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http://www.lrc.edu/news/Releases/2005/Aug-2/Deaf-Biblestudy.htm
They sprawl on the overstuffed leather couches in the college’s Cromer Center, catching up on each other’s news while they wait. They talk about homework, upcoming exams, an intramural softball injury and wait. Soon, the lobby door jerks open and the Rev. Andrew Weisner, campus pastor at Lenoir-Rhyne College, bolts into the room, waving and apologizing for arriving late for the weekly Bible study.
It’s not your typical Bible study, and that’s why the students love it. They can come at a time that fits their schedules, eat dinner together, debate ideas they don’t feel free to discuss in church and communicate using sign language. For this group of 10 to 12 deaf/hard of hearing students at Lenoir-Rhyne, the weekly Wednesday evening Bible study is a special time of bonding.
“Our Bible study has helped us become a family,” said Sean Kelly, a junior from Rockville, Md. “It’s a good thing,” agreed David Bird. “There are no communication barriers for us to discuss what we believe about God.”
They talked fast, fingers flying, faces animated. Bird, also a junior, and Kelly grew up together in Rockville. When it came time to choose a college, they said they wanted to find one in the South where it’s warmer and there was a good deaf program. They chose L-R. “I came for baseball, too,” Kelly said, grinning.
Being part of Weisner’s Bible study is an added benefit of their college choice. Kelly said, “This Bible study gives us power to love, forgive ourselves and others, and learn goodness from God to show others, for a better future.”
Meeting for Bible study at a Lutheran college is not unusual, but it is unusual for the study to be conducted completely in sign language. Perhaps even more unusual is having a hearing campus pastor who is so competent with signing, although you’ll never hear that from him.
The idea for the study came from the students. Parker Greene, a junior from New Albany, Ohio, had a friend in Greensboro, N.C., who attended a deaf Bible study and Parker wanted the same opportunity.
Rachel Nichol, also a junior, from Maysville, Ohio, was having difficulty working out her schedule so she could attend a Bible study. She told Pastor Andrew, as the students affectionately call him, that they needed something like this.
Weisner was more than happy to accommodate as many students as would like to attend. So, each week during the school year, these students gather to eat together, learn and share. “The hearing are welcome, and we want them to come,” Kelly said, “but they have to try to learn to sign.”
Jessie Waitt, a freshman nursing major from Powhattan, Va., said: “We’re a family. You can’t have this kind of Bible study at a big school. We learn and the hearing learn. We serve as role models for other students. We make a difference.”
The entire campus and community are accepting and open to deaf and hard of hearing students Greene said. Nichol agreed: “Here everyone is exposed to the deaf and people are willing to be with the deaf.”
The college’s deaf education program as well as its full range of support services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students made Lenoir-Rhyne the right choice for these Bible study participants.
Nichol, who grew up attending a Lutheran church for the deaf served by a deaf pastor, believes L-R gives her opportunities to do what she wants, that she “can make things happen here.” She said, “I have added to my experience here; I am better prepared for my career.”
Marquita “Kiki” Jones, Miami, Fla., is a sophomore deaf education major and reading literacy minor. She believes the size of L-R “allows you to develop one-on-one relationships with people, even the college president. I came because I didn’t want to be the only deaf person, and here there is a deaf community.”
That sense of community has developed even more, the participants agreed, thanks to the Wednesday evening Bible study.
Waitt said: “In church, we can’t debate ideas. We don’t feel free to express our opinions and feelings, but this study allows that.”
Jones added: “This Bible study would not be possible without Pastor Andrew. Pastor is the heart of this study. He drops knowledge on us and shows love. I wouldn’t have become who I am without him. He has a strong bond with all of us. This is a rich program.”
With their determination to make a difference in the world and their growing faith, “all of these students will be leaders in their church some day,” Weisner said.
They sprawl on the overstuffed leather couches in the college’s Cromer Center, catching up on each other’s news while they wait. They talk about homework, upcoming exams, an intramural softball injury and wait. Soon, the lobby door jerks open and the Rev. Andrew Weisner, campus pastor at Lenoir-Rhyne College, bolts into the room, waving and apologizing for arriving late for the weekly Bible study.
It’s not your typical Bible study, and that’s why the students love it. They can come at a time that fits their schedules, eat dinner together, debate ideas they don’t feel free to discuss in church and communicate using sign language. For this group of 10 to 12 deaf/hard of hearing students at Lenoir-Rhyne, the weekly Wednesday evening Bible study is a special time of bonding.
“Our Bible study has helped us become a family,” said Sean Kelly, a junior from Rockville, Md. “It’s a good thing,” agreed David Bird. “There are no communication barriers for us to discuss what we believe about God.”
They talked fast, fingers flying, faces animated. Bird, also a junior, and Kelly grew up together in Rockville. When it came time to choose a college, they said they wanted to find one in the South where it’s warmer and there was a good deaf program. They chose L-R. “I came for baseball, too,” Kelly said, grinning.
Being part of Weisner’s Bible study is an added benefit of their college choice. Kelly said, “This Bible study gives us power to love, forgive ourselves and others, and learn goodness from God to show others, for a better future.”
Meeting for Bible study at a Lutheran college is not unusual, but it is unusual for the study to be conducted completely in sign language. Perhaps even more unusual is having a hearing campus pastor who is so competent with signing, although you’ll never hear that from him.
The idea for the study came from the students. Parker Greene, a junior from New Albany, Ohio, had a friend in Greensboro, N.C., who attended a deaf Bible study and Parker wanted the same opportunity.
Rachel Nichol, also a junior, from Maysville, Ohio, was having difficulty working out her schedule so she could attend a Bible study. She told Pastor Andrew, as the students affectionately call him, that they needed something like this.
Weisner was more than happy to accommodate as many students as would like to attend. So, each week during the school year, these students gather to eat together, learn and share. “The hearing are welcome, and we want them to come,” Kelly said, “but they have to try to learn to sign.”
Jessie Waitt, a freshman nursing major from Powhattan, Va., said: “We’re a family. You can’t have this kind of Bible study at a big school. We learn and the hearing learn. We serve as role models for other students. We make a difference.”
The entire campus and community are accepting and open to deaf and hard of hearing students Greene said. Nichol agreed: “Here everyone is exposed to the deaf and people are willing to be with the deaf.”
The college’s deaf education program as well as its full range of support services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students made Lenoir-Rhyne the right choice for these Bible study participants.
Nichol, who grew up attending a Lutheran church for the deaf served by a deaf pastor, believes L-R gives her opportunities to do what she wants, that she “can make things happen here.” She said, “I have added to my experience here; I am better prepared for my career.”
Marquita “Kiki” Jones, Miami, Fla., is a sophomore deaf education major and reading literacy minor. She believes the size of L-R “allows you to develop one-on-one relationships with people, even the college president. I came because I didn’t want to be the only deaf person, and here there is a deaf community.”
That sense of community has developed even more, the participants agreed, thanks to the Wednesday evening Bible study.
Waitt said: “In church, we can’t debate ideas. We don’t feel free to express our opinions and feelings, but this study allows that.”
Jones added: “This Bible study would not be possible without Pastor Andrew. Pastor is the heart of this study. He drops knowledge on us and shows love. I wouldn’t have become who I am without him. He has a strong bond with all of us. This is a rich program.”
With their determination to make a difference in the world and their growing faith, “all of these students will be leaders in their church some day,” Weisner said.