The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period.
December 2001, Page 4.
Index of articles.
Worship:
index,
New books,
Creed 2,
Humble Access,
HC prayers,
Braille & Tapes,
How many cups?
In this issue:
(December 2001)
Vicar's Letter,
Money,
Braille & Tapes,
Question.
The new blue services book at St Luke's is now out in braille, and you can listen to the bible on cassette tape ...
Feel the words, hear the Word
It’s the law that we have to make our worship accessible to as many people as possible (the Disability Discrimination Act). So wheelchair users and parents with pushchairs can get into our church, people who are hard of hearing can listen in through their hearing aid via our loop-system, and the WC is spacious enough for those with mobility difficulties. We’re not perfect, but we are trying to get there.
Large print service books.
So we printed our new blue services book in large print (14pt)*:
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The Lord be with you
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The parts for the congregation are all in bold type, so most people, including children, and those who forgot their glasses, can read it.
Service books in Braille.
We have consulted with “Access to Print”, the Bradford Library’s service which puts books into Braille. The originals were on computer disk, so needed just a little editing and some thought about layout. Braille pages carry less text than the pages of our blue book, so the pages have all been renumbered. Each page contains just one or two prayers. So, for instance, the first prayer on page 9 of the sighted book is p9.1 in the Braille, and the second prayer is p9.2 etc., so it is fairly easy for a fluent reader to find his/her way round (we hope). If you know someone who is blind, please read this to them and invite them to come and try it: we would welcome feedback about whether we’ve got it right.
The bible on cassette tape.
I’m told you can get the bible in Braille, but, to be honest, it us who can see who need help: we live life on the run and God’s word gets squeezed out. So we also have “Faith Comes by Hearing” - the New Testament on cassette tapes. The idea is you can listen in those times when you’re occupied but able to hear: when driving to and from work, or doing the ironing or cleaning. There is a scheme to get us through the New Testament in 40 or 60 days, but most people will want to listen regularly at their own speed. The tapes cost from £21 plus p&p - ask me for details.
John Hartley
* Obviously we can't reproduce the exact size on your computer screen. 14pt is the recommended type-size for those who have mild visual difficulties.