A Week of Disability Theology, Church Battles, and Calling

This week has been a lot. Good, important, exhausting, and revealing. 

Pushed Into Complicity

I’ve written about ableism for years, naming the quiet harm disabled people carry, the assumptions people make, the jokes people think are funny, and the way systems misunderstand us long before they understand our needs. I’ve written about privilege, accessibility, independence, autonomy, participation, equality and equity. Topics that need discussing. Today I’m writing about something harder. Complicity.

Shining a Light in the ENABLE Team.

 

I’s 7.19 am, I’m on the train, and I’m heading to The Living Well in Nonington, Canterbury. It feels strange to write that sentence as it carries more weight than a simple blog post entry. This is something I have longed for, as I prepare to give a bible study at a disability workshop. I’ve not publicly spoken outside of church in years, yet here I am, reading my notes, rehearsing, and trying to steady my anxiety.

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 Driving Stops

I reached a point recently where driving no longer feels like the right option. It's been coming for a while. I didn’t want to admit it at first, since driving has always been part of my independence. It's how I've gone to church, grown ministry, supported youth, attended ordination meetings and school visits, and everything else that fills my week. It was the way my long distance relationship lasted with Hannah, how I maintained access to the boys, and how we’ve gone on all our adventures over the years. It was freedom, routine, and normal. It’s not normal anymore.

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.

Privilege: The Invisible Barrier

Having a disability means I see other people’s privilege. It’s not loud or aggressive. It sits in the background of everyday life, unnoticed by the people who benefit from it, have no idea they do it, and pretend they don’t when they do something wrong. It is often an invisible barrier.

Presence vs Participation

Over the last few months I’ve written about equality and equity, accessibility and usability, independence and autonomy, and survivors and victims. These are topics that people often confuse, yet the gap between them is where disabled people live. Those gaps are important. The difference needs to be discussed. This time, I wanted to discuss presence vs participation.

Accessibility vs Usability

People often believe that if a space is accessible, it must be usable. These words sound similar, but they do not mean the same thing. Accessibility is the presence of something. Usability is the ability to use it safely, independently, and without barriers. The difference becomes clearer when you live with a disability and spend your life navigating the gap between the two.

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.

Ableism: Jokes that aren't Funny

I’ve been a full‑time wheelchair user for six years. Before that, I walked with a stick, stubbornly and painfully, until the ground became a threat rather than a surface. It was a difficult decision. I reached a point where I couldn't avoid it any longer. I’ve written about that journey before: the grief of slowly losing mobility, the reluctant acceptance of using a chair, the fall that forced me to swallow my pride, and the reality of living with FSHD. Those posts explore the physical decline, emotional adjustments, and journey of independence that looks different than I imagined. Many in my position are forced to make that change. It’s not easy, but at some point it’s needed.

I’ve adjusted well. My powerchair is freedom. I travel everywhere. I love the independence, going by trains, and not worrying about falling. My chair is my body; my stability, safety, and autonomy.

However, there’s a part of being a wheelchair user that I never expected, and it’s worn me down: the jokes, especially the ones that aren't funny.

Tackling Structural Ableism in Church

Accessibility is one thing that HAS made movement in the Rights for disabled people but not necessarily in the way you would think.

Tackling Interpersonal Ableism in Church

 "The key to human flourishing is within Communities that flourish; at the heart of God in all of us. It is vital that the Church is equipped with the tools to respond effectively and with compassion.” 

The Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

The realisation in my previous post on Ableism and of continued oppression within the timeframe of positive action hit hard.

The Driedgar quote "Disability is the Last Civil Rights movement coming after the liberation [of others]" was written over 30+ years ago and the subsequent movement focused solely on the socio-structural barriers at the expense of interpersonal.

The Disability Discrimination Act, 1995 and Equality Act, 2010 focused on employment and service discrimination and the biggest action for disability happened in 2010 and 2015 (building regulations); changing access for new dwellings and new publicly visited buildings, respectively. However, the movement then stalled.

Interpersonal discrimination such as Systemic, Internalized, Implicit and Explicit Ableism continued.

Ableism in Church

I LOVE my church. I love the community, the acceptance and the connection to God.

So you can imagine my upset when, for the first time in 11 years, I feel rejected by it.