As a disabled Priest our own vicar Laura understands the difficulties that disabled people face every day. So please do come and you will be sure of a really warm welcome.
In 2021 we were registered as a RoofBreaker Church! A Church that works hard to be inclusive and welcoming.
At Present we are working towards having a church that is Disabled friendly and are working hard to achieve this.
We are a level access building with a large unisex disabled toilet.
We are also able to cater for those who need Gluten free wafers and are happy to provide these to anyone who wishes to partake in Holy communion. Please just make a sidesperson or churchwarden or even the vicar herself of your need and we will be happy to help you. We also have a loop system and can provide large print service booklets.
​We are hoping shortly to go onto screens but do please ask if you still need a paper copy as this will also be available to you.
Working towards the Disabled friendly award
​Charities whose work we appreciate
Through the Roof - https://www.throughtheroof.org
is a brilliant group
Through the Roof is a Christian disability charity that:
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Changes the lives of disabled people around the world
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Helps others to change lives too
We want to see everyone valued equally, fully belong, and able to contribute their gifts and skills. We do this in 3 ways:
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Freedom – bringing the gift of a wheelchair or mobility aid and sharing the Gospel with disabled people in developing countries
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Friendship – blessing disabled people with Christian friends through being part of our groups, holidays and Retreats
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Faith – building our network of Roofbreakers and advocates through training and resources to ensure disabled people can belong and contribute
Through the Roof still has a vital mission, and in these uncertain times we are fulfilling it through new and adapted ways. We would still love to serve you and/or have your involvement in the work, so please check our Facebook page or get in touch with us if you have any questions or want to know the current activities.
Follow this link to find out about donating a wheelchair
Follow this link to find out about fundraising to support TTR's work
Follow this link to find out a few of TTR's headline achievements
Parents and Children Together
PACT – an adoption charity and family support provider which helps hundreds of families every year through outstanding adoption services and award-winning therapeutic support and inspirational community projects across London and the south of England.
PACT is one of the UK’s leading independent adoption charities, placing children with secure and loving families and supporting them with specialist therapeutic support. Their award-winning FACTS service includes counselling, Theraplay, creative art therapy and life story work which help children to overcome difficulties in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood which have resulted from early trauma and neglect.
Calibre
Calibre Audio Library is a national charity providing a subscription-free service of unabridged audio books for adults and children with sight problems, dyslexia or other disabilities, who cannot read print.
A national charity, Calibre lend audiobooks to over 14,000 members across the UK and EU and now in countries that have ratified the Marrakesh Treaty. Members range in age from five to 105 and Calibre offer a wide choice of unabridged books for all ages and all tastes.
One of their guiding principles has always been to supply books in a format that can be played on ordinary household equipment. This means that members can select a player that suits their needs. For example they can listen to audio books on portable equipment (like a purpose built USB player), so that they can take books into the garden, on holiday or on long journeys.
Livability
Livability is a disability charity that connects people with their communities: they tackle social isolation and the barriers that can cause this in the lives of disabled and vulnerable people.
Through a wide range of disability, education, training and community services, Livability promotes inclusion and wellbeing for all. Together, they work to see people take part, contribute and be valued. Livability puts the elements in place that all add up to connected lives and communities.
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The Church of England is committed to diversity as one of its major goals. The Archbishops’ Council which sets the strategic goals for the Church of England includes disability as one of the key areas in which it wants to increase the welcome and participation of disabled people.Archbishop Justin Welby hosted a major conference in July last year exploring how disabled people can participate fully in the life of the Church.
Many disabled people cite the attitudes, environment and barriers to participation as being the most disabling factors in their lives. Yes, they may live with an impairment but it can be the society they live in, or the organisation they work for, that disables them. A person with a mobility impairment may be liberated by having a wheelchair but completely disabled by lack of access to a meeting by the stairs that are its only access.
The Church of England wants to be an enabling rather than a disabling church. Increasingly, it is asking the question, how can we enable disabled people to be at the heart of our communities, explore their vocation and realise their gifts?
​We have to admit that in the past the Church has often made mistakes in this area and overlooked the calling and gifts of disabled people, but we are determined to do better in the future.
Accessibility is not just about buildings, of course. It is also about the attitudes of the church congregation, how people in the community see the church’s message and the priority given to disabled people. It can be about physical access too and for this reason the Disability advisors have designed a new audit tool for local churches to use. ​
WE are in the process of this Audit and will strive to do what we can to achieve and keep achiveing disabled friendly award status.
