32
DISABILITY
when noticed . For example , there was one member that often arrived agitated and upset , but over the course of the meeting she would gradually settle and by the time we were singing our regular final song ( The Father Himself Loves You ) she would be calm and smiling as she joined in , swaying along with the music . We regularly have to remind ourselves that we do what we can and then simply have to trust the Holy Spirit to do immeasurably more than we can imagine – God does not have a problem with disability ! We are now a group of 30 to 40 most Sundays , about one in three of whom have a learning disability .
The acronym that we use when planning our meetings is SSIV , which we apply to the key message we are focusing on in the Bible : i . e . to make it short , simple , interactive and visual . The service is divided into five-minute segments to maintain attention . We use a visual timetable so that those who need to can feel secure in knowing what stage we are at in the meetings . Members respond to the Bible through drama , creative activities , discussion and sensory experiences .
At one service , fragrant essential oil was passed around the room while the story of the woman who anointed Jesus was told . Even complex theological concepts can be made interactive and accessible . At another service , we explored what holiness means through comparing ordinary , imperfect and unclean items with special , precious and perfect items ; some members grasped the meaning of holiness in a way they never had before .
We were especially blessed by being able to meet on Zoom during the pandemic given that many of our members were shielding throughout , and some still continue to do so due to underlying health conditions . The mixed-ability WAVE family looked out for and encouraged each other through the lockdowns .
Sometimes people imagine that the sort of meetings we have are similar to Sunday School . It ’ s easy to forget that , irrespective of intellectual age , our members with LD have a lifetime of lived experience , with different perspectives on life that help to deepen our understanding of how we are all called as friends of Jesus to follow him .
People with LD have many paths closed to them and , most sadly , are often overlooked in regard to their equal need for spiritual growth , for active participation and recognition of the contributions that they too can make to church life and wellbeing . We have discovered along the way that we all benefit spiritually from this ministry and that even individuals without any direct LD connection are drawn to join us at times . Maybe this is because some of us can feel more at home in a place where the majority are openly vulnerable , where there is little pretence and it ’ s OK to be fully open about our struggles in life .
TRADITIONAL SERMONS PRIMARILY ADDRESS THE INTELLECT AND ARE OFTEN TOO ABSTRACT FOR OUR MEMBERS ’ UNDERSTANDING – CRAFTS AND DRAMA WORK WELL FOR ALL LEVELS OF ABILITIES .
2
See here for the Makaton UK Blessing on YouTube https :// youtu . be / va048-XxFTI
3
We are now classified as a Fresh Expression and were recently featured as an example of ‘ ordinary people planting new churches ’ in the book Send Me edited by John McGinley , published by the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication ( CCX )
ccx . org . uk / content / send-me /