Imago Dei in the Church: Autism and Communities of Belonging

Dimensions of Belonging
October 26 @ 8:30 p.m.
Via Zoom

Those who live with autism experience the world in unique ways. Their voices and gifts are needed in the church to help us experience the full beauty and scope of the Imago Dei – the Image of God.

Join disabilities researcher Dr. Erik Carter as he moderates a Zoom panel with two people on the spectrum and the parent of a child on the spectrum and consider how churches can create communities of belonging where their voices and experiences are heard and valued.

This event is co-sponsored by the Women’s and Access Leadership Networks, which are part of the Next Generation Leadership Initiative.

Registration here.

 Moderator:

Dr. Erik Carter works at the intersection of faith and disability and focuses on calling, equipping, and supporting churches to be places of deep embrace and contribution for individuals with disabilities and their families. He is the Luther Sweet Endowed Chair in Disabilities at Baylor University and executive director of the Baylor Center on Developmental Disabilities.

Panelists:

Dr. Elena M. Rhodes attends Servants of Christ Anglican Church in Gainesville, Florida, where she is active in the prayer ministry and serves as an acolyte, chalice bearer, lector, and member of the vestry. Elena is a biological scientist and lab manager at the University of Florida and was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in her early thirties.

James Scannell is an autistic non-speaker who attends Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He learned to use a letter board to communicate in 2020 and collaborates with autism researchers and writers in the UK. He writes a regular column for his church newsletter in which he interviews people with disabilities.

Rev. Joy Unger is a deacon in the ACNA and currently serves at St. Luke’s Church in Copley, Ohio. Joy has a love of studying Scripture, prayer, and caring for the hurt and vulnerable within the church. She’s a certified Stephen Leader and Minister and has trained intercessors to pray with and for others. Joy is the parent to a son with autism.