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With mouths silent and hands animated in the front pew of Church of the Epiphany, a small group of churchgoers converses before a recent Sunday service. These deaf parishioners attend an interpreted service held each week at the church at 3285 Buffalo Road. The service is in partnership with Ephphatha Mission for the Deaf, which is part of a national ministry with Episcopalians who are hard of hearing. The word ephphatha means "be open," which is a fitting description for the deaf ministry, said Epiphany Rev. Nancy Stevens.
The first service for the deaf in the Diocese of Rochester was held in 1873, with the first Ephphatha mission housed at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Rochester.
Although Ephphatha has been providing religious services for the deaf community in this area for more than 100 years — the mission was previously at churches in Rochester and Henrietta — its partnership with Church of the Epiphany began in January.
Last year, Stevens contacted Ephphatha after a deaf family moved to the congregation. She was looking for a way to welcome them to the church, and Ephphatha was searching for a new leader. "I've had a heart for life's underdogs ever since I can remember, but until now haven't found a specific focus or good fit for my own intentional involvement in this regard," Stevens said.
The partnership just seemed to fit, said the Rev. Suzanne Johnston, deacon for Ephphatha. "I thought Nancy would be a great priest ... and she was also in the process of figuring out another direction her ministry was going to take, and I think that was a perfect opportunity for her," she said.
Church of the Epiphany in Gates opens its doors to the deaf | Democrat and Chronicle | democratandchronicle.com
The first service for the deaf in the Diocese of Rochester was held in 1873, with the first Ephphatha mission housed at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Rochester.
Although Ephphatha has been providing religious services for the deaf community in this area for more than 100 years — the mission was previously at churches in Rochester and Henrietta — its partnership with Church of the Epiphany began in January.
Last year, Stevens contacted Ephphatha after a deaf family moved to the congregation. She was looking for a way to welcome them to the church, and Ephphatha was searching for a new leader. "I've had a heart for life's underdogs ever since I can remember, but until now haven't found a specific focus or good fit for my own intentional involvement in this regard," Stevens said.
The partnership just seemed to fit, said the Rev. Suzanne Johnston, deacon for Ephphatha. "I thought Nancy would be a great priest ... and she was also in the process of figuring out another direction her ministry was going to take, and I think that was a perfect opportunity for her," she said.
Church of the Epiphany in Gates opens its doors to the deaf | Democrat and Chronicle | democratandchronicle.com