The (Invisibly) Disabled Minister / 1

Justice? Integrity? What to say…?

I am a Baptist minister, looking after a small congregation in Streatham Vale, South London. I also have a chronic health condition called Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS).¹ This is a genetic connective tissue disorder which causes pain; loose, unstable joints; fatigue; digestive issues to name just a few things.² Due to the nature of this condition, you often cannot see that I have any kind of disability. Unless my joint pain or the looseness of my joints is particularly bad, I do not usually use any mobility aids to get around. I am able to participate in ‘normal’ life most of the time, and so people may not realise I have a disability. However, for pretty much every second of every day I experience a fairly high level of pain. My condition is variable, so sometimes, on good days, my pain might be fairly low, but on extremely bad days, I’m not getting out of bed unless it is to crawl to the toilet! (Thankfully, there aren’t that many of these!)

Having what is known as a ‘hidden’ disability (a disability that is not immediately obvious to outside observers) is an interesting challenge when working as a minister.  When I had to put together my profile (think a minister’s version of a CV), I had an interesting ethical and theological dilemma. Do I mention my disability on the profile? By law, no one legally has to disclose any disability, but what are the ethics of concealing, even just by omission, details that may impact upon the role? This is a question that all people with disabilities, whether visible or invisible, have to grapple with when we enter the world of work. So often, people with disabilities are subject to biases and prejudices when looking for work, even if sometimes those biases are unconscious.

But, I had not just ‘secular’ ethics to consider, but also ‘Christian’ ethics. One would be naïve to think that people in the church would not have their own, conscious or unconscious, biases against hiring a minister with a disability. So, a case could be made on the side of justice that says I shouldn’t have to disclose my disability so that I can be assessed based on the character God has given me rather than the limitations placed upon me, at least in part, by society’s unwillingness to adapt to make things more accessible.³ After all, God has a heart for all people to be a part of his kingdom and to fulfil the calling he has given them – this is for “all people – irrespective of their ability to walk, dance, write or know”.⁴ So, would it be right, for the sake of justice, to omit to mention my disability, so that people would test God’s call of me as a person, a beloved child of God, rather than me as someone with a disability?

The other side of this conundrum is God’s call for his people to be people of integrity, honesty, good character. And this is doubly so of those called to be ministers, for as James says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly”.⁵ Does this mean that to be fully trustworthy, honest and full of integrity, I should mention my disability?

[1] Ehlers-Danlos Support UK, Hypermobile EDS and hypermobility spectrum disorders, (Borehamwood: Ehlers-Danlos Support UK, 2017) <https://www.ehlers-danlos.org/what-is-eds/information-on-eds/hypermobile-eds-and-hypermobility-spectrum-disorders/> [Accessed 20 July 2022].

[2] NHS, Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes, (Crown, 2019), <https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ehlers-danlos-syndromes/> [Accessed 20 July 2022].

[3] Sarah J. Melcher, ‘Genesis and Exodus’ in The Bible and Disability: A Commentary, ed by Melcher, Sarah J., Mikeal C. Parsons and Amos Yong (Waco: Baylor, 2017), 29-56 (p.29).

[4] Naomi Graham, Love Surpassing Knowledge: More than ramps: Understanding & Implementing Accessibility (River Publishing, 2018), p.11.

[5] James 3:1, NIVUK