" You shall love your crooked neighbour
With your crooked heart. "

- W. H. Auden

It’s a strange name, isn’t it? But my favourite poet, W.H Auden,
wrote the above lines into one of my favourite of his poems. Although
he was born in 1907, Auden was a fairly openly gay man, and ‘crooked’
was his personal way of telling it slant, or referencing his queerness
without directly using the word. For me, ‘crooked’ has an extra resonance because, in addition to being gay, I am disabled; indeed, my joints are often quite literally out of alignment. This crooked way of moving through the world can, I think, reveal both injustices and joys that are habitually papered-over. Bearing witness to these injustices and joys is, more or less, how I might define disability liberation theology.

Beyond my own experience, Auden’s words cut to the heart of what I believe we’re trying to do when we do church, and when we do justice work. No matter who we are, we are all trying to love our crooked neighbours, with our crooked hearts.

Why 'Crooked Heart'?

Services

I create customisable, half-day workshops for groups at various stages in their disability justice and inclusion journey. I offer both fully virtual and hybrid trainings.

I offer guest preaching, academic talks, and more informal talks on my research or related topics, such as disability justice and theology and my personal experiences as a queer and disabled UU.

I can review your sermons, essays, and other short writing pieces and provide clear, actionable feedback about topics relating to disability and queerness.

I can help you evaluate your existing space and event plans through the lens of accessibility and work with you to build accessibility into your events from the start. I will also recommend technical resources to further your learning.

This page is the home for my historical research into Unitarian, Universalist, and other liberal religious involvement with the eugenics movement in the early twentieth century.