Thomas Baldwin hears about a new faith community for people with autism

SIGHTS, sounds and smells that may be overwhelming for someone with sensory problems. The requirement to sit still. The expectation of small talk with a large group of people. There are many reasons why traditional church might not be accessible to a person with autism – and that’s before well-meaning but misguided Christians offer to pray for a ‘cure’ for a core part of the person’s identity.

A new group based in Glasgow, led by a probationary minister in the Church of Scotland, is hoping to break down some of those barriers. Still in its early stages, the St Thorlak’s Community is planning to develop support for children and family work, pastoral support for autistic people, a model for partner churches and an online faith community for people who are unable to access church ‘in-person’.

It was established by Steven Owens, who is training for the ministry following a 20-year career as an autism specialist. “I thought that part of my life was over and had been put aside as I entered ministry training,” he says, “(But) at each turn either an autistic person or a family member was there in need of some sort of pastoral support. I realised that maybe God was calling me to parish ministry in part to support autistic people and their families to come to God.

“During my formal assessment I met the Rev Andy McIntyre, minister of Partick Victoria Park Church, and he was interested in my thoughts around autism as he was keen to improve the accessibility of his church for autistic children already in his congregation. Andy and I agreed to explore what we might do together and at the same time signed up to the Forge Pioneer Ministry training and started to develop the concept of St Thorlak’s Community.”

The name comes from the patron saint of Iceland, whom some researchers have suggested could have been autistic. “We want the community to be ecumenical and we also wanted to avoid it sounding like any other church in Scotland, therefore St Thorlak’s Community was a great fit for many reasons,” says Steven.

The group received a boost early this year when it was donated nearly £7000 from the sale of items from Stamperland Church, which closed after a union. Stamperland was Steven’s home church and he says it feels appropriate that something new may grow from its closure. Over this summer and autumn, the group will conduct a mission audit, as well as developing a website and logo.

Steven’s dissertation as part of his degree at the University of Glasgow was a look at the accessibility of the inherited (existing) church model and what a fresh expression aimed at people with autism might look like. “I used the National Autistic Society’s SPELL Framework for intervention [which identifies the vital elements of best practice when working with autistic people] to assess these areas,” he says. “I concluded that work would need to be done to ensure we make the inherited model work for people and that there is a space to create something new.

“ I realised that maybe God was calling me to parish ministry in part to support autistic people and their families to come to God.

“Anything new and exclusive would have the aim of supporting people who cannot access a traditional bricks and mortar style church to connect to a faith community. It will always be the aim to support a person to access their local church, and that is why we want to introduce a partner church model. Autistic people would be able to be a member of their local church as well as the community, which supports a model of inclusiveness.”