What would you think if....

LDNanna

LDNanna

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I just left church. We have a small Deaf section. We sit off to the side of the church. Our interpretor sits where she can see a monitor and since she is very hoh, beside a speaker.

I have often wondered why we have our own "section" rather than the 'terp sitting near the preacher. Today he told us (our small deaf group) that it was because "the devil was using sign language as a way to distract the rest of the congregation from the sermon". (the hearing were watching the terp)

I am much too shocked to think. Please would you give me your off - the - cuff opinion on this?

All members are welcomed to give opionions, regardless of hearing status. Mind you, this is the only deaf service in our town though.
 
Find a deaf church.Even if you have to drive to another town. Or start one of your own. People will donate space for endeavors of that sort.
 
:shock:....I was told once "that God didn't make me deaf...the Devil did"....as for your Pastor saying something like this, it needs to be addressed to him "personally"...Unbelievable he would say something like this.
 
Dress up in Devil outfits and mumble incoherently. You may make the news and the problem will be solved a lot quicker that way. :giggle:
 
And you guys wonder why Jehovah Witness and Mormons are on the races to have EXTREMELY fluent ASL members of their church.
 
Ummm wow!! So the preacher apparently think the devil brought deaf people and interpretors to church to distract people from his sermon.
WOW! SMH
 
Oh boy. *smh* you have to wonder what some people are thinking sometimes ... It often seems illogical!
 
The pastor seems to have forgotten- there is no theological reason for such a supposition- eg devil "creates"/responsible" for "deafness" or whatever physical happening.


Implanted A B Harmony activated Aug/07
 
The pastor seems to have forgotten- there is no theological reason for such a supposition- eg devil "creates"/responsible" for "deafness" or whatever physical happening.


Implanted A B Harmony activated Aug/07
 
That preacher is not a preacher.. He is the devil for even saying such thing!!
 
Very uneducated person, obviously.
 
Hire an exorcist to exorcise the demon from the preacher.
 
All of you have written thoughts that have gone through my mind. Well, some of them funnier and much more insightful than my meager capabilities.

I am still reeling from this hurtful comment he made. Hands were flying at our table after services! (this is where he told us)

Before this church I was watching an interpreted service online. It was nice, and so was simply reading. Yet, there was a lot to miss out on.

I did send the preacher some educational videos about deaf culture. This is the only way I communicate with him unless there is a terp present. Do you have any videos such as youtube or some such recommendations that he could watch and understand or maybe learn from? (Assuming that he will watch them) Since he does not know asl, he is English only keep this in mind.

Thanks for your feedback!
 
I would had reported the preacher to his Superiors! That is outrageous and he should not be allowed to preach until he made a public apology to you in church!
 
Beowulf said:
Dress up in Devil outfits and mumble incoherently. You may make the news and the problem will be solved a lot quicker that way. :giggle:
Click to expand...

I would get some deaf friends and have them go to church and have them all use sign language while sitting in the front row! They should be dressed as Angels. And you could say the Devil made me do this!!
 
LDNanna said:
Today he told us (our small deaf group) that it was because "the devil was using sign language as a way to distract the rest of the congregation from the sermon". (the hearing were watching the terp)
Click to expand...

Frankly, if that's what they're telling you then I recommend you find a new church, mainly because that answer is theologically appalling (seriously, he's using "the devil made me do it" as an excuse?). Not to mention it's a BS answer anyway because I doubt they would have the same misgivings if a non-English speaker was giving a special presentation and shared the platform with a spoken language interpreter.

But since this is apparently your only option then I suggest you get together with the other Deaf members and discuss your needs and desires and write them down in an organized form, then arrange a meeting with the pastor and church leaders and present your case as comprehensively as possible. Who knows, they might just listen to reason.
 
:shock: oh wow, that SUCKS
that's my spontaneous comment....

my more....patient comment is in agreement with Shel - what an un-educated response:(

I like Mountain Man's thought to see what Deaf people there think and discuss what could be done. Maybe you and some others could invite any interested people to a informal presentation on the basics of ASL/Deafness etc. Have "do-able" amount of snacks and have it be "everything you may want to know but were afraid to ask" kinda thing. I can see how that -could- work. But at same time, I understand that maybe you or some others wouldn't want to be in the position - AGAIN - of having to explain. Or some may want to just forget what that preacher said because of long history of internal hurts and feelings.
So I guess it could be a tricky thing.:hug:
 
The serious suggestions are "deafinately" worth considering. Very good plan that! I will meet with all deafies in the region the 8th of the month. We all meet at the church. (Sigh)

We will be having a dinner of beef stew, chicken pie and maybe "crow". (IF ya know what I mean).

I will arrive early since it is my turn to provide and cook dinner. That will give me the opportunity to communicate with the core members. Then, we will definately see what the others think and have ideas for us I hope. The next deaf congregation is two hours away.

Thank you all for the support and suggestions and humor. All is greatly appreciated. (Even you PFH) jk.

I thinking of it like this - what if it were persons of different race, spoken language or color the congregation was staring at?? Would they be made to sit aside?? (Just hypothetical as we are a diverse group)
 
Come to think of it, one of the churches here makes the deaf people sit in the balcony. They say that deaf people can watch the interpreter while seeing the pulput from the balcony. That doesn't really make sense.

This particular church is recruiting deaf people. I think it's because numbers are down and they use volunteers to run the deaf sunday school. Weird!
 
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