On Saturday 15th October, we gathered online for our 11th annual conference on disability and the church, a partnership between St Martin in the Fields and Inclusive Church, hosted online by HeartEdge. This year’s theme was Wholly, Holey, Holy, a riff on the famous hymn inspired by Isaiah 6. Participants were invited to bring their […]
The focus of LLF has now shifted away from the laity and clergy to the bishops. On 30 September, as vice-chair of the General Synod Gender and Sexuality Group, I took part in one of a series of meetings between Dr Eeva John, the bishops in the Next Steps Group, and representatives of different groups […]
There is a song by the band REM – do you remember them? – called Shiny Happy People. Here are some of the lyrics if you didn’t catch them: Shiny happy people laughing Meet me in the crowd, people, peopleThrow your love around, love me, love meTake it into town, happy, happyPut it in the […]
At the Gates: Disability, Justice and the Churches is a seminal and vital read for all, including clergy, lay workers, congregations and those who work with disabled and neurodivergent people in any manner. Written by Dr Naomi Jacobs and Emily Richardson, this book provides an insight to the voices of disabled and neurodivergent people’s stories […]
The promotion of this book has been extensive on social media and I was very much looking forward to reading it. The fact that I read it in three sittings, rather than my normal 2-3 months says a lot about the very readable flow and the engaging nature of Charlie’s analysis of church inclusion and […]
‘In God we have a new dignity and God calls us to fullness of life’. My friends, these are the words that conclude the introduction to the Common Worship baptism service. These are the words written by our Church. These words are a call upon the church to invest in each and every person, each […]
Holy Trinity Church, Stratford upon Avon Isaiah 6: 1-8 and Luke 5: 1-11 My sister sent me an image online recently of different angels described in the Bible and how weird they are. It made me laugh out loud. I would recommend that any of you who are curious just google ‘seraphim’ and see what […]
Rachel Mann has become one of the most prolific Christian authors of the last ten years. She has written autobiography (Dazzling Darkness, 2012), poetry (The Risen Dust, A Kingdom of Love), fiction (The Gospel of Eve) and theology in many different forms, from a Lent course on the film The Greatest Showman, to reflections on […]
Sermon for St John’s Halesowen and St Margaret’s Hasbury Begin with an introduction to the work of IC. I had a challenging reading to preach on two weeks ago at St Peter Lapal and St Kenelm, and this week is no different. Here I am representing a charity which works on inclusion, which just held […]
Sermon for St Peter’s Lapal and St Kenelm’s Romsley, Halesowen. Start by introducing the work of Inclusive Church. This is a very difficult passage to preach on in the context of the recent removal of the £20 ‘uplift’ from the poorest on universal credit. The people on universal credit include those who cannot work due […]