Exeter Cathedral is delighted to be hosting an exhibition which includes a series of twelve portraits celebrating the life and witness of disabled, Deaf and neurodivergent people who minister and work in the Church of England.
Called As We Are spotlights the contribution of those who are Deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent in images taken by portrait and documentary photographer, Ruth Samuels. The exhibition will be launched at York Minster on Sunday (July 12) and then will go on tour in four Cathedrals, including Exeter, and a church in central London.
Rev Melissa Carter, a Team Rector in Dover, who is visually impaired and registered blind, and who features in the exhibition, said the portraits were more than just pictures – there were about their stories of the people taking part.
“It is lovely to be part of something that is celebrating the richness and the diversity of the Church of England, showing so many people who serve God in different ways,” she said.
“For me, being registered blind, light and colour are quite important, I have a little bit of residual sight, so for me I love the image of the rainbow, the light is split up into a spectrum of colour, and just like us, God uses us in all sorts of different ways, whoever we are and whatever our abilities are. He uses us for His glory so that the church can shine with a depth and a richness that comes from different people coming together.”
Helen James, who features in the exhibition, and oversees The Church of England’s Disability Project, said: “There are many Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent priests and ministers living and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but often this is unseen or unrecognised as a gift to the church.
“Disability, neurodivergence and difference are all part of what it means to be human, to be members of the ‘human race’ who are created to reflect the image of God. The breadth and diversity of the human experience leads us to understand more of the breadth and diversity of the God we worship and whose image we reflect.”
Revd Claire Reynolds, Disability advisor for Exeter Diocese said, “It is wonderful the exhibition has chosen Exeter as one of its Cathedrals to visit. This exhibition demonstrates that absolutely everyone has their part to play in every level of ministry in the church, and that God does indeed call each one of us – just as we are”
(picture features Melissa Carter, copyright Rebecca Samuels)