wfn.org | A call to renew support for the church's ministry with the deaf

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2000-011

A call to renew support for the church's ministry with the deaf

by J.D. Ellertson

     (ENS) Bringing together representatives from across the 
country, a seminar last fall sponsored by the accessibility task 
force of the Diocese of Southern Ohio sought to review and 
recharge the Episcopal Church's longstanding commitment to 
ministry for and among deaf persons.

     The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel of Syracuse, New York, provided a 
thorough background on the history of the deaf from 1800. "The 
Episcopal  Church was the first church in the United States to 

minister to the deaf community," she said in her keynote speech, 
adding that it was the first church to permit deaf people to run 
their own congregations, and the first church to ordain deaf 
people to the priesthood.

     "We have much to be proud of in our past," she reflected. 
"However, there hasn't been much support for such ministry to the 
deaf and hearing-impaired for the past 25 years. I hope this 
seminar is a sign that this unique type of ministry will come to 
life again in the tradition of the church and its founder."

     Nagel is president of the church's Conference of the Deaf, 
vicar of Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf in the Diocese of Central 
New York, and priest-in-charge of the Henry Winter Syle Ministry 
with the Deaf in the Diocese of Albany.

     "Less than 10 percent of deafness is hereditary," she told 
the seminar audience at the Procter Camp and Conference Center. 
"This means that hearing parents have deaf children, and deaf 
parents usually have hearing children. Pastorally this presents a 
dilemma. Currently we have between 65 and 70 congregations for 
deaf Episcopalians affiliated with the Episcopal Conference of 
the Deaf. This begs the question, how can we serve the needs of 
the deaf?"

     Nagel also called attention to the fact that the deaf don't 
easily understand the English language. "A 5-year-old hearing 
student has a spoken vocabulary of over 5,000 words. A deaf 
student has a vocabulary of three to five words.

Bilingually proficient

     "It seems clear that the church has the obligation to 
minister to the deaf community in a way that they can understand 
and accept. If we are to minister to the deaf, we must become 
bilingually proficient in both speech and signing. I might add, 
the language of signs is a legitimate language. Many schools and 
universities accept fluency in sign language as fulfilling a 
language requirement for graduation. Sign language is also the 
third most used language in the United States today," she said.

     Another speaker explained that she lost her hearing as a 
young child, but was fortunate to have a mother who was a speech 
therapist. "You'll never know how many throats of people she made 
me touch to feel the vibrations. Her caring and insistence on my 
learning is the reason why I'm able to speak today."

     One of the biggest problems for the deaf is the feeling of 
isolation, she said. How would you feel if you were cut off from 
the major sources of information--no radio, no TV, no movies--and 
totally left out of dinner-table conversations? How would this 

change your behavior? You'd become withdrawn; you'd have little 
self-esteem. You'd avoid groups of people. You'd become isolated 
from the rest of the world. This is the cycle that the church can 
help break. This is why it is important for the hearing to learn 
about the deaf and learn from the deaf.

     Nagel noted that the Episcopal Church was the first church 
to allow deaf people to run their own congregations in a signed 
service. This is the traditional and preferred model. A little 
thought will show why. Since we belong to a sacramental church, 
who would want an interpreter present at confession or at 
marriage counseling?

     The hearing community needs to be more inclusive, she said. 
If the deaf community attends a hearing church, new challenges 
arise. If deaf congregants are not part of the vestry, not asked 
to serve on the Altar Guild, not asked to usher, don't read the 
lessons or the prayers of the people, they don't really become an 
active part of the whole body of Christ.

Learn from each other

     Nagel also pointed out how we can learn from each other. 
For example, she explained, the deaf community runs its affairs in a 
different manner. In a hearing vestry meeting, something will be 
moved, seconded, discussed briefly and voted upon. Those who 
supported the losing side will swallow their disappointment and 
go on working for the good of the whole group.

     In the deaf vestry meeting, something will be moved and 
seconded. Then it will be discussed until a consensus is reached. 
There will be no losing side, everyone will be pretty much 
satisfied, and that is that. But the discussion will have gone on 
and one until everyone is content. 

     There are other differences, Nagel stated. Why should the 
deaf members of a hearing church get excited about a fund drive 
for repairing the organ, a choir concert or the hiring of a new 
organist? Often, the differences can be bridged by common sense; 
the problem is the common-sense moves are seldom made.

     The Episcopal Conference of the Deaf  (ECD) is the official 
agency of the Episcopal Church for ministry with deaf people. 
Nagel said, "We have a sign-language version of the hymnal and 
are currently producing a sign-language version of the Episcopal 
Eucharistic Lectionary. ECD also conducts workshops for lay 
leaders, lay readers and church officers. We are also responsible 
for the advocacy for the deaf within the Episcopal Church. 
Generally, ECD serves as a clearinghouse for information and 
resources on ministry with the deaf within the Episcopal Church."

     An ecumenical discussion panel made the point that at least 
90 percent of those in the deaf community are not church-going 
people. They emphasized the importance of building a one-on-one 
relationship with a deaf person; building rapport and trust.

     "It would be unfair of me not to let you know that this is 
one difficult kind of ministry," Nagel concluded, "but it is also 
one of the most rewarding."

-J.D. Ellertson, an active communicant in the Diocese of Southern 
Ohio, contributes often to Interchange, the diocesan newspaper, 
in which this article first appeared.