• Follow this link to download the Internship Act 4 CCM TTR flyer 2011 as a PDF

A common theme of the day was the celebration that we are all inter-dependent with each other.  Church and society is stronger when disabled people and non-disabled people contribute their gifts together.  This was demonstrated by many presenters speaking from personal experience of disability.

Through the Roof joined other disability ministries as part of the Churches for All network, along with Premier Christian Radio, to organise the one-day conference.  One delegate commented,  “It was probably the most positive and affirming event I’ve ever been to in my life”, and another said, “It really fired me up to do more in my church”.

Content from the event will soon be available from churchesforall.org in audio and text format and a forum on disability theology is being initiated.  Contact us for further details

What?

Including people with learning disabilities in the life of the Church – A resource day for clergy and other church leaders; people with learning disabilities; family, friends and carers, and professionals in the field of learning disabilities.

When?

Thursday 4 November 2010, 9.15 am – 3.30 pm

Where?

CMS, Watlington Road, Oxford OX4 6BZ

Cost?

£25 (waged), £10 (unwaged), including lunch and refreshments

For further information contact Wendy Bryant

Through the Roof will be taking part in a brand new conference in London on the 7th October. ‘Enabling Church’ will feature a range of speakers – including Rev John Naude and Mike Townsend (both part of TTR’s board), Jonathan Lamb, Joni Eareckson Tada (via video), Malcolm Duncan and Roy McCloughry – and promises to broaden and deepen your thinking about disability and the engagement of disabled people with church life, equipping you to make a difference in your own church situation. Standard booking tickets cost £25 and are available by following this link to Premier’s website or calling Premier Response on 08456 525252.

Follow this link to download a PDF flyer for the event containing further information and booking form

Follow this link to download event information and booking form in text format

Visitors to this area were able to attend mini-workshops, including ‘Disability and the Bible’, and join in interactive activities, such as an introduction to British Sign Language, as well as find relevant resources and publications for their churches.

There was a spirit of co-operation amongst the different organisations and many had positive conversations with visitors. If you visited TTR in the zone do let us know what you thought of it – we’d value your feedback.

Click on the button below to visit the CRE Exhibitor page.

Through the Roof were exhibitors at the

2010 Faithworks conference where we met lots of new people who had not previously heard of our work.  We were particularly promoting our new website and the free resources for churches.

Next we’ll be at

Mind and Soul ‘The Beautiful Mind’ conference -  Holy Trinity Brompton, London SW7 1JA on Friday 26th March.  More details and booking information from Mind and Soul (Please note, booking is online only, and the event is almost fully booked).

After that, we’re at

Christian Resources Exhibition, 11th – 14th May at Sandown Park, Esher, as part of a new ‘Churches for All’ disability zone.  We will be situated in a different area to usual, to the left of the main entrance, on stand T12, sharing the area with other disability ministries and providing new resources, interactive seminars and presentations.

7th October 2010 is a date for Ministers, church leaders and Youth Pastors to put in the diary.  Through the Roof and Churches for All partners are planning a disability conference in Central London.  Look out for further information soon.

[Picture - John Brown presents materials at the Care for the Family conference]

Committed volunteers, Carol, John and new recruit Mary, along with Tim were able to speak to many interested delegates about the charity’s work and it is hoped the day will result in an increased number of speaking engagements as well as potential new volunteers to assist the current team-members. Conversations included John’s experiences in church, an Occupational Therapist’s interest in a Wheels trip as well as the need for practical assistance taking children’s wheelchairs to their storage container.

Tim benefited from the excellent Irish hospitality and a visit to the recently refurbished Orangefield church in Belfast, where they are committed to addressing the needs of disabled people as an integral part of all their activities. In the near future we will feature the activities of churches like Orangefield on our website pages to encourage other churches on their journey of inclusion.

Tim learned that the team travel widely to churches to speak about the work and encourage the inclusion of disabled people. They are also adept at collecting children’s wheelchairs for the charity’s Wheels for the World programme and have a designated storage container based in Hillsborough. It is hoped that new volunteers can assist with the work and a briefing day would be planned to support any new recruits.

If you have a spare hour or two and could get involved, please contact Northern Ireland Co-ordinator, Carol – 028 9094 7910