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As Disability Act nears - are churches ready?

The Disability Discrimination Act, which will outlaw discrimination against those who are disabled, comes fully into force in October – but are the churches ready for it?

Speaking at this year’s Spring Harvest, Tony Phelps-Jones, of the charity Causeway Prospects, said: "As service providers – in the fullest sense – do we realise that we will have to make sure that everything we provide is accessible? And are we welcoming it as a chance to make our churches fully inclusive, rather than viewing it as a problem?

"There are some brilliant examples of churches that are ready, but many haven’t begun to think it through. Some churches think: 'We’re far too small – we can’t afford to make improvements'.

"But our attitude should be one of welcoming the DDA – it is a means by which we can have a more inclusive Church. We shouldn’t see it as a threat but as an opportunity for evangelism, to make ourselves, as the Christian Church, more accessible to people. The motivation for what we do should be how valuable people are, and the DDA is just one of the tools that we can use to get closer to where God wants us to be. Christ died for people with disabilities. No part of the Body of Christ is of less value because it is different."

Tony Phelps-Jones recommended that churches get in touch with the organisation, Churches for All, which has a pack containing everything churches need to know to comply with the DDA. And he also suggested getting advice from those who are disabled. "Involve people with disabilities in your planning – you might not notice what someone in a wheelchair will see."

EastEnders' Janine advocates action, not pity

EastEnders actress Charlie Brooks, who plays Janine in the popular BBC1 soap, lent her support to World Vision's 24-hour Famine recently, joining with thousands of tenagers around the UK in giving up food for a day to raise money for clean water projects.

Charlie recently travelled to Senegal in West Africa, where she visited World Vision projects. She said: "It's so easy to feel guilty about having so much after seeing people with so little, but guilt is such a useless emotion. The people I met in Africa didn't want our guilt, or our pity. They just want a helping hand. I took part in World Vision's 24-hour famine this year as I know money raised will make a real difference to people's lives."

'Don't overlook churches' role in drug prevention'

HOPE UK has praised a new government initiative to pool millions of pounds into one common pot for tackling drug abuse among young people, but said that the important role of churches and voluntary organisations in preventing drug use has been overlooked.

"Yes, it's great that it's a single fund," said George Ruston, director of HOPE UK, "but we think that the voluntary sector, including the churches, have a great part to play and we can't see that this potential will be realised in this fund."

Referring to the £50m fund, which will be administered locally through Drug Action Teams, George said the new initiative will make it easier for schools and youth treatment facilities to receive government funding for drug-related programmes, and will also make it easier for government to account for how the money has been used.

But he added that it is difficult for church and voluntary organisations to access government funds for drug prevention among young people, and urged government to do more to support the important drug education work Christians are doing among non-drug users.

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		NEWS As Disability Act nears - are churches ready? The Disability Discrimination Act, which will outlaw discrimination against those who are disabled, comes fully into force in October – but are the churches ready for it? Speaking at this year’s Spring Harvest, Tony Phelps-Jones, of the charity Causeway Prospects, said: "As service providers – in the fullest sense – do we realise that we will have to make sure that everything we provide is accessible? And are we welcoming it as a chance to make our churches fully inclusive, rather than viewing it as a problem? "There are some brilliant examples of churches that are ready, but many haven’t begun to think it through. Some churches think: 'We’re far too small – we can’t afford to make improvements'. "But our attitude should be one of welcoming the DDA – it is a means by which we can have a more inclusive Church. We shouldn’t see it as a threat but as an opportunity for evangelism, to make ourselves, as the Christian Church, more accessible to people. The motivation for what we do should be how valuable people are, and the DDA is just one of the tools that we can use to get closer to where God wants us to be. Christ died for people with disabilities. No part of the Body of Christ is of less value because it is different." Tony Phelps-Jones recommended that churches get in touch with the organisation, Churches for All, which has a pack containing everything churches need to know to comply with the DDA. And he also suggested getting advice from those who are disabled. "Involve people with disabilities in your planning – you might not notice what someone in a wheelchair will see." EastEnders' Janine advocates action, not pity EastEnders actress Charlie Brooks, who plays Janine in the popular BBC1 soap, lent her support to World Vision's 24-hour Famine recently, joining with thousands of tenagers around the UK in giving up food for a day to raise money for clean water projects. Charlie recently travelled to Senegal in West Africa, where she visited World Vision projects. She said: "It's so easy to feel guilty about having so much after seeing people with so little, but guilt is such a useless emotion. The people I met in Africa didn't want our guilt, or our pity. They just want a helping hand. I took part in World Vision's 24-hour famine this year as I know money raised will make a real difference to people's lives." 'Don't overlook churches' role in drug prevention' HOPE UK has praised a new government initiative to pool millions of pounds into one common pot for tackling drug abuse among young people, but said that the important role of churches and voluntary organisations in preventing drug use has been overlooked. "Yes, it's great that it's a single fund," said George Ruston, director of HOPE UK, "but we think that the voluntary sector, including the churches, have a great part to play and we can't see that this potential will be realised in this fund." Referring to the £50m fund, which will be administered locally through Drug Action Teams, George said the new initiative will make it easier for schools and youth treatment facilities to receive government funding for drug-related programmes, and will also make it easier for government to account for how the money has been used. But he added that it is difficult for church and voluntary organisations to access government funds for drug prevention among young people, and urged government to do more to support the important drug education work Christians are doing among non-drug users. © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.