Logo

 

Banner Image:   National-News-banner-Purple
Template Mode:   Baptist Times
Icon
    Post     Tweet


'Making your church more accessible to disabled people does not make you inclusive' 

 

That's the opinion of the Revd Glen Graham who was born blind and is minister of Salisbury Road Baptist Church in Plymouth

Making your church more access

Speaking at the seminar organised by the BUGB Disability Justice Group entitled 'Overcoming Barriers to inclusion of Disabled People', Mr Graham said that improving accessibility for disabled people to attend services was welcoming, but just the first step of inclusion.

True inclusion would mean disabled people being equal at church and taking an active part in all aspects of church life from being church leaders to being part of the Baptist Union's structures.

Mr Graham went onto explain some barriers to inclusion. One of them was how the Bible can become a 'savage text' to misinterpret being disabled with sin and punishment. However the example of the way Jesus took the marginalised, like those with leprosy for instance, and brought them into the middle of society showed the Bible could be a 'narrative of hope and inclusivity'.

He recalled times when people have prayed for him to be healed of his blindness, something he feels suggests that 'God has made an error'. He doesn't agree with this - he believes God made him blind for a reason. 'I'm not broke,' he said.

The Revd Martin Hobgen, minister of Limbrick Wood Baptist Church in Coventry, then highlighted how the ways able bodied people speak about disabled people can label them as 'different', instilling a culture of 'them and us'. Quoting from the book The Disabled God he said, 'Disabled people do not live different lives. They live ordinary lives differently.'
 
    Post     Tweet
Pictorial record of Baptist churches and chapels hits three figures
There are now 100 images of Baptist churches and chapels on a special page of the Baptist Historical Society website - and the Society would like this to grow further, it explains
'An excellent prompt for some important and encouraging conversations'
An account of a reading and reflection group created to help men be better allies in the wake of Project Violet
The Psalms and Hymns Support Fund - 100 years of help
April marks the centenary of the founding of a small Baptist charity that has been able to offer support in later years to those who have lived sacrificially in serving the Lord and his people and mission. By Ian Millgate
Baptist Assembly 2025 to begin a journey towards a national resolution on mission
Baptists Together Mission Forum will offer a resolution about mission aimed to inspire, unite and release us into God’s purposes
Baptists and Communion: Baptist Theology North 2025
Baptist Theology North, a one-day consultation which took place on 28 March, was packed this year, writes Sally Nelson
Churches ‘dismayed’ by the police raid on a Quaker Meeting House
Churches Together in England General Secretary Bishop Mike Royal has written an open letter to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner requesting a review and a meeting to prevent such an incident happening again
     Latest News 
    Posted: 07/01/2025
    Posted: 07/01/2025
     
    Text Size:  
    Small (Default)
    Medium
    Large
    Contrast:  
    Normal
    High Contrast