| Deaf members hear the word of God with inner ear by Bill SmithSpecial to the UMConnection He ar the Word of God is the exhortation proclaimed from pulpits throughout our conference, yet for many members of our congregations, this is not an easy accomplishment. The Baltimore-Washington Conference has long been a leader in Deaf ministries. The Rev. Daniel Moylan became the first Deaf pastor in the conference more than a 100 years ago, serving Christ Church for the Deaf in Baltimore for 48 years. He was the rock on which my ministry has been based, said the Rev. Peggy Johnson, the churchs current pastor. Through his leadership and that of those who followed him, the conference has funded Deaf ministries since 1895. Included in that funding is ministry to the Deaf at annual conference. Conference organizers provide professional interpreters, real-time closed captioning and a loop system for amplifying sound. In addition, the venue for annual conference is carefully chosen to provide services for those with disabilities. At the Renaissance Hotel, the Deaf have rooms with, among other amenities, TTY phone systems and beds that double as alarm clocks by vibrating when the sleeper needs to wake up. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of every conference in The United Methodist Church. Only the Illinois Great Rivers Conference currently has accommodations for the Deaf and hard of hearing similar to those provided here. Several other conferences provided ministries to the Deaf at one time, but funding issues have prompted them to discontinue these services. Lack of consideration for the Deaf and hard of hearing in The United Methodist Church in general prompted two pieces of legislation to be passed by this annual conference on Friday, said Dan Kenyon, chairman of the conference Committee on Deaf Ministries. The first recommendation petitions the Northeast Jurisdictional Conference to provide $10,000 for the biennial meetings of the United Methodist Congress of the Deaf to enable adequate access for their meetings to further their efforts to expand ministry to the Deaf. The second recommendation petitions the 2004 General Conference to authorize $350,000 to support the ongoing work of the National Committee on Ministries with Deaf, Late-Deafened, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind People. Hearing people have many resources to connect with the Word of God, but the Deaf have so much less, Kenyon said. Outside of annual conference, the Deaf connect to their faith in three ways: they join a congregation established specifically to minister to the Deaf, such as Christ Church; they join a hearing congregation that has an active Deaf ministry; or they go it alone and try to endure by lip reading. Michael Ann Ridgeway tried all three of these methods. As a child, she was raised in a Presbyterian congregation, but she always felt left out. When she was older, she learned American Sign Language and joined Christ Church for the Deaf. Until then, I had no idea what I had been missing, Ridgeway says. She now attends Catonsville UMC, a hearing congregation that has an interpreter for one service every Sunday. The Deaf have gifts that they want to use, but they often are frustrated. Roy White was the son of a preacher, the oldest child in the family. He describes his younger self as a follower because he was the only member of his family who was hard of hearing. As he matured, he took greater control of his life. He entered Gallaudet College and became vice president, and later acting president, of the Methodist Student Movement in the Baltimore-Washington Conference. From 1992 to 2000 he was chairman of the National Committee on Deaf Ministries. Whites advice is not to rely on other agencies. The Deaf need to roll up their sleeves and help themselves, he said. Sandy Saunders is one of the Deaf liturgical dancers who participated in a worship service at annual conference. She encourages Deaf people to become more active wherever they are. My experience in the choir allows others to become aware that Deaf people can get involved in a hearing church and take leadership positions. Deaf people need the Word of God, she said. We need to encourage all hearing churches to support their own Deaf ministries and to hire interpreters. We need to encourage Deaf people to enter the clergy to teach and take up the ministry to Deaf people. Two million Deaf people know and use American Sign Language in the USA. Several of them were seated in the front rows at annual conference watching interpreters communicate the proceedings to them through graceful gestures and finger spelling. We know about them because they attract attention, said Johnson. But there are at least 28 million others who do not sign, or are hard of hearing or late-deafened and often are in denial or simply cant access the communication assistance that they need. Communication, community, and empowerment: these are the three main needs of the Deaf and hard of hearing in The United Methodist Church, Johnson said. | 
Login/Register to leave comment