25 years of Through the Roof
In the mid-1990s Joni Eareckson-Tada went on a European speaking tour . Soon after , Paul Dicken and Colin Reeves , assisted by the Evangelical Alliance Disability Forum , met with representatives of Joni to discuss the concept of creating a UK branch of Joni and Friends . The purpose of the charity would be to promote disability awareness to churches and enable the full inclusion of disabled people in Christian ministry . In 1997 Through the Roof began .
25 years on , and after several staff have discovered their calling to the vision ; hundreds of volunteers have invested time , energy and skills ; and supporters and donors have multiplied resources - the core purposes remain the same – to see disabled people belonging and contributing as equal members of God ’ s family .
Thousands of lives have been touched and changed . Children in rural Africa have received the gift of freedom through a wheelchair and Bible that will have radically changed the direction of their life and offered hope for
What a Treat !
“ Thank you so much for Saturday ’ s event - what a treat !”
We have been so blessed by the two online events at the start of 2022 . In January we were privileged to hear Brian Gault MBE speak at our event for Northern Ireland . One person summed up everyone ’ s response : “ I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Brian . He is so inspirational ” Brian was born with no arms and shared the amazing journey of his life and his faith – a huge witness to God . What a journey he has been on , and what an inspiration indeed .
In February our speaker was Sally Whitney-Mitchell speaking on the subject of ‘ Disabled Identity and Interdependence ’. Sally spoke about her own life with her assistance dog Ethan , and also about research she has been doing amongst young disabled people . Sally described how her relationship with Ethan has helped her learn more about the value of interdependence - enabling her to reflect on and appreciate vulnerability and to be able to embrace her own disabled identity . Sally ’ s talk had a real impact on those listening : “ I was blown away by Saturday ’ s seminar , absolutely fantastic ”
Both these talks are now available on Through the Roof ’ s YouTube channel – more details later in this issue . the future . Disabled people struggling with loneliness and limited opportunities have enjoyed fellowship and made lifelong friends . Churches across four continents have been blessed on their journey to reach out to disabled people with Through the Roof ’ s resources , training and teams .
None of this could have happened without Jesus , which is why we acknowledge Him in our strapline : Transforming lives through Jesus with disabled people . It ’ s about a partnership with each other – disabled or not , and with Jesus .
We want to celebrate this important milestone in the life of the charity later this year . We are planning an onsite event ; a Disability Sunday focus ; a UK-wide fun quiz ; and a global online celebration !
We ’ d love for you to join us , so watch out for publicity and keep September free !
Welcome Annette !
Sally ’ s talk is now available on our YouTube channel , along with the talks from all four of our recent events
We ’ re delighted that Annette Stuart will be joining us as Through the Roof ’ s Communications Officer . She will amplify the charity ’ s message to maximise engagement of churches and disabled people .
Annette brings 20 years ’ experience of producing high-quality charity and education communications , plus enthusiasm from pioneering and publicising a new church group for people with learning disabilities . She looks forward to combining these and says : ‘ I am passionate about disability access . The Church should be open to all . My aim is for every church to hear about Through the Roof ’ s mission to transform lives through Jesus with disabled people .’ We ’ ll hear more from Annette next time .
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