Support for the research and writing of this book came from The Louisville Institute and the Initiative in Religious Practices and Practical Theology at Emory University. Portions of Chapters 3 and 5 appear in my article, “Disabling Eschatology: Time for the Table of Our Common Pleasure,” Liturgy 31, no. 3 (2016).
I would also like to acknowledge those whose wisdom, creativity, and accompaniment have contributed to this book. First and foremost, the people of Sacred Family Church generously shared with me their space and time, their food, their stories, and their creativity; they wove me into community and made my research not only work but also pleasure. Their beauty gives me hope and animates my commitment to work for a different church and world than the one to which I belong. This book, including its title, bears the imprint of the work of the late Nancy Eiesland and honors her remarkable book, The Disabled God, which has shaped this project and my theological imagination in myriad ways. This book also bears witness to the wisdom and generosity of excellent mentors and friends: Wendy Farley, who accompanied me and who nourishes safe and creative spaces for many women’s theological voices; Don Saliers, who shaped and inspired my great love for the art of liturgy; Joyce Flueckiger, who taught me what it means to be an ethnographer; Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, whose passion for disability studies has nurtured many interdisciplinary projects, including my own; and Andrea White, who encouraged my theological fascination with bodies and flesh. Colleagues in the Disability Studies Initiative at Emory provided me with a collaborative space to grow my ideas and analysis of Sacred Family as did colleagues in the Critical Theories and Liturgical Studies group of the North American Academy of Liturgy. Ashley Graham gave insightful feedback and helped to smooth and clarify my prose in the early stages of this work as did Ulrike Guthrie in the later stages. I am grateful for the enthusiasm and encouragement of Richard Morrison and others at Fordham University Press. Last but not least, my partner and friend Silas Allard read every single word of this manuscript multiple times and made me believe it was possible. Without his tireless encouragement and his hours of editing, this book would not be.