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September 2002, Page 4.
Index of articles.
In this issue:
(September 2002)
Vicar's Letter,
Babies out of wedlock,
All included,
Evening Service,
Hindu Site.
All included
The Rev'd Bob Shrine, Diocesan Chaplain Among Deaf People, is coming to St Luke's on 15th September to preach and conduct our Communion services in British Sign Language.
|
1 in 7
of the population have a significant hearing loss. That's 14 people in a congregation of 100 |
Early in 2001 it was my privilege to attend a Deanery Chapter meeting which began which a communion service in BSL, conducted by Bob. It was intended to show us what is on offer for the deaf, but it also made us focus on the words of the service in a new way, as we saw them instead of heard them. So it was only natural for me to invite Bob to St Luke’s when the chance came up.
A lot of people have hearing loss: 8.7 million! Of these a quarter of a million have profound hearing loss, when generally deafness has occurred before the age of one year, and the deaf person has never heard the spoken word properly. Common causes are Rubella, lack of oxygen at birth, severe infections in infancy, and genetic factors. 62,000 people use British Sign Language as their first language, and it is the fourth most common indigenous language in the UK.
British Sign Language (BSL) has its own grammar, structure and words, and its own community of users who have their own distinct culture. We use some few of the signs in church in our “action songs” (Makaton, which is used with people with learning disabilities, borrows some signs from BSL), and we recently had a Thanksgiving and Blessing service which was translated for the congregation by a qualified interpreter (interpreters are trained to NVQ Level 4/5).
Bob’s visit will help us all understand a bit more about deafness - Bob is deaf himself. He’ll help us consider the needs of those who have a partial hearing loss: did you know that 50% of people over the age of 70 have a hearing loss? Our loop-system is very good, but are our personal efforts to help deaf people feel at home as good as our equipment? And I hope the occasion will also open our eyes to other aspects of making our church welcoming and inclusive to all.
I strongly encourage you to make a special effort to come - you’ll find the service very special, thought-provoking and moving. Serving the whole community is part of what St Luke’s church is about.
John Hartley