Attending Church as a Deaf Person

I have 2 brothers and 5 sisters. Three of us Deaf. We all grew up in a Christian family. All of us were involved in the church in some way or another. My father was a Sunday School teacher and still is. My mother is involved with the ladies group and "Ugly Quilting" club. My parents are deacons. Today, with the exception of my oldest sister, all of my brothers and sisters and their families remain active in different churches where they live.

Being active in church was always something I did growing up and continues today. I grew up in the Church of the Brethren faith (and the majority of my family still is active at that same church in Akron PA) but since moving to MI, my husband and I have been members of Baptist Churches.

How did that happen? When we moved to MI from PA, we naturally looked first for a Church of the Brethren as that is what we knew. There were no Church of the Brethrens in the area we lived. One day while driving around, we passed New Baltimore Baptist Church and I saw on the sign that it had interpreted services. At this time my husband and I only knew a few signs... not really enough to communicate. We had 3 children by that time. We decided we would stop by the next Sunday and see how it goes. The first Sunday we didn't know which side the Deaf sat and didn't ask. As it happened, we sat on the wrong side but I kept my eyes on the interpreter the whole service. While I didn't know a lot of sign at that time and it was hard to lip read from a distance, it was the first service where I understood the majority of what was being said. After church, we did go over and introduce ourselves. That is how we met the interpreter, Kim.

Kim was one of our first ASL teacher. We took a basic class with her. However, I was the only deaf person in that church who attended regularly so I really still had no other deaf person to practice with. I was still using my voice and depending on my husband and Kim to "hear" me instead of "reading" my signs. I was very insecure with signing and afraid of making mistakes. My finger spelling skills were awful (and that still remains my weak spot).

Eventually we moved again this time an hour north to Flint. There was a Church of the Brethren in the Flint area. But, they did not have a Deaf ministry and now that I had my first exposure of being involved with a church with a Deaf ministry and fully understanding a service, I wanted to continue that. Before we moved, Kim told us about a a Deaf Church in this area. This was also a Southern Baptist church. We decided to check that out. I had contacted the pastor and he told us about a "Fun Day" activity they were having and for us to come by then and we would talk.

"Talk" is something we didn't do much of when we first met. I was overwhelmed and felt completely inadequate with my signing limits. I could barely understand their signs and again... mostly depended on lip reading and body language. We did meet the pastor of the Deaf Church.. Pastor Del Granger. He had just recently broken his leg in a construction related accident and was in a wheelchair. He was warm and approachable. He did make us feel welcomed. He gave us a tour of the church. The Deaf church rented space at a hearing church, Eastgate Baptist Church. I don't think we stayed 15 mins. I wasn't sure if I was ready for this. This seems like a big leap for me. I thought I was comfortable being in the hearing world but if I attended this church, it would be a whole new direction into the deaf world. Was I ready for that??? Did I want to be involved with a whole new culture? Was this where the Lord was leading me? I had always been active in whatever church we attended. Would I find a "place" to serve in a Deaf church when I could barely speak their language? At this time I still viewed myself as a hearing person with a hearing problem. I did not consider myself deaf at all.

My husband and I were not completely comfortable and decided to keep looking for a church. We did check out another church near our home that had a Deaf ministry but something was drawing us back to the first church we attended. My husband was completely supportive about me finding a church where I could be comfortable. My first thought was not about me but that my children be comfortable and want to attend church. It would be nice if we could find a church that served all of our needs.

One Sunday, we decided to go back to Eastgate Baptist Church and attended the morning service so our 3 children could attend the Sunday School class. My husband and I attended the adult class and my husband interpreted the class for me. That was his first experience interpreting. We were both learning at the same time. Eastgate also had interpreted service so I was able to follow them.

The Deaf Church, Lighthouse Chapel of the Deaf had their church services in the same building on Sunday afternoons. One Sunday I decided to attend their worship service. My husband stayed home with the kids (as there was no childcare). I was very nervous but with lipreading and picking out words here and there, I was able to understand the pastor's signing. It was my first exposure to a fully Deaf service all in ASL. I was hooked. Very gradually and over time, my comprehension skills improved and now 9 years later, I can say I am fluent in ASL. I have no problems for the most part understanding another signer (unless they are really sloppy, incomplete or extremely fast). I am also able to sign pretty good myself. I still make LOTS of mistakes. I am still learning correct signs and I still get clumsy and my mind works faster than my hands can keep up. Finger spelling remains my weak point. I will never be considered a native signer. ASL was not my first language. I still have problems remembering to "turn off my voice" and many times I still allow the hearing signer the benefit of "hearing" me instead of being forced to "read" my signs.

I have been attending Lighthouse Chapel of the Deaf for 9 years now. The church is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The Lord did have a place for me to serve at this church and I am now the secretary. I am involved in all the activities we do. You can can check out the web site at http://www.lifewaylink.com/lighthousechapelofthedeaf

Just because a person is Deaf doesn't mean he/she doesn't have a place in the church. Most churches have many areas Deaf people can serve. I worked in the nursery for years when my children were younger. I also helped as an assistant Sunday School teacher to children. If you are Deaf, go find a church with a Deaf ministry or a Deaf Church at a Bible believing church in your area. Get involved. Grow close to the Lord. In a future blog, I will discuss my relationship with the Lord. It is because of Him that I am where I am and that it doesn't matter if I was deaf or hearing. He used me to serve and He can use you too! God Bless you!