A new Church of England guide for parishes, to help them consider how to ensure their building is welcoming to all, has recently been published.
The diocesan Engagement and Inclusion Officer, the Revd Vanessa Layfield, encourages you to read the document and to reconsider what being a "welcoming" church really means. She says: "A Church without disabled people is a disabled Church. Belonging to a community requires being with other members of that community. This document looks at our being together in the shared spaces of our church and other buildings. This involves bringing together the ways we view and treat people, alongside the ways we arrange our buildings physically and how we worship in them. Whenever we deny someone the opportunity to belong, the whole Church is diminished."
Download and read the new parish guide here.
If you would like further support, including an accessibility audit of your church or building, please contact Vanessa Layfield.
E: vanessa.layfiled@chester.anglican.org
T: 07517 994493