Welcome to Disability and the Canadian Church, a limited-series podcast where we talk about the intersections of disability and the Christian faith in Canada and beyond. Join hosts Keith Dow and Jasmine Duckworth as we welcome a couple of guests each week to share their insights and expertise on aspects of disability and faith.

Hosts

Jasmine Duckworth

Jasmine has been serving with Karis Disability Services (formerly Christian Horizons) since 2004 and has been disabled herself since 2015. As part of her role as Community Development Manager she often speaks with churches and community groups about disability, accessibility, and ableism. She works closely with self-advocates as they work to improve Christian Horizons, the developmental services sector, and the broader community. She is a mum, wife, and obsessive knitter.

Keith Dow

Keith serves as Manager of Organizational and Spiritual Life with Karis Disability Services (formerly Christian Horizons), where he is honoured to participate in the faith journeys of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Keith completed his PhD in Theology through Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and is author of *Formed Together: Mystery, Narrative, and Virtue in Christian Caregiving*. Keith lives in the woods just South of Ottawa with his wife and three children.

Episodes

Disability and the Canadian Church podcast

Disability, spiritual formation, and art

In this conversation about spiritual formation, disability, and art, Tom Reynolds and Sara Pot talk about how they’ve seen churches do well in the area of religious education and what might be done differently.

Let’s talk about Ableism

What is ableism? How else can we talk about this concept? Learn from Dan Vander Plaats and Meagan Gillmore as hey wrestle through these questions, share stories of their experiences, and offer insight on how the Church might advocate for change.

Access, Advocacy, and Allies

Join us for a lively conversation with Chantal Huinink and Ray Ellis about accessibility, self-advocacy, advocating for others, and the importance of relationships.

Friendship, family, kinship & community

This week we speak with Cynthia Tam and Stephen Bedard about autism and the church. Cynthia and Stephen help us to learn from multiple perspectives: parent, pastor, professional, self-advocate, ministry leader, and author. We talk about friendship and family, kinship and community, the language we use and the beauty of communication beyond words.

When “Healing” Hurts

Tune in for our first episode - an honest and vulnerable conversation about healing vs. curing, barriers to accessibility, finding belonging in church communities, and resisting normalcy.