THIN SPACE
Confession
Prayer Hour this week is all about confession.
Each day at 12 midday, we’re going to be seeking God’s forgiveness for huge areas in our lives and in our communities where we have discriminated, where we have abused, where we have shown prejudice.
Today we’re dealing with the sin of how we have treated people with disabilities.
Ableism is discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities or who are perceived to have a disability. Ableism characterizes persons as defined by their disabilities and as inferior to the non-disabled.
Have a read of this web page to gain a little bit more knowledge about some of the most common disabilities such as: Learning Disabilities, Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD/ ADD, Down’s Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome and Global Delay Development.
CLICK HERE
Two of the most common disabilities are Learning Disabilities and Autism.
In the UK there are around 1.5 million people who have a Learning Disability, 350,000 with a severe LD. People with LD’s can face challenges with communication, understanding new information, living independently and completing task such as shopping, cooking, using public transport, securing paid work, managing money, etc.
In the UK there are around 700,000 people who are on the Autistic Spectrum. Autism is a spectrum as it affects people in different ways. People with Autism may struggle to understand other people’s tone of voice, sarcasm and jokes, abstract concepts, facial expressions, verbal and non-verbal communication, etc. People with Autism may struggle to form friendships and relationships.
Autism is sometimes described as a different ability.
We believe that all people are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27), are loved by God (John 3:16) and are welcome in God’s house/ family. (1 John 3:1).
Genesis 1:26-27. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
1 John 3:1. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.)
We see Jesus breaking social boundaries in order to meet with people from all back-grounds to bless them, heal them and care for them. We see one example of this in Luke 5.
Luke 5:12-13 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
This man went where he wasn’t supposed to go, into the town where there were people. Jesus did what he wasn’t supposed to do- touch the man and bring healing.
But as society and as God’s Church we have sometimes not treated people with disabilities in the same way Jesus did.
- Around the world, people with disabilities are more likely to be poor, live inadequate housing, with unsafe water, sanitation and work conditions.
- Around the world, 32 million children don’t go to school because they have a disability.
- Around the world, many people with disabilities can not get the healthcare they need.
- People with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed.
- People with disabilities who are employed are likely to be paid less.
- People with disabilities are often not able to access public spaces due to physical barriers and often cannot participate in political decision-making.
- Women and children who have disabilities are more vulnerable to domestic abuse and sexual violence.
- Foetuses who are discovered to have Down’s Syndrome are more likely to be aborted.
Educate ourselves more about different types of disability
Repent of those times when we have shown prejudice against people with disabilities.
Pray that as the Church we will be welcoming, inclusive and a blessing to people with disabilities.
Open our hearts/ minds to learn from people with disabilities and acknowledge that they have something valuable to contribute.
Think practically about how we can make ‘church’ more accessible for people with disabilities to access Sunday services, Life Groups, Alpha Courses, receive prayer and discipleship, etc.