The service starts at 10:45 AM, Sunday. He signs and speaks to the congregation. Tim switches the lights on and off to let them know the service is about to start.
The woman who's responsible for founding the church is Bonnie Lamm. She was 29 when she asked an aunt and uncle to organize a church for Deaf people. Bonnie was born deaf, and has attended hearing churches. Like Sassy, she has an interpreter along at the service.
Throughout the years of attending services, Bonnie started to feel uncomfortable. Perhaps the signing was an interruption for the hearing people joining the services.
As stated before in earlier articles, deafness, tends to keep people isolated. You feel like an outcast. It shouldn't feel like a hardship for someone to attend a religious service.
A few years ago, I took care of a handicapped woman named Susan Penroy. She wished to go to church services. Whenever she went to them, I noticed a certain serenity in her after she left the church. People have certain needs in their daily lives. Stress can never be totally avoided. Everyone needs to find a little time to become spiritually rejuvenated.
Why shouldn't all people hearing impaired and deaf included be able to enjoy church services. The first deaf church was founded in 1850 by a group of Episcopalians. So a church for the deaf, isn't something new under the sun.
Deaf and Hearing Impaired people need to feel a part of their community, instead they are often made to feel isolated and alone.
In my own experience, I was taught religion before I became Hearing Impaired. It enriched my life. I find peace of mind within my Jewish Heritage. To find sanctuary in your religion is a comforting experience. It should be a given.
"If our purpose in this life, is to gather knowledge, and learn love, and empathy. What is better than to spend time with people our society tends to shelter from us. It just makes for a healthier world." These words came from actor Matthew Modine. He was talking about his childhood. He went to school with handicapped children.
I feel that society, shouldn't seperate people with disabilities from the ones they consider to be the norm. In my opinion it's about time, all people be allowed to feel they belong somewhere. We need this to all live healthier lives.
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