The way autistic people experience worship services is typically different from the majority, non-autistic church population. These autistic ways of experiencing worship, however, are mostly disregarded in practical and in liturgical theology. This leads not only to exclusion of autistic people from the worshiping congregation, but both the church and liturgical scholarship miss out on the opportunity to enrich its worship practices and theology through the diversity offered by autistic participants. This article presents the results of a qualitative study involving thirteen in-depth interviews with autistic people, summed up in three main themes: the experience of worship, community, and encountering God. The ensuing theological reflection on these themes argues that the indispensability of autistic worshipers to the body of Christ, and the theological evaluation of the “normalcy,” are key principles for reframing liturgical theology through the lens of autism.

The continued presence of COVID-19 has significantly disrupted most church practices, including the ability to gather in person for worship. This has greatly altered church life, and with no clear timeline established yet on if-and-when churches will be able to operate in ways similar to before, the calls for reopening churches began well in advance of any evidence of decreasing infection rates. While within this conversation are discussions to be had concerning the relationship between Church and State, as well as an acknowledgement of the privileging of economic systems over relational systems, this article responds to the lack of disability awareness within the mainstream conversation as an act of pastoral justice. A history of how the church has engaged with disability is used to provide context otherwise missing from these accounts, and a critique of their argumentation is offered.

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