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FAITH: Congregations reach out to deaf worshippers
Last Saturday, as the worshippers arrived at St. Martha Catholic Church in Murrieta, officials were preparing an afternoon of the standard Catholic fare: lunch, confession, Mass, a message about "Encountering Christ" by one Father Shawn Carey, on loan from the Archdiocese of Boston.
But there was a twist: Nothing in the retreat would be conducted in English.
Prayers, blessings, a discussion of the season of Advent ---- all would be delivered via American Sign Language.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino's ministry to deaf parishioners is cleverly titled "Holy Hands," and Saturday marked the latest gathering for those Catholics in the Inland Empire who listen with their eyes and speak with their hands ---- the region's deaf faithful.
"Obviously, that's a community that has unique needs, and we try as hard as we can to provide liturgies and a Mass that will make their personal experience better, based on what their needs are," said diocese spokesman John Andrews.
Deafness presents a unique set of challenges to a person's experience of virtually any faith.
Most religious services include music, spoken messages, congregational sharing and call-and-response participation that becomes almost impossible without the sense of hearing.
But just because the aural benefits of church are inaccessible doesn't mean folks don't feel like worshipping: Indeed, churches throughout Southern California provide sign language interpretation, and in many cases sponsor ministries devoted to serving the deaf community.
Such ministries are found at large churches, such as the Rock in San Diego and Crosspointe Baptist in Poway; elsewhere, entire Sunday morning services are conducted in sign language. In the San Bernardino diocese, the so-called deaf ministry puts on three retreats a year, plus other smaller events.
"I think the group would probably like to do more," Andrews continued. "But the issue is, we don't have a deaf priest who is actually ministering in the diocese ---- I think we'd be able to do more if we had a deaf priest, or deaf nuns or deacons.
"I think that's the key to ministering to the deaf, having a deaf priest."
Regional focus
At 10 a.m. every Sunday in Chula Vista, Deacon Gerardo Marquez delivers God's word with his hands at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church.
He is not a priest, but he is deaf, and that makes him the man for the job.
"I preach some using sign language, and then I do the Gospel, and I'll sign that," Marquez said during a telephone interview Tuesday with the help of an interpreter.
What about prayers?
"We do it the Catholic way ---- we do it during Mass, through the priest or myself, to lead and share it with people," he said. "It's very important, and we follow the Catholic way."
Music?
"We use drums, and then there's sign language that goes along with the song," he said. "Deaf people can feel the vibrations of the drum."
The most obvious difference between hearing and deaf-oriented services, said Marquez, "is that hearing people can hear the language, the word of the Gospel. For deaf people, it's not word-for-word ---- oftentimes, when it's signed, it's changed in translation.
"What's important is that the deaf person understands the meaning of the word," he said.
Marquez also agreed with Andrews' assessment that having a deaf leader at the front of the church will improve the experience for deaf church-goers.
"With a deaf minister, the deaf person connects more with the service and the word," Marquez said, "and they feel more of a sense of community and belonging in the church when it's conducted in sign language."
Skilled hands matter
According to Deaf Community Services of San Diego, a nonprofit organization based in downtown San Diego, there are around 180,000 deaf people living in San Diego County ---- a figure that includes elderly residents who have lost their hearing due to age-related ailments.
It is unclear what percentage are church-goers, but special projects coordinator Willow Wright said visitors can pick up a catalog of the county's deaf religious services in the organization's Fourth Avenue lobby.
"There's quite a list of them, actually ---- almost four pages of churches that have interpreting services for the deaf," said Wright, who is fluent in American Sign Language.
On the list are Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses, among others. At least one church, Deaf Christian Fellowship in La Mesa, is run specifically for deaf worshippers.
"I can tell you that the songs are always a different experience ---- interpreting music," said Wright. "A lot of music tends to be really repetitive."
When the worship music starts, then, the skill of the interpreter becomes a key factor: "To watch the same signs over and over again can get boring, so that's a challenge for the interpreter ---- to interpret the same words over and over, and make it visually interesting. It has nothing to do with how it sounds ---- only what it looks like."
In San Bernardino, Andrews, the diocese spokesman, reiterated the call for a deaf priest ---- much like the father visiting from Boston who presided in Murrieta last weekend ---- or even a nun or deacon, to better serve the deaf worshippers in the Inland Empire.
But until then, he said, the mantle rests with Holy Hands, which consists of five lay members and a diocese employee, Teresa Rocha.
Even in the absence of an official Roman Catholic authority like a deacon or a nun, Andrews said Rocha's group is doing God's work: "This year, we had 12 deaf children who were able to receive their First Communion ... largely because this ministry was able to provide teaching and instruction to them," he said.
Last Saturday, as the worshippers arrived at St. Martha Catholic Church in Murrieta, officials were preparing an afternoon of the standard Catholic fare: lunch, confession, Mass, a message about "Encountering Christ" by one Father Shawn Carey, on loan from the Archdiocese of Boston.
But there was a twist: Nothing in the retreat would be conducted in English.
Prayers, blessings, a discussion of the season of Advent ---- all would be delivered via American Sign Language.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino's ministry to deaf parishioners is cleverly titled "Holy Hands," and Saturday marked the latest gathering for those Catholics in the Inland Empire who listen with their eyes and speak with their hands ---- the region's deaf faithful.
"Obviously, that's a community that has unique needs, and we try as hard as we can to provide liturgies and a Mass that will make their personal experience better, based on what their needs are," said diocese spokesman John Andrews.
Deafness presents a unique set of challenges to a person's experience of virtually any faith.
Most religious services include music, spoken messages, congregational sharing and call-and-response participation that becomes almost impossible without the sense of hearing.
But just because the aural benefits of church are inaccessible doesn't mean folks don't feel like worshipping: Indeed, churches throughout Southern California provide sign language interpretation, and in many cases sponsor ministries devoted to serving the deaf community.
Such ministries are found at large churches, such as the Rock in San Diego and Crosspointe Baptist in Poway; elsewhere, entire Sunday morning services are conducted in sign language. In the San Bernardino diocese, the so-called deaf ministry puts on three retreats a year, plus other smaller events.
"I think the group would probably like to do more," Andrews continued. "But the issue is, we don't have a deaf priest who is actually ministering in the diocese ---- I think we'd be able to do more if we had a deaf priest, or deaf nuns or deacons.
"I think that's the key to ministering to the deaf, having a deaf priest."
Regional focus
At 10 a.m. every Sunday in Chula Vista, Deacon Gerardo Marquez delivers God's word with his hands at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church.
He is not a priest, but he is deaf, and that makes him the man for the job.
"I preach some using sign language, and then I do the Gospel, and I'll sign that," Marquez said during a telephone interview Tuesday with the help of an interpreter.
What about prayers?
"We do it the Catholic way ---- we do it during Mass, through the priest or myself, to lead and share it with people," he said. "It's very important, and we follow the Catholic way."
Music?
"We use drums, and then there's sign language that goes along with the song," he said. "Deaf people can feel the vibrations of the drum."
The most obvious difference between hearing and deaf-oriented services, said Marquez, "is that hearing people can hear the language, the word of the Gospel. For deaf people, it's not word-for-word ---- oftentimes, when it's signed, it's changed in translation.
"What's important is that the deaf person understands the meaning of the word," he said.
Marquez also agreed with Andrews' assessment that having a deaf leader at the front of the church will improve the experience for deaf church-goers.
"With a deaf minister, the deaf person connects more with the service and the word," Marquez said, "and they feel more of a sense of community and belonging in the church when it's conducted in sign language."
Skilled hands matter
According to Deaf Community Services of San Diego, a nonprofit organization based in downtown San Diego, there are around 180,000 deaf people living in San Diego County ---- a figure that includes elderly residents who have lost their hearing due to age-related ailments.
It is unclear what percentage are church-goers, but special projects coordinator Willow Wright said visitors can pick up a catalog of the county's deaf religious services in the organization's Fourth Avenue lobby.
"There's quite a list of them, actually ---- almost four pages of churches that have interpreting services for the deaf," said Wright, who is fluent in American Sign Language.
On the list are Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses, among others. At least one church, Deaf Christian Fellowship in La Mesa, is run specifically for deaf worshippers.
"I can tell you that the songs are always a different experience ---- interpreting music," said Wright. "A lot of music tends to be really repetitive."
When the worship music starts, then, the skill of the interpreter becomes a key factor: "To watch the same signs over and over again can get boring, so that's a challenge for the interpreter ---- to interpret the same words over and over, and make it visually interesting. It has nothing to do with how it sounds ---- only what it looks like."
In San Bernardino, Andrews, the diocese spokesman, reiterated the call for a deaf priest ---- much like the father visiting from Boston who presided in Murrieta last weekend ---- or even a nun or deacon, to better serve the deaf worshippers in the Inland Empire.
But until then, he said, the mantle rests with Holy Hands, which consists of five lay members and a diocese employee, Teresa Rocha.
Even in the absence of an official Roman Catholic authority like a deacon or a nun, Andrews said Rocha's group is doing God's work: "This year, we had 12 deaf children who were able to receive their First Communion ... largely because this ministry was able to provide teaching and instruction to them," he said.