Disability Ministry: Updated Lent Resources 2025 and Hearing Awareness Month

Enabling Good Lives

“Enabling Good Lives” is this year’s theme for the Lenten/Holy Week reflections. It calls us to ponder on: What is a good life? How do we enable each other to live good lives? As a suggestion each poster (attached below, starting from Ash Wednesday moving through the other weeks of Lent) has a question to reflect on that is displayed alongside the introductory words.

“Enabling Good Lives” is an approach to disability support that enable disabled people and whanau to live the life they choose.

We also have some updated posters for Lent 3, Lent 4 and Lent 5 and Neurodivergent Spiritual Rhythms.

We give thanks to Revd. Hilary Willett for her suggestion and her work on the poster on Spiritual Rhythms. We hope and pray that you will find this helpful.

Our Lenten Challenge

The challenge of our Lenten journey is how do we as church enable each other to live good lives, disabled people included.

• What are the things that make life good for us?

• What does a good life feel like for us?

• How can we enable each other in living good lives?

Enabling Good Lives (EGL) is a movement within the disability community.

Through this approach disabled people and their whanau are empowered to increase their choice and control they have in their lives and supports. This approach is based on eight principles: Self-determination; Beginning early; Person-centred; Ordinary life outcomes; Mainstream first; Mana enhancing; Easy to use; Relationship building.

For more information, see the following website.
Grateful thanks to Revd. Leo Te Kira for the theme along with Jean Farmer and Revd. Julian Morris for their work.

Hearing Awareness Month

In Aotearoa New Zealand March 2025 is Hearing Awareness month. This begins with World Hearing day on March 3rd. The White Cat is being promoted as the symbol for hearing loss.

This resource package (below) includes three posters:

• Why a white cat is the symbol of hearing loss
  
  

• Hearing hospitality
  
  

• 3 golden rules for better communication outcomes. ( Although these rules were developed for hearing impairment, these are good practices when speaking face to face with anyone.)

There is more information about community events for the month on the website: National Foundation for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Events | NFDHH

If you have any comments or feedback Please contact: Revd Vicki Terrell disabilityresources@anglicanchurch.org.nz or

Cherryl Thompson disabilityengagement@anglicanchurch.org.nz We are available to come and meet with groups.

All posters are on the website:

Disability Ministry Resources — Social Justice Unit (anglicansocialjustice.nz)