CHURCHES in Swindon are being encouraged to make Christmas services more accessible to the wider community.
The Bishop of Swindon, the Right Rev Michael Doe, fears that people suffering with mental illness or physical disabilities often feel excluded from church services. During a visit to St Barnabas Church in Ferndale Road, Gorse Hill, yesterday, the Bishop wore sight-impairing spectacles to draw attention to the issue.
The glasses simulated different degrees of blindness.
The Bishop said: "Often people feel excluded from the church because of the design of the building or their inability to play a normal part in the proceedings.
This can be particularly poignant at Christmas so I am asking everybody to support this initiative as a way of demonstrating our concern."
The Bishop said that the experiment was a move towards a fully inclusive church. He explained that changes didn't have to cost the earth and that the slightest change could make a big difference to a disabled person.
For more information about the campaign call 01722 411966.
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