Members of Lyn’s House were present at an event on Saturday March 19th showcasing the presence and work of Christian organisations and communities across Cambridge. The text of the brief presentation given by Lyn’s House on our life and work is below.
The event was organised by CamCan.
THE TEXT OF OUR PRESENTATION
Lyn’s House is a Christian community, of welcome and friendship among people with/out intellectual disabilities.
These are two groups of people who don’t often meet, or build friendships – outside families and care providers. We focus particularly on people in their 20s & 30s.
We think of ourselves in the language and spirit of ‘community’, and not service provision. This means that relationships can be based on friendship and enjoying spending time together rather than care-giving.
We’re mostly a non-residential community. But there’s a small, praying community – of recent graduates or postgraduate students – who live in a house which is also where other members of the community meet – often around a meal we prepare together.
Our life together is based on recognising that we all have gifts to offer, and that we all have things we find difficult. Both those things may be very visible, or less easy to see or let others see, in each of us. So it’s important to us that each person is welcome and valued just as they are.
This isn’t always easy, and we’re often working it out as we go. The differences between us are real, and can be difficult and painful. But life together is often full of joy and discovery and warmth and laughter. And we ground it all in trust that Jesus has already welcomed us all, and called us to be his friends and to discover more of him in each other.
We also try to point to the kind of friendship and community among people who can seem very different which, in Christ, can be possible in the church and world when real differences between us don’t make us strangers to each other.
We hope that by being here today we might make our work and life more visible, and encourage churches and other Christian groups in confidence and understanding to welcome and include people with intellectual disabilities as fellow disciples and members of the Christian community.
lynshouse.org 