Inclusion, Accessibility & Engagement
As an inclusive church, we are committed to celebrating diversity in all its forms, and strive to welcome people of all backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, neurodiversity, and disabilities.
Mirroring God’s unconditional love for all is an essential part of our church mission, and our contrasting variety of worship seeks to hold space for the many different people in our local communities. You can learn more about our different types of worship here.
Our Inclusion Group focuses on listening to, supporting, platforming, and championing groups who have experienced marginalisation within society, while pursuing practices that enable greater accessibility for all.
Neurodiversity
2025 sparked the revitalisation of the Inclusion Group and our first focus was neurodiversity; We explored perceptions and understanding of neurodiversity, our personal experiences with neurodiversity, and how we might better support neurodiverse people within our church community.
Here are some of the strategies now in place to support neurodiversity at Bournville Parish Church, St. Francis of Assisi:
Dyslexia-Friendly Orders of Service
A practical way to be inclusive, which reduces cognitive load and visual stress, making text easier to read process and understand
A ‘Help Yourself’ Table
A table providing Orders of Service (including large print and dyslexia-friendly!), coloured overlays, ear-defenders, and fidget toys. This strategy enables neurodiverse people to simply access what is helpful to them, without having to navigate a conversation about it first
Representation
To promote different voices and representation within our church, we can continue to nurture the practice of sharing stories from different people using different platforms, such as Connect magazine/social media/prayers/sermons
Neurodiversity Buddy System
We are developing a mentoring system to support those navigating neurodiversity at church
Workshop
Currently we have a planned workshop to be delivered to our local Deanery Group about neurodiversity in Autumn 2026
Misogyny
In early 2026 Inclusion Group focused on the impact of misogyny.
We explored the different types of misogyny and how they impact the lives of women and girls throughout the world. This was done with careful thought about our service of Parish Communion on International Women’s Day. As well as a remarkable sermon from our Curate, during this service, we structured the Prayers of Intercession around the experiences shared within the group meetings, using quotes from them to introduce each of the prayers. We are currently planning a concert of celebration for International Women’s Day 2027 – watch this space!
Christians at Pride
It was an honour for us to march with Christians at Pride this year, to help provide a joyful welcoming presence at Birmingham Pride. We also loved supporting our local partners in Bournville to host Pride on the Green . It has been the highlight of our year to demonstrate the loving, welcoming heart of Christ throughout these happy events!
Disability
In July 2026, our Inclusion Group welcomed Dr Helen Abbott from the University of Birmingham to share her experiences navigating ableism as a disabled person. Dr Abbott’s invaluable wisdom has given us much to focus on as we examine our own practices and attitudes in relation to disability.
Learn more
If you would like to ask any questions or find out more, you can contact us here.
We are proud to be part of Inclusive Church and the work that they do. You can learn more about Inclusive Church and their mission statement here.
