A series of 12 portraits celebrating the life and witness of disabled, Deaf and neurodivergent people who minister and work in the Church of England will go on tour at four of our cathedrals following its launch at General Synod earlier this month.
Called As We Are spotlights the contribution of those who are Deaf, disabled and or neurodivergent in images taken by portrait and documentary photographer Ruth Samuels.
The exhibition launched at York Minster on Sunday July 12 before travelling to Exeter Cathedral (12th August to 19th August), Liverpool Cathedral (14th September to 4th October), Chelmsford Cathedral (12th October to 9th November), St Albans Cathedral and finally, St Giles Cripplegate in central London.
Rev Melissa Carter, a Team Rector in Dover, (pictured, above) is visually impaired and registered blind, she said,
“It is lovely to be part of something that is celebrating the richness and the diversity of the Church of England, showing so many people who serve God in different ways,” she said.
“For me, being registered blind, light and colour are quite important, I have a little bit of residual sight, so for me I love the image of the rainbow, the light is split up into a spectrum of colour, and just like us, God uses us in all sorts of different ways, whoever we are and whatever our abilities are.
‘He uses us for his glory so that the church can shine with a depth and a richness that comes from different people coming together.”
Others featuring in the exhibition include the Rev Alice Kemp, Dean of Women’s Ministry in the Diocese of Bristol, the Rev Neil Robinson from the Diocese of Salisbury, the Ven Pete Spiers, Archdeacon of Knowsley and Sefton in the Diocese of Liverpool, the Rev Vanessa Thornborough, (pictured, above) from the Diocese of London, and the Rev KT Tupling from the Diocese of Oxford.
The exhibition, produced by the Church of England’s Disability Project in partnership with Art and Christianity, is being launched days after the General Synod holds a debate on affirming neurodiversity within the life of the church.
Helen James, who features in the exhibition, and oversees the Disability Project, said:
“There are many Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent priests and ministers living and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but often this is unseen or unrecognised as a gift to the church.
“Disability, neurodivergence and difference are all part of what it means to be human, to be members of the ‘human race’ who are created to reflect the image of God. The breadth and diversity of the human experience leads us to understand more of the breadth and diversity of the God we worship and whose image we reflect.”
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, will visit the exhibition on Sunday, 12 July at York Minster, where it will stay until 10 August.
Other venues include:
- Exeter Cathedral (12th August to 19th August)
- Liverpool Cathedral (14th September to 4th October)
- Chelmsford Cathedral (12th October to 9th November)
- St Albans Cathedral (10th November to 26th November)
- St Giles Cripplegate (18thJanuary 2027 to 8thFebruary)
THIS PIECE WAS FIRST FEATURED ON THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND WEBSITE
Photos : Ruth Samuels.
