Deaf Ministries

• Chairperson: Helen Bickle
• Secretary: Phillip Wilson

The Workgroup on Deaf Ministries (WGDM) consists of five ministries:

• United Church and Anglican Churches Ministry of the Deaf in Newfoundland and Labrador
• Atlantic (Inter-denominational) Ministry to the Deaf - Nova Scotia
• Ministry with the Deaf, St. Matthew's United Church - Belleville, Ontario
• Toronto Evangelical Church of the Deaf
• Winnipeg Church of the Deaf

The WGDM consists of various representatives of the ministries, both hearing and deaf. Members bring a variety of perspectives to the workshop from deaf worshipers, interpreters, ministers, pastoral care workers and United Church of Canada Program Staff.

Few of our goals are:

• To insist on a consistent staff person working with the WGDM.
• To ensure a deaf-directed community based training program for deaf candidates and those who wish to minister with the deaf community.
• To work with the Support to Local Ministries Unit and the Resource Production and Distribution Unit to adapt existing resources and to develop new resources appropriate for Deaf Culture.
• To raise awareness of Deaf Culture within the ministry in the United Church of Canada.

Many of us now commit ourselves to listen to the deaf community and to hard of hearing persons. While we listen, we accept that:

• We will not speak for deaf and hard of hearing persons.
• We will experience a change in status and re-defining of our role.
• We will work to stretch current church structures so that deaf and hard of hearing persons may assume their rightful roles as ministers, leaders, envisioners, etc.

Many of us who have worked in deaf ministry notice that:

• We have lacked the linguistic ability and cultural sensitivity to listen to the Deaf community.
• We have not recognized the uniqueness of Deaf culture.
• We have exerted control over deaf ministry and have imposed a 'hearing' perspective on it.
• We have perpetuated a model of deaf ministry which has had limited success in effectively proclaiming the Gospel.