SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26 2025 - NO SPECIAL NEEDS
October 26, 2025
Deborah Laforet
“No Special Needs”
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by your
Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
I need to tell you that every time someone talks about a welcoming church or an inclusive
church, I cringe just a little inside. When the four churches talk about creating a new vision statement
and including the words welcoming and inclusive, I want to stand up and shout, no! Now, that probably
sounds confusing and maybe a little harsh. What’s wrong with being a welcoming church, and isn’t
being inclusive what we’re all striving for nowadays? So, let me explain.
Almost every time we celebrate communion, as I offer an invitation to the table, I say, that this
table does not belong to me or you, or to St. Paul’s, or even to the United Church of Canada. This is the
table of Christ and, therefore, it belongs to all of us. If I welcome you to the table, it implies that the
table belongs to me and that I am inviting you to it. If I say that all are included, it again implies that I
am the central figure, with the authority to include others.
In reality, even though we have people here who have been coming to St. Paul’s for decades, the
space does not belong to them any more than it does to those who just walked in this morning for the
first time. That’s what it means to be a church. Although, we have rules and guidelines for how we act
as a community of faith, and we share those with people new to the community, at any time, these rules
and guidelines could be changed. Being a space that belongs to anyone who steps foot in it, means this
space can be transformed by any individual or any group that becomes a part of this community,
hopefully with the consent of the rest of the community.
As a body of Christ, we believe that everyone is a part of this body and that everyone is
necessary to that body. No one needs a membership. No one needs to take a test to prove themselves.
No one needs to change in order to be anything other than themselves. This is what it means to have a
space where anyone can belong. Of course, being welcoming and inclusive is a part of that, but it’s not
what defines belonging.
I found a chart this week that I want to share with you. This is Erik Carter’s ten dimensions of
belonging. He developed this through interviews with those with disabilities and their families. Now, I 1
would love to dig into this wheel and all its components with you, but we just don’t have the time, so
maybe another time. If you google it, there are some great videos and writings if you want to explore.
What I want you to notice today is that Carter names ten dimensions of belonging - Present,
Invited, Welcomed, Known, Accepted, Supported, Heard, Befriended, Needed, and Loved - and he
divides those components into five segments - Choosing, Investing, Yielding, Committing, and
Flourishing. Notice that welcoming is in the second segment, not even half way to Flourishing.
Now, Carter notes three things about these dimensions. First he says that belonging is not about
location. This is key for us as we prepare to move from this building. He says belonging has more to do
with posture than it does place. It has to do with actions and relationships.
The second thing he notes is that belonging is ultimately fostered through relationship, not
programs. Relationships are what matter, not the programs that are offered. Think about churches and
youth programs. So many believe if they just had a youth program, then more youth would come, when
actually, it’s the relationships we build between those of all ages, that’s helps people feel they belong.
And third, I will quote him: “I hope you'll see as we walk through these that addressing these 10
dimensions of belonging within the church is more likely to require ordinary gestures than extraordinary
responses. So you already know what you need to know to be able to do this...”
So often, we think we have to be experts or we have to hire experts in order to create a space for
youth, for people with disabilities, for those who are queer or trans or non-binary, for those who are
immigrants or for those who are black or indigenous. Churches think they have to be extra-ordinary,
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/stm/sites/encore/encore-access/fostering-belonging.html 1
that they have to hire staff with specialties or that they need to create programming and buy resources in
order to create a space where everyone feels they belong.
Guess what? According to Eric Carter, we’re equipped already. Don’t get me wrong. There are
times when we have a lot to learn. There are things we have to unlearn. It’s why we go to workshops,
like the anti-racism workshop at Munn’s on the 9th. It’s why it sometimes takes years to become an
Affirming congregation. It’s why we read books together and hear the experiences of those who are
outside our norm.
So, yes, we have work to do, but Carter is telling us that most people feel like they belong
through ordinary gestures. Sitting with someone and hearing their story. Sending a card or making a
phone call to show support. Designing worship that is accessible to all. Making sure there is room at
the table for everyone. Making space for people to feel heard and to feel wanted, valuing the gifts we all
have to offer. Creating a space where everyone can belong is about making sure everyone has a part to
play and can feel needed and wanted and loved.
We’re going to hear a song during communion, that Chris will share with us, with beautiful
lyrics, that fit right into this theme. We’ll hear: Oh you misfits and prophets, and you sinners and saints,
Oh you broken and needy, weird and weary and faint, all who seek to simply open their eyes. All who
need to find a safe place to cry. Come as you are. Come you weary. Come and lay your burdens down.
Come as you are. Bring your hopes, bring your doubts and your scars. Come as you are.
This image commissioned by the United Church of Canada and taken by Alan Lai (Lie) portrays
the belonging that is possible within our church. These are all people within our church, different
colours, different abilities, different sexes and genders, different ages, different cultures, and different
languages, all gathering together at one table. What does it look like to create a table where each one of
these people can feel they belong, who don’t feel they have to change themselves or the way they
behave, who feel their needs are met, and feel the church needs them, and who feel supported and loved
for who they are and for whatever their circumstances?
We have had atheists join our church because they find a home here. We have had young people
join this church before their parents because they have found a place here and felt valued. We have had
marginalized groups use this space because they feel supported and heard. We have had people with
disabilities engage with the actives of church because they felt they were needed and appreciated.
And all of these people caused this community to transform and change. That’s the key. We
don’t want to just welcome and include people, expecting them to join us and then conform and to be
like us. We expect everyone to bring all of themselves to this space, and, because we do this, we need to
expect that, through our relationships with each other, we will be transformed, we will be transfigured,
we will constantly grow and change, and even die and resurrect. New life will take shape, and the
church will continue to be what it needs to be for each generation to come. This can be hard work, but it
can also be exciting and deeply meaningful for a world that needs spaces of belonging.
So, as we move forward, towards amalgamating with other churches, towards a community
based vision, towards a new way of being church, or maybe an old way taught by the prophets and
Jesus, may we be transformed and given new life by all who enter into this space, by all those “Present,
Invited, Welcomed, Known, Accepted, Supported, Heard, Befriended, Needed, and Loved.” May it be
so. Amen.
Now, I’m realizing that I didn’t even touch on the scripture readings that Lyndsey read for us. I kind of
ran out of time. So know that we find sanctuary in all kinds of spaces - in a temple or church, in Christ,
and in each one of us. Therefore, when we create a space of belonging, we are offering a space for the
Holy or the Sacred to thrive or flourish. Maybe I’ll expand on that another time.
Genesis 1:24-31
(Introduce yourself.)
Today, I will read two scripture passages. First, I will finish our creation story. We have
reached the seventh day, the day God rested. I will follow that by a reading from the Ten
Commandments God gave to Moses for the Hebrew people. It’s the first time we hear the
word, Sabbath.
First, I will read the first four verses of chapter 2, in Genesis.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all their multitude. 2 On the sixth day
God finished the work of creation, and so on the seventh day, God rested on from all the
work that had been done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it
God rested from all the work that had been done in creation. 4 These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
Now I will read verses 8 to 11 from the twentieth chapter of Exodus.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your
work. 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any
work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the
alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath
day and consecrated it.
May the Spirit guide our understanding of this sacred scripture. Amen.