Tweets by Dave & Rebecca. Online community sharing faith, theology, disability, life on the margins & exile. A critical friend & prophetic voice. Own opinions.
Stepped off a kerb in front of an electric car today whilst using my white cane, absolutely did not hear it, no one got hurt but both driver and I got a fright, he got out of the car screaming at me "are you f&^%$£@ blind or what"? Had to tell him that yes actually I am
Ok just had my first bit of abuse from total stranger on garage forecourt about how Boris is going to deal with "all you f.....g disabled scroungers"! Just setting off on 400 mile journey to bury sister in law in morning, didn't need this
Mrs Dave here, if anything David's condition is worse this morning, we have spoken to 111, I myself am a nurse of some 40yrs experience, we are taking him back to the hospital to be assessed. Prayers much appreciated, I am worried.
Dave is in hospital overnight to control the infection & glucose levels. Please remember he is also in heart failure & has been fighting other long term health issues for around 4yrs now, he is physically & emotionally exhausted. He won't like me saying this but I'm worried
Stopped rather aggressively in the street today by an overly persistent "so called" Christian who played hands on me and started praying that my blindness be cured, without any request from me and much to my discomfort. This is abuse. They were told quite strongly where to go!
Mrs Dave here, back from visiting the old man. He has had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic he was on & they are concerned as he was already allergic to penicillin & two of the other major antibiotics. He thanks you all for the love & prayers. I will update you tomorrow
Getting out of car at Asda in a disabled bay, with my blue badge. Berated by woman who's exact words were "what the fuck does a blind bloke need a blue badge for that's not a proper fucking disability? Are you just too fucking lazy to walk to the shops? We need Farage up here"!
So we go outside at 8, a little girl from next street lays paper on my garden wall, she had asked her mum how
@jarvisguidedog
daad would see the rainbow pictures so they had someone print out the rainbow colours for me in braille. I've got something in my eye
Mrs Dave again, it looks like David will have to spend the next few days in hospital untill we get things under control. I should know more this afternoon and will keep you posted. Meanwhile thank you for all the prayers, they mean such a lot to us both.
On this day 61 yrs ago I was born weighing less than a bag of sugar. After 4 operations and 26 maths in hospital I finally went home, my mum being told to just love me and to feel lucky if I saw my early teens. Pardon me if I feel a little pleased with myself tonight.
Just to let everyone know
@jarvisguidedog
is staying, I am not going to say more than that as I don't want to antagonise anyone from the charity. Surfice to say all your prayers and signatures are much appreciated.
Is there a Tory MP that claims to be a Christian who would be brave enough to come on to Twitter to defend your policies using the gospel and be prepared to face the scrutiny and questioning of our followers?
I remember the comedian Dave Allen used to end his show with the word "goodnight and may your god go with you" and my parents (strict Roman Catholics) used to take great offence at this, I now think of it as very inclusive language.
Good afternoon Twitterers, Dave here, sitting with Mrs. Dave who is here visiting me and taking dictation. Thanks for all the love and prayers, looks like i have a few more days here first so please keep them coming. I miss you all.
Dave here very briefly. Lat night whilst cleaning my teeth I blacked out and fell through the shower cubicle. I've opened np my operation wound and got several minor cuts and bruises, am back at the hospital this morning to see if they can work out what's wrong, prayers please.
Dear
@synod
. When you discus safeguarding, disabled people will be watching. When people force hands on us in prayer without permission, it's abuse, when they say our disability is because of our sin, it's abuse, when they say we aren't praying hard enough for cure, it's abuse
Hi everyone, Denise (Mrs Dave) here. We are having a mini case conference later and my employer has. agreed to give me time off to look after David if he is allowed home. Personally I just want him home, hospital just winds him up. So please pray.
The house is too quiet without him, no one swearing at the radio, no one rumaging through my kitchen cupboards in search of cake, no Warren Zevon belting out from his office, I should be enjoying the quiet but I just want the annoying old sod nback home, at least he is my old sod
On July 5th 41 years ago Mrs Dave and I walked along the cliffs at Souter Lighthouse on the night of her 19th birthday and I asked her to marry me. Tonight on her 60th birthday we have jut been for that same walk and it feels as good as it ever did.
Keep seeing posts that say "when our church reopens". Here's the thing when we can't get up the stairs, read the literature, hear the speaker, understand the liturgies etc, they never were "our churches". So when you back to "your churches" will you remember us?
Hi everyone, just a short message from Denise to let you know David is resting, his stats are poor but not quite poor enough to send him back to hospital, He is behaving himself butI don't think he is well enough for Twitter duty just yet. He thanks you for all your love.
Dave here, forgive me for not wanting to go in to too much detail but I have serious health issues which are not going away and I'd really appreciate your prayers over the coming weeks.
Tomorrow is a big day, I have a very important Zoom meeting with a senior church figure, a chance to speak truth to power. Please pray for that meeting, that I will have the courage to say what needs saying, that He will guide my words and they have ears to hear. Please pray.
Dave here very much in need of your prayers tonight, I am back in hospital in Newcastle but should be ok,
@jarvisguidedog
is spending the night at the vets and it is very much touch and go and poor Mrs Dave is home alone worried sick about both of us.
Got very aggressive email from a clergy person raging that I was trying to build church which he thought I wasn’t qualified to do, this set me thinking. I never set out to build a church, I set out to give a welcome, its worked because all of you welcomed me.
Dave again, I don't want to jinx anything or speak too soon but today I have heard there is just the slightest glimmer of hope of a new guide dog. Please can you pray like mad about it this week as there'll be a meeting next Friday
I've just been back in touch with the hospital, David is till asleep so we aren't going to wake him, his oxygen & glucose levels are way too low still. and the ratttle in his lungs is still strong. please join me for night prayer for him
Dave, just come off phone to a friend who lost his guide dog today, he's in great distress not helped by family member who told him to get over himself as it was just a dog. These dogs are free thinking sentient beings that work for us out of love. Pray for Phil & his dog Sam
Please pray for the entire D&J team tonight, I think each of the three of us has quite a bit of our own stuff going on right now and it is taking it's toll as individuals and on our work together. Pray for us please.
Dave here. Say it very quietly, whisper it in your prayers but there is just a chance I may get home from hospital today. Just waiting for latest blood tests to come back.
#synod
To all at synod and our other followers, on a lighter note, I have just heard from
@guidedogs
and my application for a new dog is progressing, I could not be happier or more excited, please continue to pray for this.
Dave here, I've had another email this evening accusing me of being too political on Twitter but I will not apologise for speaking out when I see already vulnerable people plunged in to greater poverty, that is not the Jesus I follow, if you don't like it jog on.
Dave here, I trained for priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church back in the 80s. Six weeks before I was due to be ordained I blew the whistle on the abuse activity of two priests in my order & was kicked out for my trouble & a campaign was run to discredit me. This week is hard.
Had a message from someone saying my tweets of late are getting too political. The Ordinary Office is all about vulnerable people, when they are under attack I feel it my duty to speak out, if you are not comfortable with that then maybe this is not the place for you
Mrs Dave here, I have ordered him back to bed and will be limiting his Twitter time, he is not resting enough or making sufficient progress. If you see hm on here too much please tell him off.
Pretty insulting message about the typos in my tweets again this morning. I'm blind! I can't see what predictive text does to my messages or what I may have miss keyed. The fact that you get worked up about it says more about you than me. Grow up! Happy Christmas!
Mrs Dave here, David has had meetings today with the diasbetic. and corinary care teams, he has had furhter chest x rays and changes to his drug regime. Tomorrow he will be seen by his eye consultant and a visual impairment social worker, we are looking a t a whole new care plan
Denise here, do you want the good news or bad? Good news is I may be able to bring David home later today. The bad news is as a senior nurse of over 40yrs experience, as well as his wife I'm apalled at the way he has just been spoken to at his case conference. Writing to PALS
Dave again, Mrs Dave and I are heading up to our beloved Northumberland for a day or two while I recover a little, a bit of time on Holy Island with old pals and a visit to my favourite church at Old Bewick
Dave here, thanks for all the prater, love & support, I am home now but will be keeping a low profile till I feel a bit stronger. Don't forgwt to say theb office.
Just been told by
@guidedogs
that I do not meet their criteria for a new dog, I have tried desperately hard to do just that but their answer is no,there is an appeals process but I don't know that I have enough fight in me right now. Feeling deeply sad and hurt right now
I got hit by a car today, I was on the pavement using my white cane, wearing my dark glasses when an electric car that I did not hear backed in to me of their drive. The woman got out and then screamed at me that I should "f&^%(
@g
watch where I was going.
Dave here, I've just received a vile email about my Tweet yesterday on the bishops statement on marriage. Let me be clear I'm speaking for me only but I can not argue for equality for disabled people if I do not argue for equality for everyone. Hate mail will not change my mind.
I am a straight heterosexual 63 yr old married male blind man, I have experienced much hate & abuse because of my disability from withjin the church, I stand with all disabled, LGBTQ and BAME people, we all share the same sense of hurt, misjudgment & abuse from fellow Christians
Afternoon all, Dave here, for the first time in almost 6 weeks I have done a half hour of work responding to emails etc, I'm knackered now and doinbg as I'm told and going off to rest but hey from where I have been, even that is progress.
Here's a thing, whilst having to return to hospital yesterday afternoon I got a bit of abuse from someone for being too close at less than the 2 meters, I was the one with the dark glasses and white cane, maybe that is the clue and you need to be the one that keeps the distance
I won't be repeating this so please take notice, I believe churches should be closed, I am not up for discussing it any further and will block those who persistently argue and here is why.
So the bag is packed with new PJs and soap bag etc and I am off to hospital first thing. I know it is only a few days but I shall miss you all, this little community has become my family.
Dave here just having a moment before I turn in. I just wanted to tell you all that the last couple of month have been amongs the worst & scariest of my 64yrs but the love of Mrs Dave and from all of you has carriedme through, I am in your debt, night, night.
GOOD NEWS, AN ANSWER TO LOTS OF PRAYER FROM ALL HIS FANS
@jarvisguidedog
has been granted a reprieve until September and it has now I will get a new dog when he does eventually retire all be it that I may have to wait a while. Thank you so, so much for all the prayers.Bless you
I have just come back from the GP, blood pressure is good so is pulse, glucose levels too and I have now lost 5 stone since last November. They are pleased and I am starting to feel well, they want me to rest for another couple of weeks but we are heading in the right direction.
Dave here, I'll be 60 in 9 days time, have no kids & therefor far removed from youth culture. I see lots of negative stuff on here about young people but it is them that help this blind man cross the road, give directions & defend me when people make comments, They're fab I'd say
Today a workman was in my office and he spotted my prayer pot where I place the names of people who ask for prayer, "I'm not a prayer person" he said. I left him to get on woth his work, tonight I found a list of names he left in my pot.
Mrs Dave here, I shall be visiting David soon, I shall take all your prayers and good wishes and when I get back I'll let you know how he is, I spoke to him on the phone eatlier and he had his grumpy head on. I hope he is behaving for the staff.
As a blind person much of the TV news that comes out of Ukraine is not that accessible to me. I want to say a huge thank you for the courage & skill of
@johnsweeneyroar
& his teem for their work online that has kept me so well informed and able to envision so much ,thank you John
Dave here at my desk for a little while at least, first time in almost 7 weeks, I shan't do mopre than a couple of hours at most but boy does it feel good to be back.
Good morning, Mrs Dave here. I can't be around much today due to my own work commitments but David will be seen by both the cardio & diabetic teams today and his eye consultant tomorrow, please keep him in your prayers & I will update you this evening.
Let it be very clear, Ordinary Office stands for equal marriage, it is not something we are prepared to debate or accept other points of view on, that is our stand and we won't be moving, if you wish to disagree or argue please take it elsewhere.
Let's talk disabled toilets and radar keys. If everyone else can enter the toilet of their choosing without need of a special key, should disabled people not be able to do the same?
Breaking News! I have just been informed that apparant;y I am dammed and goong to hell. However I may have to sit in the overflpw section because appartant;y the Anglican section has reached capacity.
Dave here, just gone midnight, very noisy on this ward, I spent my 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 8th and 14th birthdays in hospital, I have just turned 62 at midnight and here I am back in the same hospital. Feels a bit weird.
So it is wuth a little saness U must say that I have promised Mrs Dave that untill I'm fully recovered from this pnuumonia and we have had some time on vacation there will be no more weekly services, I need to get well and maintain that health for a sustained period.
To the person who just sent me the charming email informing me that I will be going to hell because of my support for my LGBTQ+ siblings, I've just read your bio and you are older than me so presumably you'll get there first, see you there.
Dave here, I'd be grateful for any prayers as it looks like there are new choices to be made to do with new health issues, please pray for Denise (Mrs Dave) s I actually think this is harder on her than me because she worries a lot about my health, much more than I do myself.
Lets get this straight, if as predicted Covid conditions are extended for a month it is NOT our freedom that is being restricted it is our safety that is being PROTECTED
Dave here, I know a lot of you are heartily sick of Mr Musk and are thinking of leaving X, I'm sick too but this is our community home, we rely on it, I say stay and show him he is wrong, we came here as a place of refuge, we will not be driven out.
Lost a pal today, someone I've known all my life, played in bands with, got deunk with, got in to all kinds of mischief with, worshiped with, traveled with, can't believe he won't be ringing me up to ask me to come and play guitar somewhere.
So today I have arranged a meeting with a team who can source amd train me a guide dog and I also had a further phonecall from somone at
@guidedogs
with a promise to revisit my application. One way or another I am going to have another dog.
If you are considering giving up social media for Lent please remember that many disabled people have no other connection with church other than through social media. We need to be careful we don't give the impression we are giving them up for Lent.
As church we have confused the terms cure and healing and seem to regard them as interchangeable. Thos of us in the filed of disability theology value that distinction hugely. Personally I have not been cured of my blindness but the fact I am comfortable with it is a healing
Dave here, all be it slowly and with care I feeel like I am coming back to life, maybe you will see and hear a bit more from me in the coming weeks, maybe eventually a servicebut in the meantime thank you so much for the love, care & prayers. Give mea bit more time, I'll be back
Dave here. My health continues to improve thanks to all your prayer. Mrs Dave is liftinbg some of the restrictions and allowing me to do liyyle p[ieces of work, I;m not p to doing weekly services yet but today I started on a service whoch I'll simply put out when it is ready
@jarvisguidedog
Very sad afternoon, poor old Jarvis has passed this lunchtime, a wonderful guide to me, friend to Denise and inspiration to so many, unofficial mascot to general synod. I'm so proud of the service he gave me and the love and companionship, bless you hold boy
Dave here, I have no idea who did this but can I please say a huge thank you who ever you are. I'm not going to insult you by saying it isn't about me, of course I am flattered but just imagine how this could raise the profile of what we do here, please, please get voting.
Congratulations to Dave Lucas!! You have been nominated for the Positive Role Model Award for Disability at The National Diversity Awards 2020 in association with
@itvnews
for the work you do at
@DisabilityJ
!! You can vote for Dave by visiting
#NDA20
Sitting in the car at Souter Lighthouse looking across the cliff tops where Jarvis loved to free run, thanking God for such a wonderful guide and beautiful friend. If I'd never been blind I'd never have known him, an experience I would not want to miss.