Birch House
LEAD: Jenny Netherwood
Jenny is a retired primary teacher, who worked with adults with learning difficulties in a previous role at Social Services. She is actively seeking ways to involve vulnerable adults in the church community.
Like many churches, St James and Emmanuel has some adult members of the congregation who have learning difficulties. Most live at Birch House, which provides supported living for its residents.
We are very keen to involve everyone in church family life, both in better meeting their needs and benefitting from their contributions and gifts.
Up to five from Birch House come to Emmanuel on Sunday mornings, accompanied by two carers. Other adults also attend with their carers and one travels to church independently. They all enjoy the services and are happy to participate in congregation interaction. They particularly like the music and the peaceful atmosphere, though the sermons can be a bit challenging.
“I cant wait for them to come back, I miss our activities and learning.”
Birch House service user
One day a week, we run an afternoon story and craft session at Birch House. We use material adapted from Godly Play – a structured and engaging way telling of old and new testament stories. The sessions started because a couple of people wanted to join a house group. They are open to non-residents but are only available during term time (and have not been available at all due to Covid-19). The current manager really values people coming in to do activities with the residents as it provides some variety.
What we have learned
Running just one group has not enabled us to meet everyone’s needs – strong personalities and specific health issues can be challenging.
We are keen to encourage church members to become involved, but simply inviting people to come to Birch House through the church newsletter was not sufficient. We now ask people by personal invitation.
Using Godly Play has really helped people understand more about the Bible and their faith. Persisting with the weekly sessions, getting to know the staff at Birch House and having them on board has also been a real encouragement, providing insight and experience we have have greatly valued.
What we are doing
We are considering linking the Godly Play sessions to the sermon series. Hopefully, this can encourage conversations during the week prompted by the service on a Sunday.
We are also discussing how we can make Sunday services more accessible when churches fully open again for worship. This could include activity bags for use during the sermon that focus on one point or theme. We would be keen to explore using humour to help engage adults with learning disabilities.
Any new initiatives or activities will depend on volunteers, so we will be encouraging more people to be involved.
Jenny Netherwood, St James and Emmanuel.
Frequently asked questions
How can the services be more accessible to people with learning difficulties?
It is important to have the main point of the sermon made very clear and to have activities to support this.
Can new people help with the group at Birch House?
More people being involved would be helpful, particularly someone who could tell the stories.
How can people get involved other than at Birch House?
It would be very encouraging to see members of the congregation chatting with our friends with learning difficulties on a Sunday morning. The people from Birch House also like visiting Home Café, so having members of the church there to have a chat with them is really appreciated.