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On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2024 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
This presentation focused on the multiple avenues through which the supports and relationships available within congregation can meet real needs in the lives of people with disabilities and their families throughout the week.
Through implementing small changes, churches can become inclusive communities for people with a variety of abilities and disabilities.
It is far more common to hear about physical ailments than mental ones in congregational prayers and worship. Psychiatrist Warren Kinghorn explains why mental health issues and people with mental illness should be acknowledged in Christian worship.
We hear a lot about using person-first language. Yet it is still common to label people with their mental health diagnosis. Christians and churches can offer another way to describe our common human identity.
What we say or fail to say about mental health concerns in worship settings can be profoundly formative for how Christian communities respond to these challenges.
TOGETHER is a new Bible study curriculum designed to include, appeal to, and challenge adults of varying abilities. The new curriculum is building community in ways that enrich worship in congregations and congregation members with dementia.
Those who experience homelessness, poverty, physical or mental illness, or addiction understand things that more privileged people may never know. Raising up peer chaplains from within this group can lead to renewal in both outdoor and building-based Christian communities.
People treated as the last and the least often feel unwelcome inside churches. That is why some church plants create a worshiping community outdoors. Many of their discoveries also apply to indoor churches.
TOGETHER is a new Bible study curriculum designed to include, appeal to, and challenge adults of varying abilities. It aims to build community in ways that may enrich congregational worship.
Here are helpful suggestions for congregations who strive to include people across the full spectrum of abilities in their small group settings and beyond.
By the end of 2015, more than 5,000,000 Americans were living with dementia. This number is expected to increase in the years ahead as the population ages.
Worshipers and congregation members certainly do not come in a “one size fits all” wrapping! As you gather for worship you will notice an array of gifts, but you may also see the areas of struggle each one brings to the community.
