A FASCINATING exhibition celebrating the positive contributions being made to the church by people with wide-ranging disabilities is taking place at Liverpool Cathedral.
‘Celebrate Differences’ features nine case studies of disabled people who take an active role in ministry in the Diocese of Liverpool.
They include Alex Galbraith, the vicar of St Francis of Assisi in Kew, Southport.
Rev Galbraith is registered blind. As well as being vicar at the parish, he is also the Anglican and Free Church chaplain to Queenscourt Hospice and Southport and Ormskirk Trust.
The exhibition also includes lay readers, an ordained local minister, a cubs’ leader and a musician.
As well as using photography, the exhibition has been designed to be as accessible as possible, with MP3 players available so people can listen to interviews, or read them transcribed.
Ruth Reed, diocesan disability awareness officer from the Diocese of Liverpool, said:
“The exhibition and the service are real celebrations of the positive work being done around the diocese by people with disabilities.
“Having a disability is no bar to worship or to being included in the church community. The exhibition and service is open to everyone, and both promise to be upbeat and uplifting experiences.”
Rev Dr Hannah Lewis, team leader for work among deaf people in the Diocese of Liverpool, added:
“This is a great opportunity to show that disabled people don’t just receive ministry in the Diocese of Liverpool, but they also carry it out. We all have our own range of gifts that we bring to our local communities and we hope that this exhibition will showcase that.”
www.liverpool.anglican.org
YOUTH club helper Keith Steen and cubs’ leader Rita Skett are among the people taking ‘star roles’ at the cathedral’s disability exhibition.
Keith, 40, has Downs Syndrome and helps at St Matthew and St James Church youth club.
He also works part time providing administration support at the offices of the Diocese of Liverpool.
Rita, meanwhile, works with cub groups at St Michael of All Angels Church and Wigan Parish Church.
A wheelchair for 24 years following a car accident, Rita says: “A friend of mine was involved with the cubs and needed some help with craft activities, which I have always enjoyed. I said I’d help for six weeks and I never left!
“Being involved with the cubs is a way of me giving something back to the community and I get a lot of satisfaction from doing something that helps children.
“I also have the right people around me who provide some great support. It is a privilege to have been asked to take part in this exhibition.”
