Disability and Discipleship Social Hours
A Lead Up To The Banquet Of Belonging
A four-week New Leaf Learning Centre series
with A Deeper Communion Community
Thursdays, April 9, 16, 23 & 30, 2026
1:30 - 3:00 pm ET - online
What does it mean to belong to one another? Not in theory, but in practice, together at the table.
This series gathers disabled and non-disabled Christians to ask what discipleship looks like when we actually learn from each other. Not parallel ministries. Not accommodation as an afterthought. Shared tables, mutual welcome, and communities shaped by every gift in the room.
Over four weeks, we'll move through theology, access, relationships, and lived experience, drawing on the work of A Deeper Communion, a multi-denominational Canadian network connecting ministry leaders, practitioners, and academics at the intersection of disability and faith.
The questions we're sitting with: Where is the Canadian church getting this right? Where does something need to change? And what does it look like when welcome isn't a program but a practice?
This Learning Centre series is a taste of something bigger. The Banquet of Belonging Conference from A Deeper Communion is gathering in person in Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Langley, and online on May 7th, 2026. Come to the Learning Centre series to go deeper into the conversation, and bring your appetite for what's ahead.
Schedule:
April 9 – John Van Sloten
Experiencing God Through Disability
This session will explore the theological worldview that has led John Van Sloten to write a book about how God is uniquely revealed through the life of his son Edward, who has Down syndrome.
April 16 – Dr. Ty Ragan with Rev. Dr. Cynthia Tam
Do We Truly Want Sacred Communities of Sacred Connection? The Comfortable Pew of Ableism
What if the church isn’t called to fix disabled bodies—but to transform the systems that exclude them? This powerful learning session confronts ableism in theology, worship, and community life, drawing on lived disability experience and Gospel stories that challenge comfort, control, and silence. Come wrestle with what real accessibility, dignity, and belonging demand of our sacred spaces.
Cynthia Tam joins at the end of the session to talk about her work:
Flourishing Together Around God’s Table of Love
Drawing from Luke 14, this paper argues that when a church community embodies God’s inclusive love—particularly toward people living with disabilities—it flourishes as a whole. To clarify what it means for a community to flourish, I draw on Miroslav Volf’s concept of flourishing as a life that is well led, goes well, and feels as it should, with wellness defined by love experienced by all gathered at God’s table.
April 23 – Dr. Jon Coutts
Charismatic Communion: Deliverance from the Great Man Model of Leadership
In anticipation of Jon’s Deeper Communion talk on the Superman- and Barbie-fication of the Image of God, this Learning Centre will explore how the church has been implicated in these modern distortions of humanity, yet offers a witness against it. Leaning on the Disability Theologies of Deborah Beth Creamer and Brian Brock, this session will present the theological reboot that still needs to take hold in the evangelical church that was so possessed by the Church Growth Movement.
April 30 – Erik Freiburger
Cracks In The Mirror: Language, Disability, and Reimagining Our Humanity
What if the way we talk about disability is quietly or subconsciously shaping the way we see all of human worth and dignity? In this reflective and thought-provoking presentation, we’ll explore how language can distort, diminish, or redeem our understanding of ourselves and one another. Through story, theology, and lived experience, you’ll be invited to reimagine disability not as a problem to solve or accommodate for—but as a space where deeper meaning and belonging are revealed. Come ready to question the mirrors you have trusted for so long—and discover a more expansive vision and revelation of what it means to be fully human.
Learning Centre sessions are recorded and made available afterwards for those who sign up but cannot attend in person
Presesnters:
Register
There are two options to access the New Leaf Learning Centre: a monthly subscription or a one-series pass (below). For the monthly subscription, please visit here. This series is available for free. Please complete the registration to receive online access to this series.
The suggested amount is $40 ($10/week); simply choose your amount in the drop-down menu and “sign up now.”
We would like for you to join us, so if you can’t afford the registration at this time, please reach out to us, and we will make sure you are able to participate: admin@newleafnetwork.ca
