Churches urged to involve disabled people on 5th October

Are disabled people fully involved in the life of your church? No? Why not make a start by holding a Disability Sunday service on 5th October? Do you need some resources to get going? asks Dorothy Read from Norwich Torch Fellowship

Churches throughout the UK are being encouraged to hold a Disability Sunday service with four aims:

Aim one is to demonstrate that God responds to and uses disability in many different ways
Aim two is to show disabled people that God cares about them and their needs
Aim three is to raise awareness of disability and the needs of disabled people within the church and
Aim four is to give people affected by disability a voice

The 6th annual 'Disability Sunday' is being promoted by all the leading Christian disability charities including the Disabled Christians Fellowship, Torch Trust for the Blind, Prospects Causeway and by many denominations and individual churches.

Promoting a day like this challenges churches everywhere to include more people with disabilities in their worship and other activities and to preach or teach on disability in a Biblical context. The aim is to raise understanding of issues faced by disabled people in the church and the wider community.

Resource Packs to enable churches to fulfil these aims are available either to download from:

Disability Sunday 2008 Resource Pack Download (PDF)

or

by phoning the Torch Trust on 01858 438260

If October 5th is not convenient, you are welcome to use the materials on another Sunday later in the year. More thought provoking resources can be found on the Churches For All website

In Norfolk, the Disabled Christians Fellowship meet at Witard Road Baptist Church on the second Thursday afternoon of each month except January, the Norwich Torch Fellowship Group for blind and partially sighted people meet at City Church Cowgate at 3pm on the second Sunday of each month except August and a Prospects support group for people with learning disabilities meets monthly at the Fountain of Life Church in Ashill

If you know someone who would like to join one of these groups and / or you would like to get involved by providing transport or practical help, please e-mail Dorothy on

dorothy@sound-marketing.co.uk

By Dorothy Read