In this moving and intelligent book John Gillibrand, an Anglican priest, draws on his experience of caring for his non-verbal son, Adam, who has autism and is now a teenager. He reflects on how the experience has changed not just his life, but also his whole way of thinking about theology, politics and philosophy. Illuminated by an account of his day to day experiences with Adam, and deeper reflection upon the meaning of that experience, John Gillibrand considers the challenges that autism - and disability in general - present to the western tradition of thought in theology and philosophy. His experiences lead him to consider the place of people with autism in relation to religion and philosophy, and how the difficulties in providing adequate public services for those with autism and their carers point to a need for radical transformation of western political structures. This thoughtful and incisive book will be of interest to theologians, philosophers and sociologists, as well as to all those trying to integrate people with autism into society. Parents and carers will find much to reflect on. Shortlisted for the Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing 2013.

Pastor Lamar Hardwick was thirty-six years old when he found out he was on the autism spectrum. This revelation prompted him to reconsider the church's responsibilities to the disabled community. Insisting that the good news of Jesus affirms God's image in all people, Hardwick offers practical steps and strategies to build stronger, truly inclusive communities of faith.

How do communities consent to difference? How do they recognize and create the space and time necessary for the differences and disabilities of those who constitute them? Christian congregations often make assumptions about the shared abilities, practices, and experiences that are necessary for communal worship. The author of this provocative new book takes a hard look at these assumptions through a detailed ethnographic study of an unusual religious community where more than half the congregants live with diagnoses of mental illness, many coming to the church from personal care homes or independent living facilities. Here, people’s participation in worship disrupts and extends the formal orders of worship. Whenever one worships God at Sacred Family Church, there is someone who is doing it differently. Here, the author argues, the central elements and the participation in the symbols of Christian worship raise questions rather than supply clear markers of unity, prompting the question, What do you need in order to have a church that assumes difference at its heart? Based on three years of ethnographic research, The Disabled Church describes how the Sacred Family community, comprising people with very different mental abilities, backgrounds, and resources, sustains and embodies a common religious identity. It explores how an ethic of difference is both helped and hindered by a church’s embodied theology. Paying careful attention to how these congregants improvise forms of access to a common liturgy, this book offers a groundbreaking theology of worship that engages both the fragility and beauty revealed by difference within the church. As liturgy requires consent to difference rather than coercion, an aesthetic approach to differences within Christian liturgy provides a frame for congregations and Christian liturgists to pay attention to the differences and disabilities of worshippers. This book creates a distinctive conversation between critical disability studies, liturgical aesthetics, and ethnographic theology, offering an original perspective on the relationship between beauty and disability within Christian communities. Here is a transformational theological aesthetics of Christian liturgy that prioritizes human difference and argues for the importance of the Disabled Church.

Disability, Society and Theology: Voices from Africa is the result of a workshop which brought together African theologians, persons with disabilities and disability expertise in the Region to prepare resource materials to enrich the disability study process in the context of the Africa region. The book is in six parts and includes contributions from scholars across the continent. The parts are: Disability Theology: Issue to Debate; The Able Disabled and the Disabled Church: The Churchs Response to Disability; Disability and Society; Disability Theology: Some Interfaces; Disability and Caregiving; and Disability in the African Experience.

Gain insight into the importance of advocacy for the disabled within various religious and secular organizations You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Romans 13:9) Through the years, religious organizations have worked to fulfill this biblical mandate. Disability Advocacy Among Religious Organizations: Histories and Reflections chronicles the progress of different ministries’ advocacy for the disabled since 1950 as they worked toward fulfilling this mission. This enlightening history of several religious organizations’ efforts charts the trends in advocacy while offering readers insight into ways to assist people with disabilities both within religious organizations and in society. Issues are explored by drawing upon numerous documents, communications, and in-depth reviews of the advocates’ work. This book draws together in a single volume the stories of various religious organizations and their struggles to advocate for the disabled. Because of society’s tendency to isolate and fear them, special needs individuals such as the mentally and physically disabled have long found it difficult to be accepted, understood, or to receive proper care. However, ministries strive to be advocates for all of their members and their needs, including education, treatment, and appropriate legislation. Disability Advocacy Among Religious Organizations: Histories and Reflections recounts the steps organizations have taken to focus on ending isolation and fear through inclusion and appropriate care of members with various disabilities. These historical accounts examine the depth, breadth, and on-going need for disability advocacy in religious organizations. Disability Advocacy Among Religious Organizations: Histories and Reflections discusses the advocacy backgrounds of: the World Council of Churches the National Council of Churches National Catholic Partnership on Disability National Apostolate for Inclusion Ministry American mainline Protestant denominations—the American Baptist Convention, Disciples of Christ, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church USA, the United Methodist Church, and the United Church of Christ the Christian Reformed Church American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) Religion and Spirituality Division Bethesda Lutheran homes and Services, Inc. the Christian Council on Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) Friendship Ministries Joni and Friends the Mennonite advocacy for persons with disabilities the Religion and Disability Program of the National Organization on Disability Disability Advocacy Among Religious Organizations: Histories and Reflections is valuable reading for clergy and laypeople in disability advocacy in religious organizations, educators, students, seminary students preparing for ministries, and religious historians.

Critical Reflections on Stanley Hauerwas' Theology of Disability: Disabling Society, Enabling Theology examines the influential writings of one of the most important contemporary theologians. Over the past thirty years, Time Magazine Theologian of the Year (2001) Dr. Stanley Hauerwas has consistently presented a theological position which values the deep theological significance of people with developmental disabilities, as well as their importance to the life and the faithfulness of the church. Ten key Hauerwas essays on disability are brought together in a single volumeessays which reflect and illustrate his thinking on the theology of disability, along with responses to each essay from multidisciplinary authoritative sources including Jean Vanier, Michael Bérubé, John O'Brien and Ray S. Anderson.