Contributors

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Co-host

Amy Panton

Amy is the Mad and Crip Theology Press founder and Co-Editor. She is a Mad Theologian who has lived experience of mental distress and other physical disabilities. She is the co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Theology, Mental Health and Disability which publishes creative work, research articles and invited commentaries that explore the intersections between mental distress and disability. Amy also co-hosts the Mad and Crip Theology Podcast with Miriam Spies where they invite authors, artists, activists and researchers to come on and talk about their work. Amy is member of Editors Canada, and is a PhD candidate studying practical theology at Emmanuel College in Toronto. Her dissertation research is on how faith communities can learn from people with lived experience of self-injury.

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Co-host

Miriam Spies

Miriam Spies is a crip theologian whose research aims to challenge the church in how it views leadership and who it desires to fill those roles. Her life with a physical disability has led her to challenge models of inclusion and theological unity that do not leave room for people’s voices or needs. Miriam is a PhD candidate at Emmanuel College in Toronto, Canada and an ordained minister in The United Church of Canada. Her dissertation focuses on cripping functions of ministry - Word, sacrament, and pastoral care - using incarnational theologies, disability and crip studies, and autoethnography. She is the Co-Editor of The Canadian Journal of Theology, Mental Health and Disability



Guests

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Guest

Katherine Schneider

Abstract

I was born prematurely 75 years ago, given too much oxygen in the incubator where I lived for a month, and had no usable vision throughout life as a consequence. As a person blind from birth, I can testify to the truth of John Hull’s quote that "the world we know is the world projected by our bodies.” Throughout life, I’ve wrestled with God and with the people of God about what to make not only of blindness itself, but societal attitudes towards both blindness and disabilities in general. Journey with me as I chart this pilgrim’s progress and feel free to email me about how it relates to your journey of faith.

Author Biography

Katherine Schneider

Retired Clinical Psychologist

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Guest

Kay Louise Aldred

Abstract

I doubt I’m alone in the neurodivergent community in being a “seeker” of belonging, connection, meaning and purpose - which are our basic spiritual needs - and as someone who has looked to have these needs met in a variety of community settings and organisations when my family of origin and schooling left them unrealised.  This lifelong compulsion and search to fulfil these entirely natural human needs positioned me on a lifelong path of studying a Master of Arts (MA) theology, experiencing nature-based and Goddess spirituality, which I immersed myself in after leaving the Anglican Church, and training in wellness and healing modalities. All of these arenas, I’ve discovered, are forums in which safeguarding is often lacking or inadequate.

Author Biography

Kay Louise Aldred

Teacher, Post-Graduate Certificate in Education and Theologian, Master’s of Arts Theology



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