I’m often asked for resources to help church communities that want to live out disability access, justice and hospitality, but don’t know where to start. Others ask where to start reading disabiity theology – you’ll find both on this page.
Resources – Access and Justice
The UK disabled Christian movement has some experienced disabled leaders, consultants and thinkers, sharing their expertise with churches on how to open the gates to disabled people.
- The Living Edge conference is an annual event run by disabled Christians, for disabled Christians. Their resource Something Worth Sharing shares a decade of gathered wisdom on disability access and participation. A partnership between St Martin-in-the-Fields Church and Inclusive Church.
- Welcoming and Including Autistic People in our Churches and Communities – guidelines by autistic expert Ann Memmott.
- The Inclusive Church Radical Welcome course – training to help you make your church more radically hospitable to all.
- The Baptist Union of Great Britain’s resources and reflections on disability justice in churches.
- Included By Grace, from Lynn McCann – helping churches to include autistic children and those with learning disabilities.
- Church of England Guidance Note on accessibility and churches. Under the Equality Act, churches have a duty to be accessible to disabled people. Start here to learn more – and then ask whether God is calling you to go beyond the basics of the law, to become a place of disability access and justice.
Disabled-Led Christian Groups
- Disability and Jesus – online church services, resources and community, led by disabled priests Katie Tupling and Bill Braviner.
- YouBelong – a disabled-led online community connecting disabled Christians and those with chronic illnesses.
- The Ordinary Office – daily prayers and Sunday services by Dave Lucas.
- Struggling Saints – Weekly Twitter Bible reflections led by Tim Rourke, disabled pioneer minister.
Disabled Ministers, Theologians & Leaders
(Not an exhaustive list, of course!)
- Fiona MacMillan, Chair of the St Martin-in-the-Fields Disability Advisory Group and Living Edge disability conference planning group; trustee of Inclusive Church; #AccessibleSynod; training.
- Tanya Marlow, theologian, author and speaker who writes and campaigns on chronic illness and churches.
- Ann Memmott, autistic autism professional advising churches and society on justice and access for autistic people.
- Tim Goode, Canon for Congregational Discipleship and Nurture at York Minster.
- Jemma Brown, church accessibility consultant.
- Pam Webster, Methodist minister retired through chronic illness.
- Krysia Waldock, autistic researcher currently undertaking a PhD on autism, (non)belief and belonging.
- Kay Morgan Gurr, consultant and trainer advising churches on how to include children with additional needs.
- Naomi Lawson Jacobs (that’s me), offering Disability Equality Training, neurodiversity training and access advice to churches and other orgs.
Books (& More) You Should Read
To understand what keeps disabled people from finding justice in churches, start by reading disabled writers. Here’s a selection of disability theology written by disabled and neurodivergent people (and one or two great allies).
Books
Widely accessible:
Amy Kenny, My Body Is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church
Lamar Hardwick, Disability and the Church: A Vision for Diversity and Inclusion
Julia Watts Belser, Loving Our Own Bones: Rethinking Disability in an Ableist World
Inclusive Church, Disability: The Inclusive Church Resource (all contributions are by disabled people, with a theology chapter by John M. Hull)
Daniel Bowman Jr, On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, and the Gifts of Neurodiversity
Tanya Marlow, Those Who Wait: Finding God in Disappointment, Doubt and Delay
Stephanie Tait, The View from Rock Bottom: Discovering God’s Embrace in our Pain
More academic in tone (but still fantastic):
Nancy Eiesland, The Disabled God: Towards a Liberatory Theology of Disability
Hannah Lewis, Deaf Liberation Theology
John M. Hull, In the Beginning There Was Darkness: A Blind Person’s Conversations with the Bible & The Tactile Heart
Kathy Black, A Healing Homiletic: Preaching and Disability
Sharon V. Betcher, Spirit and the Politics of Disablement
Erin Raffety, From Inclusion to Justice: Disability, Ministry & Congregational Leadership
Articles
Shannon Dingle, The Full Affirmation of Disability Justice (Sojourners)
Fiona MacMillan and Samuel Wells, Calling from the Edge (The Plough)
Emma Major and Laura Neale, Worshipping Together Safely (YouBelong)
Erin Raffety, Listening Even Unto Rebuke (Canadian Journal of Theology, Mental Health and Disability)
Videos
Shut In, Shut Out, Shut Up – a ground-breaking disabled-led series devised by Fiona MacMillan, with guest speakers from across the UK disabled Christian movement, reflecting on disability, ableism and churches. Hosted by HeartEdge.
Drop me a line if you know of other resources I can share here. I prioritise work by disabled people ourselves, but I’ll sometimes share other useful resources.