Church

On Sundays I go to church with Mummy and Daddy and Luca and Lily-Rose.

Sometimes Ann looks after me, and sometimes Jenny or Anna. We go in the big yellow garden and I run up and down with my shoes off, banging my book and feeling the grass beneath my feet. We throw Humpty-Dumpty up in the air over and over again.

In the sensory room Ann squashes me between the cushions and I laugh and laugh. We sing songs and switch the lights on and off. I watch the bubbles change colour as they whoosh up the bubble tube.

In the hall I see Luca and the other children listening to a story, or singing or painting. I watch them as I run up and down the hall banging my book. I copy the words that I hear, and they turn and look at me. Hello Zac! say the grown-ups. Hello Zac, I say.

In the creche I lie on the settee and drink my juice and watch the babies crawling on the floor. There are lots of books for me to bang in here.

In the Big Church I listen to the music and the singing. There are lots and lots of people and bright lights. Sometimes the lights hurt my eyes and I cry. Sometimes the ceiling looks so big and high that I think it will fall on me and I cry. But sometimes I just run up and down, and the people smile at me and say Hello Zac! Hello Zac, I say.

Sometimes I run up the spiral staircase into the sound room. I like being up in that small space, but I'm too scared to come down again because I can see through the gaps in the stairs, and Mummy has to carry me down.

Sometimes I run into the toilets and turn the taps and the lights on and off, on and off.

After church all the people go in the hall and I sit in my purple chair and have a biscuit and Daddy shares his cup of tea with me.

I like going to church, and I especially like the biscuits!


Church means many different things to different people. To Zac it means running in the Vicarage garden (the "big yellow garden" as he calls it!), playing in the sensory room, throwing the "Humpty-Dumpty" toy, turning lights on and off, and just enjoying the space and the atmosphere.

We are very grateful to go to a church (St Justus in Rochester - http://www.stjustus.org/) that is so welcoming so well-equipped for children like Zac. There are many children with special needs at the church and we have built a sensory room as a safe environment to play. There is also a youth group for teenagers with special needs and their siblings. Zac has a one-to-one "buddy" assigned to him each week to look after him, so that the rest of the family can enjoy the service.

As far as spirituality is concerned, we really don't know if Zac has any understanding of God and what it means to be a Christian and follow Jesus. But we certainly believe that God has an understanding of Zac! And we trust God every day to help Zac and to meet with him on a level that we may never understand or know, but in a way that is right for Zac.

Key:
WHITE text is me, "speaking" as Zac
GREEN text is direct quotes from Zac
GREY text is background commentary or explanation