As part of our Disability History Month X Honest Church pop-up, we asked our SCM Community to share their experiences of when churches have done disability welcome well, and when there's been room for improvement. Here's what they shared.
Think about your theology
Throughout my adolescence I was prayed over for healing for symptoms I now know are chronic mental illness and physical conditions. Prayer was always seen as the answer to everything, so when I didn’t ‘get better’ (and in fact got a lot worse) based on the theology I was taught I knew that meant it was a problem with me - one that God didn’t think deserved to be ‘fixed’.
Think about what you offer
There have been multiple churches I have attended that display the sign saying they have a loop system in place, but when I’m there I find out it either doesn’t work or the service is not using the microphones for it to feed into. When this happens it means I rely on simply knowing the liturgy, but attempting to lipread across a 1000 year old stone church often means I am completely oblivious to notices or sermons. This could so easily be fixed by simply using the equipment that is already present in the church building, or not advertising the loop system when it’s not working.
Moll's Story
My current religious community are always open to learning and adjusting, and the small things have made the biggest impact like not expecting me to help with moving furniture, asking about my conditions, and learning how they can support me practically. After making an off-hand comment that we struggled to use the mugs at chapel, the next week they had all been replaced without us ever explicitly asking! I was actually with my faith community when I received my ASD diagnosis- my chaplain hugged me, told me she loved me and that she was so happy for me. To have the reaction of the first person I told to be positive, not one that implied I was impaired or that I have a struggle ahead of me, has really helped me come to terms with this understanding of myself.