Disability: Life in ChurchAlthough good work has been done on disability inclusion in churches, the World Council of Churches also identified gaps in that the voices of persons with disabilities within the church are not heard. This publication emphasises that “it is no longer valid for other Christians to speak about persons with disabilities as if we weren’t already present in the church to speak up for ourselves.”


 

The ongoing meeting of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism commemorated 25 years since the establishment of Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network (EDAN) with the launch of a new book on disability which sends the church to dismantle the forces that keep persons with disabilities at the bottom of the society and the church.

The first part of the book entitled, “Life in Church: Theological Reflections of Persons with Disabilities,” challenges and inspires readers through 10 personal reflections of persons with disabilities across the globe on what it means to live their faith. The second part contains a re-presentation of the foundational text “The Gift of Being Called to Be a Church of All and for All,” which speaks prophetically to the church and exposes the systems and structures in the life of the church that oppress, marginalize, and demean people with disabilities.

Sharing with the participants of the meeting on what inspired him to tell his story, Rev. Dr Deva Jothikumar of National Council of Churches in India and a member of EDAN said, “Churches often overlook the potentials of persons with disabilities; seminaries are reluctant to admit and accommodate them, and some theological institutions demand a physical fitness certificate. It is imperative for churches to dismantle these.”

The book was hailed as a sign of the of impact the EDAN ministry has had with the churches.

“The conversations that we will be having about what is the witness from the margins will mark a moment that shows the incremental journey that began in the 1960s. Today we realise that by broadening the table, we are not just changing the demographics, we are changing epistemologically in that we have a physical offering in this book that we can touch, feel, and internalise through EDAN,” said Rev. Dr Kuzipa Nalwamba, WCC programme director for Unity, Mission, and Ecumenical Formation.

The book is free to download at the WCC publications webpage

 

Life in Church
Theological Reflections of Persons with Disabilities

Life in Church – Theological Reflections of Persons with Disabilities

 

Amoscare is your NDIS Registered Provider in Shepparton

Amoscare is your NDIS Registered Provider in Shepparton

 


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Tags: Disability and Christians, Ecumenical Disability Advocates Networ, Life in Church Theological Reflections of Persons with Disabilities, World Council of Churches