Intercultural Ministries

This is an introduction to the deaf community and some common misconceptions about this unique group of people. People who are deaf, hard of hearing and deafened are telling us who they are and what they need for church life to be accessible.

Let us open ourselves to their hopes for meaningful worship experiences and for support in their own faith journeys.

Closed Captioned Videos

A directory of closed captioned videos available from the United Church.

How to Make your Meeting Accessible

Remember, communication is everyone's responsibility.

How to Make your Place of Worship Accessible

Seven steps for making your place of worship accessible.

Resources for Deaf Ministry

List of suggested resources for the deaf and the hearing impaired.

Useful Websites

Links to organizations, ministries and online resources for the deaf and hearing impaired.

Work Group on Deaf Ministries

The Work Group on Deaf Ministries (WGDM) consists of various representatives of the ministries, both hearing and deaf, that bring a variety of perspectives to the workshop.

Communication Tips

• You need to know each individual's preferred method of communication.
• Make sure you have the attention of the deaf person before speaking. Use facial expressions and natural mouth movement. If speaking with someone who can read lips, speak slowly and clearly without raising your voice.
• Do not place your hands in front of your face or lips when talking.

If the person is deaf:

• Use paper and pen to write simple messages or use sign language even if you only know a little.
• During social gatherings, introduce deaf members to your friends with the aid of a sign language interpreter.
• Do not refer to them as deaf and dumb or as deaf-mute or hearing impaired.

Accessibility

Your church may have members with different levels of hearing loss. Take the opportunity to find out what they require and make their church home accessible. Full accessibility is not easy, but we have many options to make our congregations accessible depending on the needs of our members.

Some useful ideas:

• Use an overhead projector or flip chart for songs (seniors in the congregation will also appreciate this support!)
• Use a FM system for deafened and hard of hearing members.
• Provide skilled sign language interpreters and keep the front pews available for participants to see the interpreter better; the interpreter should also be clearly lit.
• Learn sign language and set up sign language classes for your members of church.
• Provide a Bible of the Deaf available on videotape.
• Offering note taking using a laptop computer and overhead projector.
• Have sermons printed and available for deaf members to read.
• Look for other deaf church groups in your community to share resources.
• Offer a separate deaf worship service.
• Educate your congregation about deaf/hard of hearing/deafened experiences by inviting a deaf or hard of hearing minister to your church or council.
• Support deaf members to go bible camp or conferences i.e. Deaf Women for Christ.
• Allow deaf members to participate in the music of the church in whatever way they feel comfortable.

Helpful Definitions

Deaf

Deaf describes an individual with a severe to profound hearing loss, with little or residual hearing. Some deaf people use sign language to communicate and consider English as their second language. Others use speech to communicate, having learned to use their residual hearing and hearing aids, technical devices or cochlear implants, and lip-reading or speech-reading.

Deafened

A deafened individual who grew up being able to hear and suddenly, or gradually, experienced a profound loss of hearing. Late-deafened adults usually cannot understand speech without visual clues such as print interpretation (i.e. note taking) speech-reading or sign language.

Hard of Hearing

Hard of hearing individuals use their residual hearing and speech to communicate. Many hard of hearing people can understand some sounds with or without a hearing aid. Generally, these individuals supplement their residual hearing with speech-reading, hearing aids and technical devices.