New booklet explores church for adults with learning disabilities

Encounters on the Edge author Claire Dalpra was astonished to find when chatting to her colleagues in Church Army’s research unit, The Sheffield Centre, that almost everyone had a family, friend or work connection to someone with learning disabilities.

This is perhaps not surprising when you read that Mencap estimate 1.5 million members of the UK population have learning disabilities.

Dalpra believes stories of church for adults with learning disabilities are an important reminder that fresh expressions of Church continue to grow in surprising places, including vulnerable groups within our society.

"Within the many and varied types of mission context in which fresh expressions are being planted, I had identified the mission context as important but assumed it would be an isolated and obscure area of research. How wrong I was."

In the latest edition of the Encounters on the Edge series of booklets – called Hidden Treasures: Churches for adults with a learning disability – Dalpra tells two stories of such churches: Fenland Community Church in March, Cambridgeshire and Focus Service in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

Both are on an intentional journey towards ecclesial maturity and she considers what particular opportunities and challenges they face along the way, and what their experiences have anything to say to others involved with fresh expressions of church.

The book also looks at how the churches have funded their work for over a decade despite a membership who are unable to give financially and whether these examples match up to our existing definitions of what is church, or whether they challenge them.

Encounters on the Edge 44, Hidden Treasures: Churches for adults with a learning disability is now available and is priced £4.00. To order, visit www.encountersontheedge.org.uk