wfn.org | Church of the deaf offers denomination ministry legacy

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Feb. 16, 2004	News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
7 E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org 7 ALL{059}

NOTE: Photographs and UMNS stories #058 and #060 are available with this
report at umns.umc.org.

A UMNS Report
By Mary Cahill*

Charles Waters is one of the oldest surviving members of the old Whatcoat
Black Deaf Mission. He signs his last name in American Sign Language by
placing three fingers for a "W" over his heart. Waters and his fellow
Whatcoat "alumni" have passed down a legacy of heart-felt ministry. 

Among their many bequests to the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference is
Christ UMC of the Deaf.  What does Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf
offer today? 

7	231 members and 30-plus nonmembers who attend regularly. The
congregation is 46 percent white, 52 percent African American, one percent
Hispanic and one percent non-citizens from Africa. 
7	Worship in American Sign Language for deaf people. 
7	Encouragement, training and resources to equip members for ministry
within the congregation and community. 
7	A strong discipleship program, with Bible study, church school for
all ages, United Methodist Women and United Methodist Men. 
7	A prison ministry to deaf inmates. 
7	A visitation ministry to deaf residents at a mental health
institution. 
7	Religious education at deaf schools and deaf immersion/education
experiences for hearing seminary students. 
7	Deaf mission trips to help develop needed programs and relationships
in Zimbabwe and Kenya. 
7	Camps for deaf and deaf/blind youth and adults at West River Outdoor
Ministry Center. 
7	A food bank and a low-income housing project for deaf clients. 
7	A Deaf Shalom Zone that provides collaborative, hands-on ministry and
relationships among deaf people in Baltimore and surrounding communities. 
7	"Breaking the Sound Barriers in your Church," a resource to help
hearing congregations provide translation services and other ministries to
deaf communities.
# # #
*Mary Cahill is a writer for the UMConnection, the newspaper of the
Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference. 

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org