These blog posts include some Biblical and theological thoughts in the area of additional needs or disability, but could be interesting to anyone of any faith or none!
Disability ‘allies’ are people who are not necessarily disabled themselves, but who advocate for, journey with, campaign for, or in other ways support disabled people of any age. Allies (noun): A person or organisation that cooperates with or helps another in a particular activity. The Bible includes real and story-based people who could be viewed as … Continue reading Six Disability ‘Allies’ In The Bible, Which One Are You?
Sometimes we find teaching hidden in hard to reach places, sometimes important teaching is in plain sight but we overlook it… That was the case for me with the story of Mary and Martha until I took a closer look and found some great teaching for us all there about life in general, as well … Continue reading What The Story Of Mary And Martha Teaches Us About Disability
Working with the Methodist Church, Count Everyone In, and through Urban Saints and the Additional Needs Alliance, we've created a document to help churches support children, young people and young adults with additional needs to belong in every church. What should church be like for children, young people and young adults with additional needs and … Continue reading 10 Ways To Belong – A Resource For Every Church
There are eight senses; five that we can all think of, sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, as well as three that we might not know so much about, vestibular (balance and movement), proprioception (body awareness), and interoception (awareness of what's happening inside the body). This article explores the first five senses, and provides us with … Continue reading Activities To Explore Our Senses And What Jesus Teaches Us About Them
This question was recently asked by an eight-year-old autistic boy to his parents; it's a hard question to answer and the response that follows may not fit well with everyone, but then we are a diverse people so that is to be expected; so, here we go! Made in God’s image? Maybe a good starting … Continue reading A Child Asks, “Did God Make Me With Autism?”
There are 37 miracles of Jesus mentioned in the Gospels, and two-thirds of these involved him healing someone. John’s Gospel tells us that what is written only represents a fraction of what Jesus did during his three-year ministry, so in reality there are likely to have been many, many more miraculous healings than this. Sometimes … Continue reading What The Woman Healed Of Bleeding Teaches Us About Jesus
What defines us? Where is our identity to be found? Big questions, and for each person the answer is likely to be different. What about our children, what defines them and is the key identifier in their life? As parents we might have different ideas about this too, especially if our children have additional needs … Continue reading Is My Child’s Identity Defined By His Disability?
For many people church as it currently exists in many, many places just doesn’t work, can’t work, won’t work. And it’s not just people on the margins of society that this is true for, it’s true for the majority of the communities in which these churches are located. It’s just even worse if you don’t happen to conform to the ‘typical’, ‘expected’ profile of church attendee; and that includes many, even most, families who have a child with additional/special needs or disabilities. Church needs a reboot before everyone can truly belong.
How do I know if my disabled child can have a faith? It’s a question many parents of children with disabilities ask, but there are clues to find, things Jesus did, ways of understanding how our child responds to God, that give us answers.
During his life on earth Jesus challenged the accepted culture of his time, often creating a societal and political storm as he did so. He was not what many expected the Messiah to be, even though there had been plenty of prophesy that provided more than enough detail of what to expect from him. He … Continue reading Jesus Christ: Poor, Child Refugee, Homeless, Disabled?
Delightful Handmade Dog Products and Gifts
An additional needs Dad and Son baking adventure...
Special Education Teaching Resources, Sensory Stories and SEND Information
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