MAKING CHURCH ACCESSIBLE TO ALL
Including disabled people in church life
By Tony Phelps-Jones et al. BRF. 143 pages. £7.99
ISBN 978 0 857 461 575
I once interviewed a 96-year-old who was dismayed that she could no longer go to church. Her old legs could no longer navigate the three feet of cobbles on the path in front of the entrance.
She had been an active member and was known to many, but only one person visited, once a month, to give communion and to collect her tithe. Amazed, I telephoned the pastor. About the sparse monthly visit he said, sadly, everyone was so busy these days. Yes, it was true the cobbles were a feature of the path, but they were only a few feet wide and no one had thought about it.
Encouraging churches to think, with issues to consider, takes up the first part of Tony Phelps-Jones’s book. Churches are unconsciously excluding a huge part of the population. One person in six in the UK has a disability, and by not including them we are depriving ourselves: God designed us to live in relationship with each other, and our lives are not complete without each others contributions. We need to know people for what they can do, not for their disabilities. Judy Divall describes a boy who was always apart, unable to socialise with others, but who became her silent shadow, empathising deeply with her grief on the death of a favourite uncle. ‘Without words or touch, he was just there’ (p.18).
Tony Phelps-Jones joined Prospects, the charity that helps people with learning disabilities, in 1987. This book encompasses people with physical, as well as learning disabilities. The second part of the book gives practical advice. I loved the jargon-busting on p.48. It illustrates how we develop mindsets that prevent us thinking outside our particular rut. This is an easy-to-read book, reflecting years of experience and will make believers begin to think about including those with disabilities.
Louise Morse, MA (CBT),
Media Manager with Pilgrims’ Friend Society; also a cognitive behavioural therapist, has published books on dementia and speaks frequently about dementia and issues of old age
