Anna Katherine Shurley points the Church toward postures and practices that enable people with developmental disabilities to flourish in caring communities, and she invites these communities to flourish as well because everyone belongs.
~Erik Carter, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Special Education, Vanderbilt University
Pastoral Care and Intellectual Disability advocates for typical relationships with persons with intellectual disabilities. The person-focused approach to these mutually beneficial relationships, particularly between pastors and persons with disabilities, makes the book unique and radically countercultural. May this work contribute to these relationships becoming much more common.
~Jeff McNair, Professor of Education and Director of the M.A. in Disability Studies, California Baptist University
Proclaiming that ‘all Christians are called to give care to and receive care from one another as a reflection of who they are as the Body of Christ,’ Anna Katherine Shurley summons people with and without intellectual disability to faithful discipleship and mutual care. Within the theological commitment that the triune God alone calls and enables obedience, regardless of human capacity, Shurley offers an experience-borne vision of person-centered support and ‘pastoral friendship’ in which disciples with disability and disciples without disability explore together what it means to be loved and called by God. Anyone seeking to welcome people with and without disabilities into Christian life together would benefit from reading this wise, joyful, and practical book.
~Warren Kinghorn, Associate Research Professor of Psychiatry and Pastoral and Moral Theology, Duke University Medical Center and Duke Divinity School
In Pastoral Care and Intellectual Disability, Shurley invites ministers and pastoral theologians to participate in the ‘dream work and soul work’ of imagining a prophetic and creative church: a church in which disabled people are supported and encouraged in their calls to ministry. Shurley offers a hopeful vision of mutual care as sacred practice and an incisive critique of how models of care that move in only one direction can deny the dreams and desires of people with intellectual disabilities. Pastoral Care and Intellectual Disability is a valuable addition to conversations about pastoral imagination and the arts of relationships that contribute to human flourishing.
~Rebecca F. Spurrier, Associate Dean for Worship Life and Assistant Professor of Worship, Columbia Theological Seminary
This book is a good introductory text for pastoral caregivers and could be an entry into larger discussions regarding disability and care. Her person-centered approach is a simple, cogent framework and would be useful for any kind of caregiving. Shurley is well-grounded in her theological principles and committed to the empowerment and flourishing of individuals with intellectual disabilities.
~Sonia Waters, Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology
The work is without a doubt thought-provoking, and much common ground is apparent between scholars and activists who talk about ableism and oppression and people of faith who talk about valuing individuals, community and inclusion.
~Nicola Martin, Disability and Society
...it is an inspiration for all professionals who are engaging in a religious or theological context to see disability, intelligence, and the human being as such in a different light.
~Annette Haußmann, Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling
...this book would be especially beneficial for those who are directly involved in the pastoral care of people with disabilities in a faith setting, particularly those who share Shurley’s confessional perspective, and might inspire new models of care.
~Wen-Pin Leow, Journal of Disability and Religion
