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Faith and Sport

Faith and Sport

Alan Whetherly  Former blind paralympian Alan Whetherly to appear on Channel 4 TV at 7:15pm Saturday 4th August. Alan works with Churches for All partner organisation Through the Roof. The programme is one of a 4thought.tv series about faith and sport – films in which people respond to the question ‘What role does faith play in sport?’. The films can also be seen at...

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REDEFINING ABILITY: Paralympics Disability Sunday pack published

REDEFINING ABILITY: Paralympics Disability Sunday pack published

Churches for All launches its new Disability Sunday pack entitled REDEFINING ABILITY with content that links with the London 2012 Paralympics. Disability Sunday for 2012 is either of 2nd and 9th September. The underlying challenge for churches remains ‘who’s missing?’ – do disabled people feel not just welcome but fully included within our church life. The Paralympics present a unique opportunity. What church leader will not want to do something to link to the Paralympics on either or both of the Sundays when the Paralympics is happening in London. Here’s a pack of resource that can provide the inspiration for a Disability Sunday service – or, even better, an ‘All-Ability’ Sunday service … Get the Churches for All Paralympics Disability Sunday resource pack....

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Paralympics Opening Night event

Paralympics Opening Night event

On Wednesday 29th August, the evening of the opening of the London 2012 Paralympics, at Stoke Mandeville (where it all started back in 1948) Aylesbury Churches have organised a major celebratory event. Why not go along? No booking necessary. Download the Paralympics Stoke Mandeville event leaflet (PDF) to find out...

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ENABLING CHURCH: Taking fresh look on what the Bible says about disability

ENABLING CHURCH: Taking fresh look on what the Bible says about disability

Have you ever wanted a book that would inform and inspire your church on the subject of disability? Well, here it is! ENABLING CHURCH, a creative new church resource giving a biblical perspective on disability, will go a long way to challenging the Church on timely issues, said Roy McCloughry at the book launch. Our picture shows Jeff Lucas on the left with co-authors Gordon Temple and Lin Ball. Well-known Christian writer and speaker Jeff Lucas described his experiences on a ‘trip into disability’ as he gave his support to a new book launched at CRE – the annual Christian Resources Exhibition. Having recently torn a muscle in his leg, Jeff was in a wheelchair for a week and then on crutches for three weeks. ‘I suddenly realised the indignity that disabled people experience,’ he said, describing in particular how people talked over him rather than to him during this time. ‘How tragic when it happens in the life of the Church.’ Jeff, speaking at the launch of ENABLING CHURCH, said the book was ideal for churches who wanted to take a fresh look at what the Bible has to say about disability and become equipped to be more inclusive. The resource is co-written by Dr Gordon Temple, chief executive of Torch Trust, and his colleague Lin Ball. Also commending the book was Roy McCloughry – writer, consultant and lecturer on ethics – who has contributed a Foreword to ENABLING CHURCH. The creative new church resource will go a long way to challenging the Church on timely issues, Roy said. ‘Disability theology is coming of age. The Spirit is moving on this issue. What kind of Church do we want to be?’ Roy described how he had faced discrimination as a young man because of his epilepsy –rejected from both ordination and a place at Cambridge University on medical grounds. ‘About twenty years ago I realised, as blind Professor John Hull puts it, that disability is a “strange gift”. Epilepsy is not something I wanted, but God has given it to me to use for his purpose – to be used redemptively. ‘The middle class church worships a God who is a superman,’ said Roy, adding that the contrasting biblical picture of the church community had weakness at its heart so that the power of God could be revealed. ‘In the throne room of God there is a dead...

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A new book: Enabling Church

A new book: Enabling Church

A Bible-based resource towards the full inclusion of disabled people By Gordon Temple and Lin Ball SPCK: ISBN 978-0-281-06649-0

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