Together, we recognise that nothing can hold us back from the love of God nor from the community of Christians.
Neurodiversity
Our neurodiversity can affect all aspects of life, whether that’s within our particular calling for ministry, or our day-to-day executive function. We can have a combination of Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia, and a whole range of neurotypes we are only just beginning to understand; we are all different and extraordinary!
Sexuality and Gender Identity
This area of inclusion can be a complicated one for churches. The latest guidance follows the ‘Living in Love and Faith’ framework, and can be found below:
Living in Love and Faith
See also:
Shared Conversations grouping
Dementia
Faith often has an important place in the lives of people living with dementia and their families. For resources, videos, training and advice, please visit the page below:
Dementia-friendly churches
More about Inclusive Communities
Community that’s truly inclusive isn’t easy, as it challenges us to overcome barriers and to relate to people who are different from us in one way or another. Though not easy it is incredibly rewarding, as through going out of our comfort zones, we become open to the gifts of people who have very different life experiences from our own. Time after time, Jesus made a point of connecting with those who had been pushed to the margins of society in one way or another. He treated them with respect and dignity, and saw beyond the label that society had put on them, and restored them into relationship with their community.
Working with Children and Families
Contact Specialist advisors via Mission & Ministry
Looking at Parish Mission Action Plans
The diocesan Inclusion and Access for All Group is a volunteer group from across the diocese, working alongside Mission and Ministry to promote inclusion and accessibility in diocesan life.
Members bring experience and passion across areas including neurodiversity, d/Deafness, visual impairment and blindness, racial justice, singleness, and LGBTQIA+ inclusion.
Co-chairs Natalie Jennings and Laine Lewis would welcome hearing from anyone interested in getting involved, highlighting areas of need, or sharing ideas about how the group could develop and operate.
Contact: ku.gro.hcruhchcnim@etaicossa
Meet the Inclusion and Access for All Group
The Revd Natalie Jennings
I am Co-Chair of the Diocese of Gloucester’s Inclusion and Access for All group, with a particular focus on LGBTQIA+ inclusion and access.
My passion for inclusion and accessibility comes from my own lived experience of faith and ministry. I am a parish priest, in a civil partnership with another female priest, and I know first-hand both the joy of being called by God and the pain that exclusion, misunderstanding, and discrimination can cause within the Church. Over the years, I have also walked alongside others – especially trans friends and colleagues – whose experiences of church have too often been marked by fear and exclusion rather than welcome and safety.
I believe deeply that inclusion is about recognising more fully the breadth of God’s creativity and the dignity of every person made in God’s image, and that accessibility, welcome, and justice are central to the gospel we proclaim. As an autistic priest, my experience of the church has been one of learning to find my place, of sharing the love of God in every walk of life, and of holding the door wide open to welcome everyone in.
As Co-Chair, I hope that this group will enable churches in the Diocese of Gloucester to grow in confidence as places of inclusion, accessibility, and belonging for all. To contact me, please email: ku.gro.hcruhchcnim@etaicossa
The Revd Laine Lewis
I am co-chair in the Diocese of Gloucester’s Inclusion and Access for All group.
I am part of this group because I have learnt through parenting both my kids and also through my ministry in youth and children and families work that it is vital that we are open to change in order to help everyone know and experience God’s live for them in the best way possible for them and this may need to be different from what we have traditionally used to.
I hope this group will help churches across the diocese grow as places of inclusion and accessibility for all. To contact me, please email: moc.liamg@42enialetaruc and / or 07508821867
The Revd Catherine Milsom
I’m currently a third-year Curate, but before ordination, I worked as an Optician for nearly 15 years. This gave me a strong awareness of the barriers people with visual impairments can face. I also often worked with patients who found verbal communication difficult, and I began using Makaton as a way of building trust and connection.
I’ve since tried to bring all that experience into church – developing inclusive all-age services using simple, visual liturgy and Makaton signing, including producing Makaton videos to help invite and welcome people to church. I also aim to make worship more accessible by providing large print copies of texts and using high contrast/specific colour choices that make text more accessible for those with dyslexia, dyspraxia, and low vision.
I care deeply about creating church communities where everyone can participate fully in the whole life of the church. To contact me, please email: moc.liamg@moslimenirehtacver
Diocesan Advisor among the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
moc.liamtoh@appilihp2klat
My name is Philippa Donald, and I am a retired priest in the Church of England, with PTO in the Gloucester Diocese. I am also the Bishop’s Advisor for the Deaf and hard of hearing in the Diocese of Gloucester. My role is to be the link person for anyone who is deaf or hard of hearing who wants to find a church community, or chat about the Christian faith. I also have access to qualified interpreters if someone needed this for eg a wedding or funeral.
I am part of this group because I am passionate about the church being inclusive of all.
I hope this group will help churches across the diocese grow as places of inclusion and accessibility for all. To contact me, please email: moc.liamtoh@appilihp2klat.
Inclusion in Local neighbourhoods
We have a good working relationship with the Barnwood Trust, a local charity that focusses on inclusion of people living with disability. The Barnwood Trust run an excellent programme of free training, which is open to everyone, that help us think through how to ensure that everyone is included in our church and community events:
Further workshops via: barnwoodtrust.org
A few years ago the Barnwood Trust realised that in order to ensure a good quality of life for people with disability, the community in general needs training in how to make sure everyone is valued and included. They have therefore had a recent focus on building inclusive community and a form of community development called Asset Based Community Development (ABCD; see event above). This is a way of working with local communities that rather than looking for problems to fix, looks at where there is energy bubbling within the community itself to do something, and works with that energy.
ABCD has a lot in common with the approach in Christian Mission that is about finding out what God is doing and joining in, formally termed the ‘Missio Dei’. It also chimes with Sam Wells’ recent writing that encourages us rather than ‘doing things for’ our communities, to prioritise relationships, so that we are ‘being with’ or ‘doing with’. This results in taking the time to be in relationships with others, and when there is a need for action, to do it in partnership with others, with members of the community taking the lead.
