The Church of England released the Fearfully and Wonderfully Made report in February this year, but I know many have still not read it, even though it’s one of the most important pieces of research on disabled and neurodivergent clergy the Church has ever commissioned. It shapes how I live as a disabled Christian with FSHD and autism, my children and disabled friends lives, my calling and ministry, and how I navigate the ordination process.
I’ve mentioned it many times here but I realised I’ve never actually broken it down or explained it in a way that helps people understand what it says, why it matters, and how it affects real lives for those who haven’t read the seventy‑three page document. This post is my attempt to do that. A guide for anyone who wants to understand disability wellbeing in the Church of England.
The report explores the decade long study of wellbeing and flourishing of disabled and neurodivergent clergy as part of the Living Ministry research programme. The researchers spoke with twenty‑seven clergy who are disabled or neurodivergent. They call them dialogue partners because they weren’t just interviewees. They shaped the findings, corrected assumptions, and co‑created the knowledge. The small number is telling. Many clergy are still afraid to declare disability or neurodivergence because they expect ableism or the very problems the report names.
The report makes one thing clear. Disabled clergy are not struggling because of their “impairments” (I hate that institutional term). They’re struggling because the Church’s structures, culture, and theology, alongside adaptions, practices, and policies that don’t allow full participation, disable them. That distinction matters. It shifts responsibility from the individual to the institution. It’s not the person’s body or mind, but the inaccessible world around them.
The findings are organised into four clusters. Each uses Scripture in a deliberately jarring way to highlight how Scripture is often misused against disabled people.
1. Barriers to discernment
Disabled and neurodivergent people often find the discernment process confusing and culturally narrow. Many clergy said no one explained how it worked. They were expected to pick it up by osmosis.
There were almost no role models or mentors. Training institutions often lacked disability awareness and some ordinands had to self‑fund neurodivergent assessments because their institution (TEI) dismissed their concerns. My experience embodies this. I paid for my assessment and sought disability support from Tim Goode. It was not straightforward.
2. Ableism and oppression
This is the hardest section to read. It describes how the Church’s culture prefers a particular kind of priest. Intellectual, middle‑class, neurotypical, invulnerable. One person said the selection process was skewed towards “intellectual introverts of a particular ilk.” I recognise this. I’ve often been nudged towards “lesser” roles because I don’t fit the traditional priest box.
Disabled clergy feel pressure to mask their needs. Some felt their disability was weaponised against them. Others were told to hide diagnoses during job applications. You can see why many chose not to participate in the research.
Both clusters show diminished physical, mental, relational, and vocational wellbeing.
3. Threats and opportunities for human flourishing
This section is more hopeful. It shows how physical disability and neurodivergence can be gifts for ministry. A statement before Archbishop Sarah stated it. Disabled clergy are often more approachable, model vulnerability, and embody inclusion. One person said, “The risen, ascended Christ still has wounds.” I had already been reflecting on that image months before in my Carousel Conversations.
The report also shows how resilience is misused. Disabled clergy are expected to cope rather than be supported. Many relied on chance relationships rather than formal structures. Some had to pay for their own physiotherapy or accessibility needs. This I feel is a statement of disabled life in general.
It matters for ordinands like me because the report describes the exact culture we enter and the barriers we face. It shows the assumptions people make about us and how our bodies and brains are misread. Exactly like my meeting with the bishop. The irony of her doing the very thing the report warned about, denying these issues even exist, and then being upset when I showed her it within the report.
4. Language and theology
The final cluster investigates how the Church talks and thinks about disability. Many clergy said the language is inadequate. Some prefer the social model. Others avoid disability language altogether.
The report highlights harmful theology. Disability used as metaphor. Suffering romanticised. Calls to “take up your cross” used to justify structural injustice. Disability Theology, when it is taught, gives disabled clergy a way to make sense of their experience, but it is rarely heard in parishes.
The report also celebrates progress. It notes that 13.2% of ordination candidates now declare a disability. It highlights innovation funding for neurodivergent formation, bishops appointing advisors with lived experience, and dioceses beginning to adapt buildings and training. These are hopeful signs.
It also reveals severe harm. One clergy was pressured into surgery during discernment and now lives with a life‑altering disability as a result. Many clergy felt isolated and misunderstood, that their vocation was questioned because of their disability, and that their wellbeing was eroded by structures never designed for them.
The recommendations are clear. Training for bishops and DDOs. Disability Officers in every diocese. Accessible buildings. Better support in TEIs. Proper routes to diagnosis. More Disability Theology teaching. Structural change rather than individual resilience. These are all essential if the Church wants disabled clergy to flourish. To her credit, my bishop has now appointed a Disability Officer and formed an Enable Team, which I’m part of. It’s a start.
This report gives language to experiences I’ve lived for years. It gives evidence to things disabled Christians have been saying quietly for decades. The Church has a chance to change.
I hope it takes it. If there are areas you want to know more about, let me know and I’ll write more posts.
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