Our Psalm for this week starts with these words: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. David is undoubtedly looking up into the sky and marvelling at all God has made and the wondrous power of his name. But we need not look only to the sky. God's endless creativity is marvellously displayed in the uniqueness of each person. No two brains are the same and yet we are all individually handmade by him.
It’s marvellous but it can also make relationships and ministry hard. Over the past decade, neuroscience’s recognition that some brains operate quite differently from others has become increasingly mainstream. We have all become more aware of autism, ADHD, dyslexia and other such diagnoses and my guess is that we all know someone who might call themselves neurodivergent. My second guess is that when we talk to our neurodivergent friends we hear that their experience of the world and the church can be difficult.
What we know is that every neurodivergent person is different. For some, church is a positive experience, with their neurodivergence enhancing their engagement and connection with the service. But others have needs that aren’t met by standard church services. Of course, not all the needs of every person in church can be perfectly met, but here at Christ Church we want to be a community that knows, loves and seeks to support each other. It’s a beautiful thing when Christ’s love is shown as we serve each other with all that God has given each unique person, presenting and demonstrating the gospel to those at church and beyond.
Often we need help to make this a reality.
With this in mind, I am so thankful to Sally Sims and our Care Team who have prepared for us a wonderful seminar for 2pm Sunday 1 November: Different Brains, One Body: Neurodivergence and the Church.
Our guest speaker, Kate Morris (a writer and podcaster, a Research Fellow at Mary Andrews College, and a mum of neurodivergent children), will explore the challenges, joys and everyday realities of neurodivergence and help us think through ways we, as a church, can become better at seeing, understanding and supporting one another. Gerard will open the Bible and we will hear from people with lived experience who will help us explore practical ways we can make our church more welcoming and supportive for neurodivergent people and their families.
This seminar will be ideal for you if you are neurodivergent yourself, part of a neurodivergent family, serve in ministries with children or young people, or simply want to understand more. So come along and join the conversation.
And give thanks for our well-developed and expertly led Care Team. The team works both proactively and reactively to provide Christian care to everyone who needs it. That is, to provide care that involves loving others by listening well and responding with empathy and in prayerful and practical ways, and by sensitively encouraging faith, growth and perseverance in Christ. And here is a little Easter Egg for those of you who read the blog. We have an exciting announcement to make about care and staffing next week. Keep your ears open.
So friends, my prayer is that Christ Church would be a place where people are known, loved and cared for in all the stages and struggles of life. The Bible encourages us to be exactly that to one another and I do hope you will join us on Sunday 1 November at 2pm so we can continue to grow in our understanding and love for each other and more and more be a caring Christian community.
