Our Lord Jesus Christ welcomes everyone into his kingdom, and he calls his followers to do the same: “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7)
And yet, so often people with disability and neurodivergent people don’t feel welcome at church. Church wasn’t designed with us in mind. Barriers can be physical, with inaccessible buildings; sensory, with bright lights and loud music; and chronological, with Bible studies only in evenings.
We are launching this community of practice in Australian churches to help churches grow in disability and neurodiversity inclusion through sharing resources and best practice.
We would love to hear from you about what you would like to see from this community of practice!
We praise God for the work already done in this space, including various guidelines on how churches can be more inclusive and accessible (see the example resources below). Nonetheless, we want to bring people together to help the church grow in inclusion and accessibility.
Our vision for the community of practice
- The community will be ecumenical (Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed) and open-invite.
- The community will be able to set up subgroups, such as for people who do more formal ministry in this space, and people involved in academic research in this space.
- The community will be a non-political space.
Agenda (AEDT)
- 7:30 – 7:35 PM: Welcome and acknowledgment of Country.
- 7:35 – 7:45 PM: Three speakers will share their vision for the community of practice.
- 7:45 – 8:30 PM: Facilitated discussion with all attendees.
Options for sharing your thoughts
To share what you would like to see from this community of practice, you have the following options:
- Use the “raise your hand” function in Microsoft Teams during the facilitated discussion. When the facilitator invites you to speak, please keep your contribution concise, to allow as many people as possible the opportunity to speak.
- Use the chat function in Microsoft Teams during the meeting.
- Email welcomelikejesus@gmail.com
Contact us
- If you have any questions or accessibility requirements for this launch event, please contact us at welcomelikejesus@gmail.com.
- Any personal information you provide when you register and by email will be managed in accordance with Embracing Ministries’ Privacy Policy and used to provide you with an update about next steps for the community of practice.
Example resources
We would love to add to this list!