Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Report: What you need to know

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.

Neurodiversity and the Church: Archbishop Sarah Mullally's Synod Statement

This week Archbishop Sarah Mullally shared that neurodiversity is a gift, not a problem to be solved, while speaking at Synod about the need for neurodivergent-led training, structural change, and a network of Neurodiversity Champions across every diocese. She spoke openly about her dyslexia, the assumptions made about her, and the way she learned to see herself as intentionally made by God. Reading this felt like a blessing that landed at a time when I’m still processing my own ASD diagnosis, the battles it took to get it, and everything it has reframed, especially as I received my ASD assessment report the same day this article was published.

When Honour Meets Barriers

Tomorrow we gather to honour my curate, Sue at her thanksgiving service. 175 people have signed up. Our church fits around 140 – 150, and more will likely arrive. The hall across the road is our overflow space, livestreaming the service for those unable to fit in the church. It will be a big day. It should be. She was an incredible presence.

A Sunday That Felt Like Coming Home

Some Sundays at church are work. Some are worship. This week was worship.

It’s not always easy to enjoy church when you serve there. There is always something to do, someone to speak to, and a task waiting. The Sunday before was like that. I had much needed work conversations before the service. The service itself was fine, but I wasn't uplifted. The sung worship was good and the band did well. The lead made me laugh with a story about her competitive streak when naming her childhood bear, which suited our teddy bears picnic theme.

When Service Styles Clash and Church Identity Drifts

I’ve seen my church grow, change, survive and thrive over the last sixteen years, but recently I've seen how fragile our identity has become when different backgrounds form and push different expectations of church and service styles. When those expectations clash with other leaders and congregation members, it splits the Church’s direction.

A Pentecost Study: Wind

 A Pentecost Study: Part 3 - Wind

“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:2)

Wind is one of the oldest and most mysterious images of God’s presence. In Hebrew, the word ruach means wind, breath, or spirit — the invisible movement that gives life. In the beginning, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters (Gen. 1:2), stirring creation into being. Later, God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life (Gen. 2:7). The same breath that moves the air also animates the soul. Wind is not seen, but its effects are felt — it moves, fills, and transforms.

A Pentecost Study: Fire

A Pentecost Study: Part 2 - Fire

“Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them and rested on each of them.” (Acts 2:3)

Fire is one of the most powerful images in Scripture. It is never merely decorative. It reveals, purifies, guides, judges, warms, and transforms. In the Old Testament, fire is often the sign of God’s holy presence. Moses meets God in a bush that burns but is not consumed (Exod. 3:2). Israel is led through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exod. 13:21). When the covenant is made with Abraham, God passes between the pieces as a smoking firepot and blazing torch (Gen. 15:17). Fire marks God’s nearness—dangerous, beautiful, and alive.

When a Life Shapes a Church Home

Yesterday we lost a good friend. Our vicar. Our steady presence.

It happened on James’ fifteenth birthday. That detail sits heavily today. It marks the year I started attending our church and being under her wing. It marks the years she has shaped our family and my journey.

A Pentecost Study: Together

A Pentecost Study: Part 1 - Together

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” (Acts 2:1)

The Bible never imagines faith as a solitary project. From the first pages of Scripture, togetherness is woven into the fabric of God’s design. The Old Testament word most closely tied to this is ’echad—often translated “one,” but meaning a unity made of many parts. Israel was not a collection of individuals but a people bound together by covenant, memory, worship, and responsibility. Their life with God was always communal: festivals shared, prayers spoken together, burdens carried collectively, justice upheld by the whole community (Deut. 16:20; Lev. 19:18).

Survivor, Not Victim

Being a victim and being a survivor sound similar, yet the difference determines how people treat you, hear you, and decide whether your story is valid. This difference has come up in several conversations recently, from ordination discussions, the current CoE safeguarding audit, and general chats. This has caused me to reflect on what I name, why I name it, and how I understand the harm I have survived.

Studying Theology: Earning My Graduate Diploma

My blog started in 2010 as a place to reflect on my growth as a new Christian. That stayed the focus for several years, until James was born and Will started home education. I joined the blogger community and became a family, home education, single parent, and disability blogger. I found my stride and unique voice. When the Chritian posts no longer fit the identity of the blog, I returned the posts to drafts. I was not ashamed of them. My writing, voice, and life had changed.

Is Sunday or Monday the Start of the Week? How a Missed Meeting Exposed a Bigger Cultural Shift

A simple question about the first day of the week caused me to miss a meeting on Monday. My colleague from a charity I work with asked on Sunday afternoon what day I was free next week. I replied Monday, meaning the 27th. She meant the 20th. For me, Sunday was the first day of the week. Therefore, next week is the week after. Hannah then told me that Monday is the first day of the week, so next week on a Sunday afternoon meant tomorrow onwards. If I had known, I could have said no. It was our anniversary. That moment, however, sent Hannah and I into a deeper reflection on calendars, culture, the quiet loss of rest in modern life, and Hannah feeling she had been lied to her entire life.

Ordination: Where Things Are Now

I walked into Monday’s meeting with my DDO and ADDO prepared. I was calm and willing to shine a light, not fight, on the meeting with the Bishop, especially after meeting with Tim Goode.

Shine a Light; Not Fight

Today, I meet with my DDO (A Diocesan Director of Ordinands) and ADDO (Assistant Diocesan Director of Ordinands).

In my previous ordination process post I ended with a question. What do I do next, fight or accept? I wasn't sure. I am now.

Our Easter 2026

I’ve always preferred Easter to Christmas. Christmas has grown into something bigger, busier, and more frantic than it ever was when I was a child. Yes, I do realise how old I sound saying that. Easter still feels rooted. It remains focused on why we celebrate, and that grounding means even more to me as I move through the ordination process.

Holy Saturday Reflection 2026: Hidden

At three o’clock on Good Friday, Jesus dies.

The world stops for a moment.

Heaven holds its breath.

And then… nothing.

No miracles.

No teachings.

No crowds.

No light breaking through.

No longer misunderstood.

No longer crying out in forsakenness.

Just stillness. Jesus is dead.

But Holy Saturday begins.

Good Friday Reflection #2 2026: Forsaken

There is a moment here where everything seems to collapse into darkness. The sky grows dim, the noise fades, and Jesus cries out with words that have echoed through centuries: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

It is one of the most unsettling sentences in Scripture. Yet it can be painfully familiar.

Good Friday Reflection #1 2026: Misunderstood

There are moments in life when the deepest pain doesn’t come from suffering, but from being misunderstood. 

Being misread happens so easily. 

Your motives are questioned, your character misjudged, your story flattened into something untrue.

It’s a very human ache. 

Resource: The Seder Meal and Last Supper Evening

For several years at my church I have led a Maundy Thursday gathering and service for Passover and the Last Supper. I designed this layout. While elements are taken from the post‑70 AD Seder meal, many theologians believe that a proto‑Seder (an earlier form of the Passover meal with symbolic actions, blessings, and shared foods) was already practiced in Jesus’ time. In other words, although the formal Seder liturgy developed later, the patterns, symbols, and actions that shaped it were already present in Jewish life, and Jesus would have participated in them. What we do here is not an attempt to recreate the Last Supper exactly, but to engage with the closest living tradition that reflects the kind of meal Jesus shared with His disciples. For Christians, this becomes a meaningful way to enter the story — honouring Jewish roots, traditions, and our shared inheritance while recognising how Jesus fulfilled and transformed these symbols in the Last Supper and in Communion. Its wonderful and reflective evening. Please find the preparation guide here.

Resource: Preparation Guide for the Seder Meal and Last Supper

For several years at my church I have led a Maundy Thursday gathering and service for Passover and the Last Supper. I designed this layout. While elements are taken from the post‑70 AD Seder meal, many theologians believe that a proto‑Seder (an earlier form of the Passover meal with symbolic actions, blessings, and shared foods) was already practiced in Jesus’ time. In other words, although the formal Seder liturgy developed later, the patterns, symbols, and actions that shaped it were already present in Jewish life, and Jesus would have participated in them.

What we do here is not an attempt to recreate the Last Supper exactly, but to engage with the closest living tradition that reflects the kind of meal Jesus shared with His disciples. For Christians, this becomes a meaningful way to enter the story — honouring Jewish roots, traditions, and our shared inheritance while recognising how Jesus fulfilled and transformed these symbols in the Last Supper and in Communion. Its wonderful and reflective evening.