Disability is not a marginal subject in Christian theology, nor an optional area of pastoral care. It sits close to the centre of the Gospel narrative, shaping how the Church understands bodies, belonging, and the presence of God in human life.
The Body of Christ is Disabled
While everyone would recognize that missing any part of the body, either at birth or due to the circumstances of life, is a tragedy, it is not uncommon. The church is described in the Bible as the body of Christ, both locally and globally. Paul, in 1 Corinthians, argues that the church needs the entire body with all of its gifts and all that it adds. If the entire body was a mouth, the church would be deaf. If the entire church was a foot, we would be blind.
Paul’s argument, however, goes even further. He writes that “the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (1 Corinthians 12:22, ESV). In God’s design, the members who are often overlooked are not optional. They are necessary. The church is not simply called to tolerate every member of the body but to recognize that every member contributes something essential to the health of the whole.
One of the most active volunteers at my church is confined to a wheelchair. She also works five days a week at a thrift store for low income families. The volunteer who changes the slides on the wall screens during church services appears to have suffered a stroke that affected his speech, one arm, and his gait. At one of my previous churches, one of the acolytes had been born with Downs Syndrome. A former teacher with whom I worked at a school board media center and book depository and who had suffered a stroke which had paralyzed him on one side, a member of the church that I attended in my teen years and where I was confirmed, visited prisoners in the county jail on weeknights , talked with them, gave them Bibles, and otherwise ministered to them.What Is Our Gospel Proclamation?
It is unfair to claim that Episcopalians do not care or have not cared about evangelism. Admittedly, many cradle Episcopalians dread the “e” word. Likewise, if asked to share the gospel in a few brief points, those same Episcopalians probably would be incapable. And the caricature that Episcopalians care more about justice than about evangelism isn’t entirely unfounded.
But these claims do not tell the full story. They have not taken the Episcopal Church’s history into consideration, or have projected other denominations’ evangelistic methodology onto Episcopalians and then criticized the Episcopal Church for failing to be successful at that methodology, or have rationalized that the Episcopal Church’s commitment to justice is disconnected from the Episcopal Church’s understanding of evangelism.
I do not want to explain here why the above claims are faulty. Rather, I want to suggest that to continue faithfully making disciples, the Episcopal Church, like all churches, must pivot away from its current practice. Proclamation of the gospel is not antithetical to what the Episcopal Church believes, and more importantly, is not antithetical to Holy Scripture or the apostolic witness. Rather, it is something completely coherent with our tradition.
Based upon my own personal experience, I would argue that such a claim is not unfair. During the so-called Decade of Evangelism in the 1990s the attitude toward evangelism of any kind was not indifference but open animosity. When I visited a local Episcopal church in recent times, the officiating priest, a retired priest supplying the church on that particular Sunday, preached against all forms of evangelism in her sermon, to the observable approbation of the congregation. From what I have seen, the former Episcopalians who fled the Episcopal Church on account of its positions on human sexuality and same sex marriage and migrated to the various Anglican tradition churches have taken this negative attitude toward evangelism with them. I do, however, agree that if the Episcopal Church is not only to survive but also to flourish, it needs to make a number of changes.Bible-Belt Christianity Is a Harder Mission Field than Secularism
Resistance knows it has a quarrel with God. Comfort does not even feel bothered enough to ask. Comfort, not persecution, is the more sophisticated threat to deep discipleship. Persecution drives a church to its knees. Comfort lulls it to sleep.
Cathedrals are for Everyone and they Need our Support
If England lets its cathedrals crumble, it will be everyone's loss.
People walk into cathedrals for all sorts of reasons: to light a candle, hear a choir, escape the rain, attend a service, admire the architecture or simply to sit quietly for a few minutes to escape the busyness of life. Many enter with no clear purpose at all. They simply step inside and the building does the rest.
That’s what makes England’s cathedrals so unusual. They are among the last institutions left in national life that still draw together people of all ages, classes, politics and beliefs, under one roof. Yes, they are Christian places of worship, but they are “houses of prayer for all peoples”, as Isaiah puts it (Liii, 7). They are civic spaces, cultural landmarks and public sanctuaries, open to anyone who wanders in and finds themselves lingering under their vaults. No wonder, then, that the question of how to keep these places alive is not just a church issue. Earlier this week, deans from England’s Anglican cathedrals were in Westminster with MPs to form a new parliamentary network of cathedral cities, pressing the urgent question: who is going to cough up the money to keep these remarkable buildings going?
Presbyterian Church of Wales considers 'do or die' reforms
The General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Wales (PCW) has said the denomination faces a “do or die” situation ahead of its General Assembly, due to be held next week in Porthmadog.
22 more churches to be sold in North Queensland
Court documents lodged by the Anglican Diocese of North Queensland’s recievers, SV partners, in the Queensland Supreme Court, seek authority to sell twenty-two churches, plus one instance of vacant land. The church sales have been triggered by a large redress debt owed to survivors of sexual abuse, which largely occurred in children’s homes, and which is estimated to grow to $22m.
Anglicans: A comprehensive message from Brisbane
The strange patchwork that makes up the Anglican Church of Australia was analysed by Jeremy Greaves, the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, in his Presidential Address this week. (In Anglican synods (church parliaments), the Presidential Address is a chance for the bishop to have his or her say.)
He asked, “How does a national church maintain genuine communion when one theological tradition increasingly dominates its representative structures? How are the voices of smaller dioceses, First Nations Anglicans, regional communities, differing theological traditions, and minority perspectives heard and valued? How can influence be exercised in ways that strengthen rather than diminish mutual trust?”
This is a case of “let the reader understand”. But in case, dear reader, you don’t get it, the dominant theological tradition Greaves is talking about is the Evangelicals. Not just the hard-edged Sydney Anglicans, but the growing evangelical chorus from Bathurst, Tasmania, Central Queensland, and the Northern Territory, joined by an increasingly evangelical Melbourne and Canberra-Goulburn.
ACC Debates Nairobi-Cairo Proposals, Elects Leaders
Anglican Consultative Council members debated aspects of the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals for ninety minutes in their final business session on July 4, mostly responding to a series of amendments proposed by ACC members from conservative Global South provinces to a resolution crafted by the Anglican Communion’s Standing Committee to reflect table group feedback gathered over several days.
The final version of the resolution, which passed by wide margins, affirmed the proposals’ statement that not all provinces are in full communion with Canterbury and that the Anglican Communion’s divisions “are partly caused by disagreements about the ‘one faith.’” They also committed to further work on the proposals, which will be considered again by the next ACC meeting in 2029.
Statement of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches on the Nineteenth Meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council: ACC-19, Belfast 28 June to 4 July 2026
Representatives from nine GSFA Provinces participated in ACC-19 in Belfast, and GSFA Primates Archbishop Titus Chung (South East Asia) and Archbishop Samy Shehata (Alexandria) attended as members of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity Faith and Order (IASCUFO). We express our sincere gratitude to the Church of Ireland for its warm hospitality and for the opportunity to visit inspiring places of historic significance in the life of the Irish Church.
The GSFA Provinces were present in accordance with the decision of the GSFA Primates at their meeting in Seychelles, recognising that the main topic of discussion, the IASCUFO Nairobi-Cairo Proposals, represent a new realism in addressing the fragmentation of the Communion. Delegates supported the continuation and development of their important work.
On July 4th, Pope Leo asks United States, Europe: Who is your neighbor?
Standing among the graves of migrants, Pope Leo turned America’s birthday into a pointed appeal for welcoming the stranger.
After defying Pope Leo and causing schism, SSPX defends its actions
The ultraconservative Catholics who defied Pope Leo XIV and caused a schism defended their actions July 3, insisting they were merely saving souls and were victims of an unjust sanction by the Holy See.
The head of the Society of St. Pius X wrote to Leo a day after the Vatican excommunicated the group's bishops and priests and warned its faithful they too could be excommunicated for participating in the schism, or rupture in church unity.
As Christians are attacked in Israel, government shows little concern
Across the Holy Land, Christians are being targeted by a tide of hostility and violence — attacks that risk drawing the ire of Christians in the United States, including evangelicals who are traditionally among Israel’s most ardent American supporters.
In Jerusalem, Christians say they are routinely harassed by ultra-Orthodox Jews and huddle in fear when Religious Zionists rampage through the Old City, destroying property during their processions.
Twenty miles away, in the West Bank’s only predominantly Christian town, Taybeh, the population is dwindling after years of unrelenting attacks and economic pressure from armed Jewish settlers.
Opinion: The twisted history Trump’s White House is using to redefine religious freedom
When the Founding Fathers began their work to unify the colonies, America’s religious landscape looked nothing like today’s marketplace of ideas. Mainline Protestants — Anglicans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Puritans, Quakers, and Lutherans — dominated the budding nation, and Protestant Christianity was fused with public life.
To talk of religious liberty back then was a question of how to handle these various Protestant denominations and, essentially, keep them from killing or oppressing each other. There were hardly any Catholics; there were very few Jewish people; there were essentially no Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists. What the Founding Fathers eventually arrived at was a plan for tolerance — an early version of freedom from official religions and a freedom to exercise faith without being punished.
Opinion: What patriotism is not
The president has spread abroad a kind of patriotism that is foreign to this great nation. His actions have mimicked King George III of England, for whom patriotism was obedience.
How Does a Church Know It’s Caring Well for Its Pastor?
A church often honors its pastor with words of appreciation, but genuine care shows up in the culture it creates and the burdens it shares.
Why Pastors Should Encourage Members to Carry Their Bibles to Worship
When church members bring their own Bible, something subtle but deeply important takes place. They move from being passive observers to active participants in the worship experience. The screen presents a passage for the moment. A personal Bible invites an ongoing relationship.
There is a difference between seeing Scripture and owning it. When members carry their Bible, they begin to think in terms of “my Bible,” not just “the verses on the screen.” That sense of ownership leads to greater familiarity, deeper trust, and a stronger connection to God’s Word. Over time, this habit forms disciples who know where to find passages, return to them during the week, and build growing confidence in Scripture. Ownership is not automatic but cultivated over time. This simple practice plays a significant role.
14 everyday phrases that come straight from the Bible
Whether people realise it or not, the Bible has had an enormous influence on the English language.
Psychologists reveal why 'grandma culture' is trending now
What's driving nostalgia: Experts link the trend to emotional regulation, with people seeking comfort and safety in familiar, traditional aesthetics and activities.
Cultural climate factor: Political tension, economic uncertainty, and digital burnout are prompting younger generations to embrace slower, ritual-rich lifestyles.
Blending old and new: Designers and homeowners mix vintage pieces with modern touches, keeping nostalgic styles fresh while honoring personal and cultural heritage.
Why this article? It points to a factor which may be contributing to why Gen Z is attending church services and the churches where they are attending these services. To my mind it is something that warrants further study.What is phubbing? The modern trend that can harm your children
We’ve all been there: you’re doing a food shop on your phone or pinging an email to a colleague, and your child asks you something.
You’re so engrossed that you don’t really hear them. Then you look up and see your kid just standing there, looking at you and your phone. You have no idea what they’ve said.
If you haven’t phubbed – that’s a portmanteau of “phone” and “snubbed” – your kids, you’re probably in the minority.
Want to improve your communication skills? Put down your smart phone. Even better, turn it off and place it screen down, preferably out of sight. You may experience a period of momentary anxiety, even panic, but you will survive. Your smart phone is a trigger for behavior that is not conducive to good communication and what you are experiencing is withdrawal. Yes, smart phones are addictive!
