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Posted by: Andrew Wooding - 26 May 2009
Most cannot read. Many cannot sing. Some cannot move. Some cannot speak. Some cannot see.
All have fun, are involved and respond. All worship. All watch. Some wave flags. Some wander around.
Some try to sing. Some make strange noises. Some are silent, apparently passive. Some behaviour and contributions are "inappropriate" as labels go. Our expectancy is high; our expectations low.
We run a church that predominantly focuses on the needs of people with a learning disability, their carers and friends.
I wonder what the 'normal' church could learn from our community. If a mumbled, disjointed, semi-incoherent prayer is deemed to be acceptable for our folk, why can it not be acceptable in other churches? Why do we place expectations on mainstream church attendees to conform to a set of unwritten and sometimes unattainable behavioural guidelines?
If the use of straightforward language is acceptable in our setting, why do we often move to the opposite extreme in other settings? If it is acceptable to have low expectations but high expectancy with our folk, is it not acceptable for mainstream churches? If it is acceptable to have the very low level of pressure with our folk, is it not acceptable for others? If our worship, which seems so chaotic, is acceptable, why is worship sometimes so formal and non-involved?
It is too easy to say that it is acceptable for our folk, as they are, well – you know – because they're not the same as us. But if our approach is acceptable to God, then it has to be acceptable to God for everyone. I am not advocating a "dumbing down", but a widening of the options.
We have little expectation of the "right" way to worship, to pray, or to behave. There is little self-consciousness; apparently little competition. Each person is able to participate at their level without fear of censure. We believe that this could be a pattern for church life, rather than an oddity.
Edward and Marilyn Kerr are involved in Fenland Community Church. You can read about Fenland Community Church on this Share page. If you are interested in what they do, or feel you can contribute in some way, they would love to hear from you: info@fcc.uk.net.
Comments
People of the books................
Posted by Pam Smith on 30 May 09 - 16:48
One special school had signed up and I will never forget the look of fear on one child's face as the first thing he saw on entering the church was a large case of identical hymn books. It so clearly told him that this was a place for people who could handle and read books.
As they children went round the church, because we found that telling them about our faith in words - lecture style - wasn't necessarily helping them to understand, we started to show them - letting them play the organ, dress up in choir robes and touch and listen to things around church.
Some of us were so inspired by this that we put on a whole event for special schools the next year, thinking how we could present our faith in a multisensory way. so the sound of water pouting into the font, the feel of the wooden carvings, the smell of incense became a way of communicating not so much what our faith was about, but how it felt.
And I thought - why can't we communicate like this to everyone, allow them to explore, and experience our faith through how we treat them and what they experience, through being accepted as they are rather than telling them what they should be feeling and thinking?