Disrupting Stories and Images of the Church is a wonderful collection of essays written by people with disabilities and/or family members and close colleagues who are totally honest about the highs and lows of their faith journeys and experiences in congregations. It is, essentially, an “invocation:” a plea and prayer to the people of God to see, accept, and include people with both their differences and similarities. They engross, illuminate, and compel both understanding and imagination, embodying the mantra of the current disability movement: “Nothing about me without me,” pointing paths toward a new us.

Bill Gaventa, M.Div., Founder and Director Emeritus: Institute on Theology and Disability, Author, consultant, speaker, and organizer

The personal stories shared in this book are prophetic voices that challenge us, as followers of Jesus, to repent from ableist practices in the church. The authors offer profound theological insights gained from lived experiences, guiding us to reimagine our life together as God's family-one in which everyone can find belonging and experience love and respect. The book also includes practical suggestions from Christian and other faith communities, showcasing what genuine belonging means.

Cynthia Tam, McMaster Divinity College

Disrupting Stories and Images of Church is a courageous and deeply compassionate work that challenges faith communities to confront failures and to reimagine church through the lens of faith-based disability justice. Grounded in lived experience and diverse voices, including reflections from various religious traditions, this volume is both a theological reckoning and a pastoral gift. It doesn't just analyze experiences of exclusion-it offers real, human pathways toward belonging. A vital resource for anyone seeking to make faith communities more just, inclusive, and loving.

Pamela McCarroll, Jane and Geoffrey Martin Chair in Practical Theology, Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto

This volume is a powerful witness to the transformative potential of disability theology. Jorgenson, MacGregor, Reynolds, and their contributing colleagues weave together qualitative research, lived experience, and interreligious perspectives to confront painful theological legacies. Centering cross-disability perspectives, they offer instead a constructive theological vision of ecclesial community, inviting readers into both theological and practical transformation. For anyone working in academic or religious contexts, this collection exemplifies the promise and necessity of engaging disabled wisdom in theological discourse.

Sarah Jean Barton, Duke University