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Equitable Participation Working Group

Thursday March 30

My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church

“I stopped disclosing my disabilities after one conversation when I said I was autistic and had been having a hard time with sensory issues, and the person responded by saying that this was happening to me because I wasn’t praying enough. I saw this book, and my immediate thought was, ‘Yes! Someone gets it!’,” says Mel Maddox, Parish of Freshwater Synod Representative and Equitable Access Working Group member

How to create a safe and welcoming space for autistic people to worship and serve

“As an autistic person, I experience many sensory sensitivities on a daily basis. Difficulties with sensory processing are a common occurrence for autistic people. Every autistic person I’ve met has sensory processing difficulties. And, as a speech pathologist working with autistic clients, I’ve met a lot of autistic people,” says Parish of Freshwater member, Mel Maddox, while offering tips for creating a safe space for autistic people to worship and serve

"I’m currently working in an internship for neurodiversity and access in our Diocese as part of the Equitable Participation Working Group, along with The Rev’d Ann Edwards from St Mark’s, The Gap and Peter Branjerdporn from the Justice Unit" (Tom Hammer pictured with The Rev'd Ann Edwards on 22 August 2021)

Tips when talking to people with Asperger’s Syndrome

“Like all people with lived experience of ASD1, I have insights that can assist neurotypical people seeking to understand how we see the world and how we can be better engaged. This is important so we can participate more equitably, which is what being part of a Church is all about,” says Gubbi Gubbi descendent and Equitable Participation Working Group member, Tom Hammer