Remarkable things seem to happen when people who are normally at the margins are at the heart of a community’s life
The community
Why the project?
Lyn’s House is unusual.
It’s a space in which people with and people without learning disabilities can experience and help build community that’s centred on mutual welcome and friendship rather than care provision
• To explore in depth how people experience Lyn’s House
• To understand better the core practices which make Lyn’s House what it is
• To share what we learn
• To resource new and existing communities
People who belong to Lyn’s House, and people who know us, often say how important it is that communities like Lyn’s House exist, and even that it has been life-changing for them. But they often struggle to say why.
This has prompted us to try to deepen our understanding of who we are.
‘Growing in Friendship’ is researching the experience, and key features, of the Lyn’s House community in order to explore, communicate and extend its impact.
As a theological action research project, ‘Growing in Friendship’ is based in Lyn’s House. Members of the community with a range of abilities are involved in the project at all stages from design to dissemination and we’re using innovative, non-traditional as well as more conventional ways of doing research.
We’re working with the Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability in Aberdeen University. Our project leader Carole Irwin is based in Cambridge and works with the Centre’s Director, Professor John Swinton.
‘Growing in Friendship’ is asking what characterises Lyn’s House in order to understand, communicate and extend its impact
The learning so far
Our initial findings suggest that people of all abilities experience Lyn’s House as a unique and contrastive space; a place of mutuality, hospitality and transformation.
Key themes are also agency, attentiveness and celebration.
Participants identify a spirituality in Lyn’s House – not always overt – which seems to give a sacred or sacramental quality to relationships within the community, and to simply spending time together for its own sake.
Next stages
What’s at the heart of Lyn’s House?
Sharing the learning – and the model
In the final research phase we will be exploring what core practices, habits and ethos underlie people’s experience of Lyn’s House.
A clearer understanding of these will help us share our learning with others in practical ways.
Identifying the core practices at the heart of Lyn’s House will help others adapt the model to their own needs and circumstances.
We plan to communicate our findings, and also use them to design resources and practical guidance
• to support founding new communities, improvising on the Lyn’s House model, and particularly in university settings
• to help churches grow in confidence as places of mutual belonging for people with and without learning disabilities
Get involved
To do all this, we need your support and involvement!
Donate
All donations will help us with our work – however large or small.
Please contact us if you’d like a conversation about making a donation.
Alternatively, you can donate via our JustGiving campaign page below.
Join our mailing list
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• updates on the work of the project
• information about practical resources for churches and other organisations, and for founding similar communities
We won’t use the mailing list to spam or hassle you!
We’re grateful for generous financial support for ‘Growing in Friendship’ from the Sir Halley Stewart Trust and the Charles Plater Trust.
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