a good day at the #worthsharing conference. Much loved friends and colleagues aplenty, making a big difference to disabled & neurodiverse Christians. Huge thanks to all.
• Glad to be a speaker at the @livingedgeconf with @smitf_london & @inclusivechurch ." Something worth sharing." Disability. Neurodiversity. Access. Church.

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June Boyce-Tillman - We Shall Go Out With Hope Of Resurrection.