Western Theological Seminary

The purpose of the Nurturing Children with Disabilities (NCD) project is to develop theology and practices of corporate worship that are inclusive of children with disabilities. The program will support specific congregations in this effort as well as generate popular and academic resources for Western Theological Seminary’s Center for Disability and Ministry (CDM) website that will be widely available. A team of representatives that includes children with disabilities, parents, youth, and ministry leaders (one of whom will be the program leader) from eight local participating congregations will engage in trainings, reimagining worship practices alongside children with disabilities in the context of either equine assisted learning/therapeutic horsemanship or forest schools. They will then reflect theologically together on their experiences through many different mediums, including artwork, and create resources for worship. The trainings will occur in the fall of 2024 and the immersive experiences will occur spring and fall of 2025 with a CDM Summer Symposium on Saturday, July 11, 2026. In the spring leading up to the Symposium congregations will collaborate with the NCD team to reimagine corporate worship in light of insights from the project. One significant anticipated outcome of participating in the NCD program is that congregations will have an intergenerational shared experience in working alongside children with disabilities and will naturally develop an understanding of disability that is not deficit-based or limited by developmentalism. The program seeks to support congregations in developing the capacity to appreciate and attune to the insights and spirituality of children with disabilities while incorporating those insights to their shared life in ways that impact their worship theology, worship spaces, and worship practices.