Disability Essentials Training

Disability Essentials

Led by John Beauchamp, Diocesan disability Ministry Enabler

Over 20% of the UK population are disabled in some way. This covers a vast range of physical and psychological impairments, chronic illnesses, mental illness, neurodivergence, and many other conditions and experiences that cause disadvantage as people seek to live and work within society. Disabled people are far more likely to live in poverty, have inadequate and substandard housing, be unemployed, and experience bullying, exploitation, and domestic violence.

How can the church respond to this? Not with acts of charity and compassion that perpetuate the diminishing experiences and attitudes that many disabled people encounter, but by becoming a community in which disabled people can flourish and fully belong and participate.

This training will help you understand something of the experience of disabled people today, explain the provisions of the Equality Act and how the church should seek to comply with these, explore some theological foundations and the Gospel imperative for being grace filled communities of justice and equality for all, and give you some practical tools for starting a journey towards becoming a church that brings the kingdom of justice and equality down to earth today.

The training is open to licenced and PTO clergy, Licenced lay ministers, and others with responsibility for supporting disabled people and ensuring equal access in churches in the Diocese of London.

The training is on Zoom.

Live captions will be enabled in transcript mode.

Please tell us about any access needs, including the provision of BSL.