Calendar of Events

What: Dr. Krysia Waldock will share the findings from their doctoral research, where they explored autistic people's inclusion and belonging in churches and mosques through group conversations and collecting autistic people's stories. Krysia will share how we 'do religion' shapes access, boundaries and barriers in religious groups. Krysia will finally share some thoughts and directions on creating spaces which value autistic people, and can enable us to flourish.

Who: Dr. Krysia Waldock is an autistic and disabled researcher who has undertaken research on neurodivergent people in religious groups, including churches, for the last 8 years. Krysia currently is a postdoctoral researcher at Swansea University and is also a member of the Neurodiversity Task Group in the Church of England.

What: Key to understanding autism are the senses. At the same time, church services are highly sensory events. What happens if we analyse autism, worship and liturgy, and the senses in relation to each other? Based on three years of interdisciplinary research on the sensory aspect of worship, with a focus on autism, the research team will present their most salient findings. The team will also present a dedicated website to this topic, and a Bible study series on the senses that was created to support churches in engaging with this topic.

Who:

Léon van Ommen is Senior Lecturer in Practical Theology at the University of Aberdeen, and Co-Director of the Centre for Autism and Theology.

Katy Unwin is Lecturer in Psychology at La Trobe University, Melbourne.  

The website will be demonstrated by its developer, Madeleine Scholefield, who is an autistic consultant on the project. 

This research project was funded by the John Templeton Foundation through the New Visions in Theological Anthropology (NViTA) project at the University of St. Andrew’s.

Autism and the senses website: www.autismchurch.com

What: This webinar explores the topic of mental health and neurodiversity. The three panellists will discuss their respective research projects on autism, dyslexia, and OCD. They will cover topics such as anxiety, concept of self, and alternative approaches to mindfulness. This will be followed by a Q&A.

Dr Henna Cundill is a researcher at the university of Aberdeen. Her doctoral research explored autism, anxiety and prayer. She currently researches ADHD and Christian practices.Zoe Strong is a PhD candidate at the University of Aberdeen researching dyslexia and engaging with the Bible. She is also a host on the Autism and Theology Podcast.

Paula Duncan is a PhD candidate at the University of Aberdeen researching OCD. She is also a supporter of the charity OCD-UK.

What: This webinar explores the rich and complex moral lives of autistic people, both through offering an overview of recent scholarship in psychology on autistic ethics and through reflecting on insights from a qualitative study. The study involved autistic teenagers and adults describing the moral commitments important to them and the processes through which they were formed in these commitments. Dr Cochran will conclude by considering how this account of autistic moral experience can inform the work of contemporary Christian ethics.

Who: Elizabeth Agnew Cochran (Ph.D. University of Notre Dame) is Professor of Catholic Studies and Theology at Duquesne University. She is the author of two books on virtue ethics and the historical Christian tradition. Her most recent scholarship brings her interests in virtue and moral character into conversation with considerations of neurodiversity.

What: A panel discussing Lisa Powell’s book, The Disabled God: Revisited,  which builds on the work of Nancy Eiesland and offers an alternative understanding of the doctrine of God and the Trinity, resulting in a God who is not autonomous and utterly independent.

Who: Lisa Powell,  Bruce McCormack,  Grant Macaskill and Audrey Quay

Webinar: 'Kinship in the Household of God'

What:

Cynthia Tam will explore the concept of belonging to a church community from the perspective of autistic people who are not using speech or language as their primary means of communication. Cynthia will describe a participatory action research project in which she explored how two young persons entered their church community with the support of a circle of friends. Reflecting on their experiences, she will discuss how we should see differences in the Body of Christ as gifts of God. The household concept invites the audience to reconceptualize Christian relationships as covenantal kinship.

Who:

Cynthia Tam is an ordained minister and the national coordinator for disability ministries with the Alliance Canada. She is a pastor of The Living Room Church in Toronto. Cynthia is research fellow at McMaster Divinity College, and an instructor at Ambrose University.

Webinar Invitation June 2024.pdf

When: 11 October 4pm - 5:30pm BST

Who: Stewart Rapley, author of Autistic Thinking in the Life of the Church. Stewart is a member of the Centre for Autism and Theology's Advisory Group, and of the Board of Trustees of the National Autistic Society.

What: Stewart Rapley will share with us about his recently published book Autistic Thinking in the Life of the Church. This book is based on qualitative research in which Rapley explores the distinctive thinking of autistic people in relation to aspects of faith and church engagement.

There is a growing awareness that autism is a common condition, and that many persons with autism are involved in churches and other communities of faith. For them, or for those around them, the experience of autism cannot be separated from their faith commitments or from their participation in faith communities. Other members of these communities, however, can struggle to understand the distinctive needs of those with autism, often because their thinking about the condition is based on outdated or stereotypical descriptions. Those providing support from within the healthcare communities, meanwhile, may have little awareness of the significance of faith commitments to how autism is experienced and processed by Christians, often assuming that faith commitments can be compartmentalized from other areas of life.

The Centre for the Study of Autism and Christian Community (University of Aberdeen), is partnering with Alma Autism—an organization that works with families and churches to support and raise awareness of the spiritual needs of people with autism—to run a workshop on autism, healthcare and the church. The workshop is intended to open conversation about the challenges faced by those with autism and their families as they experience the world of the church, on one hand, and the world of healthcare and support, on the other. The workshop will consider the role that the church can play in the lives of those with autism, while dealing frankly with the challenges that often accompany this. It will also facilitate reflection on the barriers to greater integration between the “worlds” of scientific research into autism and healthcare and of faith community.

The workshop is open to all who are invested in this issue. We particularly welcome involvement from pastors and from those involved in healthcare provision and advocacy support for those with autism, including, of course, those who are themselves autistic. There is no charge for attending the workshop, but we would be grateful if anyone planning to attend would email d.robbins.18@abdn.ac.uk, so that we can estimate numbers.

Date and Time: 2^nd March, 2019. 10:30-3:30pm.

Venue: Salvation Army Hall, 3-11 Albion Way, Lewisham SE13 6BT,

Speakers: Professor Grant Macaskill, Kirby Laing Chair of New Testament Exegesis and Director of the Centre for the Study of Autism and Christian Community, University of Aberdeen. Kirstyn Oliver, M.A., Founder and Director of Alma Autism.

Programme: