Disability Sunday 2010
Contents
- Action plan for church teams
- Sending out a press release
- Communion – Communion – a more meaningful communion service for people with sight loss
- Sermon planning: references in the Bible to the word ‘blind’
- Sermon based on 1 Peter 2:1-3. “All you need is love”
- Prayer
- Activities for children
- Home or Small Group Resources
- How can you make a difference in the lives of people with sight loss?
- Torch Trust 1959 to 2009 – the Torch story, God’s story
- Article - Mission under our nose
Disability Sunday 2010
Action plan for church teams
1. Organise and devise
Being well organised in advance is vital for success! Speak to your vicar, church minister, PCC or any other individual or group in your church who need to be consulted. For an event in June, this means initiating discussion as early in the spring as possible. Disability Sunday usually falls on the first Sunday in June. But if that’s not possible for your church calendar, think about another date.
2. Involve and devolve
Any project works best when there’s a team of people to drive it rather than it all resting on an individual. Also, it’s less exhausting! Invite people to become involved, especially if they have an interest in or connection with disabled, blind or partially sighted people. Even better, see if you can involve people with a disability in the planning. Try to enthuse some younger people about participating, too. In the first instance, meet together to share ideas and pray.
3. Advertise and publicise
Disability Sunday is a terrific opportunity to highlight the needs of blind and partially sighted people and promote the work of organisations such as Torch Trust. The Disability Sunday pack includes a couple of posters to display on your church notice board. We suggest putting them up four weeks before the event.
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Local publicity can also be extremely helpful. Try placing posters or handbills at the local library, doctors’ surgeries, eye clinics, blind clubs, other local churches, community centres and even schools. See if you can get publicity in church newsletters and your local newspaper. A sample press release is included in the pack. And don’t forget church and community websites.
4. Plan and prepare
At your team meetings, devise the programme for the church service using the suggestions from the pack along with your own ideas. Tailor it to your own needs, resources and time available. Aim to include a variety of activities which will heighten people’s awareness of the difficulties experienced by disabled people in the church context.
Obviously, you need to check that the worship of Jesus Christ is central to the service. But this event is an opportunity to do something different and to be as creative as possible. Put together the programme with an awareness of those who will be taking part; some congregations are more adventurous than others; some activities will make some people feel embarrassed or awkward, while others will enjoy something innovative.
If you are having Communion on that particular Sunday, give it some thought. Within the traditions of your church, you could aim to make it a more meaningful experience for blind and partially sighted people. For example, use a very crusty loaf which people can hear being broken during the service. And pour the wine very deliberately in a way that can be heard. Even simple changes such as these can make people with sight loss feel more included. (Also see the separate sheet on Communion.)
Patterns for worship are so varied in our churches that it’s not possible to be prescriptive! But do think about involving disabled or blind or partially sighted people in your service in as many ways as possible:
- giving the welcome on the door
- handing out service sheets etc
- leading the service
- giving a short testimony or personal story
- reading Scripture verses
- saying the prayers
- singing a solo
- taking up the offering
See also the sermon outline and the children’s talk outline provided in the pack to help you plan the content.
Think about the media you are using. Many churches routinely use an OHP with Power Point. This can still be inclusive of people with sight loss if care is taken to make the words as clear as possible, if large print handouts are provided and if the service leader talks through the slides and describes any significant illustrations adequately.
5. Floors and doors
Give some thought to your building and access. Hopefully, the layout doesn’t present an impossible challenge to people with a disability or sight loss. Give some thought to:
- parking for people with disability
- access to the church building which doesn’t involve steps
- positioning of wheelchairs (It’s good to give wheelchair users a choice so that they are not automatically put at the front or the back.)
- making large print and braille programmes/orders of service, notice sheets and songs available (With enough notice, Torch Trust can help in providing giant print/braille resources.)
- having an induction loop available for hearing aid users.
Disability Sunday 2010
Sending out a press release
Putting out a press release to your local newspaper is not difficult. Here are some tips:
Post (on church letterhead paper) or email the details to the news editor, giving the information simply and avoiding Christian “jargon”.
Send it off several weeks in advance of the event or check for deadlines and make sure you meet them.
Make sure you give a phone number contact for any queries – ideally a mobile number if the church office number is not manned continuously. The media often want immediate answers to questions!
If you have time, it would be ideal to develop a relationship with your local news reporter and/or press photographer. Ask if you can drop in to see them, to introduce yourself and pass over the details of the event. Don’t take up too much time but be friendly and helpful. Why not invite them to the event?
Make sure your press release or other communication with the press answers the 5Ws:- What? When? Who? Where? Why?
Here is an example of the kind of press release you might want to send:
St Mark’s Church in Anytown is holding a Disability Sunday service on June 6th 2010 at 11am. There will be a lively interactive programme of teaching and worship, focusing on the world of disability.
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The service aims to raise awareness of how people in our church and community can better understand and relate to disabled people and particularly those with sight loss.
Activities will include the showing of a short DVD in which blind people share their experiences of church life. There will also be a brief talk on disability from a biblical perspective, as well as singing, prayers and involvement for young people and children.
During the service there will also be the opportunity to hear about the work of Torch Trust, an international mission providing a wide variety of resources for blind and partially people.
For more information contact: Joe Smith, telephone 07XXX 123 456.
Disability Sunday 2010
Communion – a more meaningful communion service for people with sight loss
Every church will have its own way of doing communion and we are not advocating that you abandon your preferred style, but even quite modest changes may make the experience more significant for people with sight loss.
For a sighted person, seeing the communion bread or wafers can be a powerful reminder of the body of Christ. And seeing the dark red wine or juice is a visible reminder of the blood of Christ. These visible symbols and others deepen a sense of appreciation and worship.
However, these symbols may not communicate the same depth of meaning or significance for blind people. For example, a person blind since birth will have no real awareness or appreciation of the colour red.
Periods of silence during communion can also be a very powerful means of focusing our thoughts on God. However, unless carefully announced, silence for those with sight loss can be a negative experience, leaving a person wondering what is going on!
We have to think about what can work for both sighted and visually impaired people. Communion becomes more inclusive and meaningful when there is an appeal to the other senses – hearing, smell, taste and touch.
So, having a really crusty loaf that has just been taken from an oven creates a lovely aroma and, as the loaf is broken, the breaking is audible. The loaf, of course, remains a visual experience for those who are sighted, but also importantly appeals to other senses, creating that sense of inclusion.
Pouring the wine into the chalice or glass from sufficient height to make the sound of pouring audible to everyone can be helpful and inclusive for people with sight loss.
When reading Scripture or liturgy, can you think of ways and means of interacting with your congregation using the different senses? This would apply not just to communion but to other worship services too. For example, can you dramatise a reading using different voices? Can you use some sound effects or background music? Could you pass around the congregation items to touch and possibly even taste as the reading is happening – such as grapes for a relevant parable? This undoubtedly creates a more meaningful and accessible experience for blind and partially sighted people. But also it makes for a more creative and complete experience for everyone else too, as we corporately express our worship to God.
Note: Swine Flu control measures may restrict the full implementation of some the ideas presented above.
Disability Sunday 2010
Sermon planning: references in the Bible to the word “blind”
Note: Many of these references are affirming of blind people but Scripture often uses blindness as a metaphor for ignorance or sinfulness. Take care not to reverse the metaphor, implying that these failings apply to people living with sight loss.
New Testament
Matthew 9:27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
Matthew 9:28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes Lord,” they replied.
Matthew 11:5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have good news preached to them.
Matthew 12:22 Then they brought him a demon possessed man who was both blind and dumb, and Jesus healed him so he could both talk and see.
Matthew 15:14 “Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
Matthew 15:30 Great crowds came to him bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the dumb and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.
Matthew 15:31 The people were amazed when they saw the dumb speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
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Matthew 20:30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Matthew 21:14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.
Matthew 23:17 “You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?”
Matthew 23:19 “You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?”
Matthew 23:26 “Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”
Mark 8:22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
Mark 8:23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spat on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”
Mark 10:46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus, (that is, the son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging.
Mark 10:49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you!”
Mark 10:51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed.”
Luke 6:39 He also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?”
Luke 7:21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.
Luke 7:22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”
Luke 14:21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’”
Luke 18:35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
John 5:3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie - the blind, the lame, the paralysed.
John 9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
John 9:2 His disciples asked him “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
John 9:3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
John 9:6 Having said this, he spat on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.
John 9:8 His neighbours and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t that the man who used to sit and beg?”
John 9:13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.
John 9:17 Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened?” The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
John 9:18 The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they sent for the man’s parents.
John 9:19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
John 9:20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know that he was born blind.”
John 9:24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
John 9:25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see.”
John 9:32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.
John 9:39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
John 9:40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
John 9:41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
John 10:21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
John 11:37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
John 12:40 “He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn - and I would heal them.”
Acts 13:11 “Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
Romans 2:19 …if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark...
2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.