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http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/02/17/special_reports/religion/19_10_272_16_06.txt
When a recent Saturday evening Mass began at St. Martha Catholic Parish in Murrieta, a woman turned her back on the Very Rev. Jack Barker as he reached the altar.
It would have been downright disrespectful had it not served a purpose. The woman, Mary Ellen King, represents a small group of residents determined to help the hearing-impaired observe Sabbath by translating services into American Sign Language.
St. Martha is one of three churches in Southwest County that translates its services for the deaf. How many people it helps is unclear. The churches, which include Calvary Chapel Murrieta and Revival Christian Fellowship in Menifee, have not taken a count of how many hearing-impaired residents attend services.
In St. Martha's case, the program begun because Murrieta resident Paul Ventura knew how the deaf live in a world of solitude.
"I work at (California School for the Deaf, Riverside)," Ventura said. "I have 17 boys in the dorm. If you ask 'What did you do in the weekend,' they did nothing because nobody communicates with them. Even the parents. The kids go on Friday, come back on Sunday. What did they do? Watch TV and eat pizza.
"That's the kind of communication going on (with the deaf)."
The San Bernardino Diocese, which oversees Catholic churches in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, listed three churches that translate Mass for the deaf. Since the other two are in Riverside and Apple Valley, the demands for local deaf Catholics to observe Sabbath would be striking if not for St. Martha.
"I'd hate to have to drive back and forth that much (to get to Mass)," Ventura said. "Some have left the church because of this. I don't blame them. For me, I have a very strong faith. I'm really aggressive about this."
Ventura said translators can be arranged by calling St. Martha. Calvary Chapel and Revival have a translator stand at the side of the staging area at the 9:30 a.m. Sunday services.
Along with other illnesses, Jesus Christ is said in the book of Matthew to have healed the deaf. However, while organizations make efforts to accommodate the disabled, there's a difference between building a wheelchair ramp and learning a new language. Moreover, churches already are grappling with population increases in other non-English-speaking people.
At the Harvest Crusade last summer in Anaheim, a counselor said the deaf were drastically underserved by the Christian faith because churches do not have the resources to hire translators. Without a belief in a higher power and little communication with others, he asserted that deaf people were likely to suffer from depression or substance abuse to fill a void from isolation.
Barker and Ventura wouldn't go that far.
"I don't know where the evidence is to suggest that that is true," Barker said. "Perhaps there is some study among people who work with people who are hearing-impaired that they are undercommunicated with. I don't really think it's a defect in the religious realm, per se."
For Catholics, serving the hearing-impaired comes with unique challenges to satisfying church rituals. In 1984, Ventura, who is 65 percent deaf in his left ear, wanted a Catholic marriage for his fiancee, who was totally deaf. After making a series of calls, Ventura said he knew of only one priest in the state who could translate into American Sign Language. He eventually flew in another priest from New York to perform the ceremony.
Moreover, ASL has its own shortcuts. A deaf Christian could read along with the New Testament, for instance, but a homily ---- typically the priest's thoughts of Gospel readings ---- aren't printed. Signing Bible passages and homilies leads to truncated versions.
"We don't sign word for word," Ventura said. "We eliminate words. We don't say. 'I go to the park.' We say, 'Me go park.' ... Saying 'The Lord be with you,' it's 'Lord with you.'
"People say, 'Wow, you did a lot,' but we do a lot of shortcuts."
Ventura skips the homily. King ---- who can hear, but has a deaf relative ---- works on a one-sentence delay. Ventura is hoping that Barker will eventually provide him with a written version of the homily he can translate.
Barker said that confession is not a problem, however, even though translators are not allowed to join the priest and deaf believer.
"The deaf are able to speak and they can read lips," Barker said. "When you are one-on-one in a quiet room, it is possible to have a conversation that enables me to administer the sacrament."
Ventura and Barker said no deaf residents have asked them to be confirmed Catholic after attending an ASL-translated Mass. However, Ventura said the goal of outreach to the hearing-impaired is not church growth.
"I don't see it that way," he said. "They just don't have many people to attend to their needs. But maybe in the future. I hope they do (join the church). I hope I'll be the one to influence them."
When a recent Saturday evening Mass began at St. Martha Catholic Parish in Murrieta, a woman turned her back on the Very Rev. Jack Barker as he reached the altar.
It would have been downright disrespectful had it not served a purpose. The woman, Mary Ellen King, represents a small group of residents determined to help the hearing-impaired observe Sabbath by translating services into American Sign Language.
St. Martha is one of three churches in Southwest County that translates its services for the deaf. How many people it helps is unclear. The churches, which include Calvary Chapel Murrieta and Revival Christian Fellowship in Menifee, have not taken a count of how many hearing-impaired residents attend services.
In St. Martha's case, the program begun because Murrieta resident Paul Ventura knew how the deaf live in a world of solitude.
"I work at (California School for the Deaf, Riverside)," Ventura said. "I have 17 boys in the dorm. If you ask 'What did you do in the weekend,' they did nothing because nobody communicates with them. Even the parents. The kids go on Friday, come back on Sunday. What did they do? Watch TV and eat pizza.
"That's the kind of communication going on (with the deaf)."
The San Bernardino Diocese, which oversees Catholic churches in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, listed three churches that translate Mass for the deaf. Since the other two are in Riverside and Apple Valley, the demands for local deaf Catholics to observe Sabbath would be striking if not for St. Martha.
"I'd hate to have to drive back and forth that much (to get to Mass)," Ventura said. "Some have left the church because of this. I don't blame them. For me, I have a very strong faith. I'm really aggressive about this."
Ventura said translators can be arranged by calling St. Martha. Calvary Chapel and Revival have a translator stand at the side of the staging area at the 9:30 a.m. Sunday services.
Along with other illnesses, Jesus Christ is said in the book of Matthew to have healed the deaf. However, while organizations make efforts to accommodate the disabled, there's a difference between building a wheelchair ramp and learning a new language. Moreover, churches already are grappling with population increases in other non-English-speaking people.
At the Harvest Crusade last summer in Anaheim, a counselor said the deaf were drastically underserved by the Christian faith because churches do not have the resources to hire translators. Without a belief in a higher power and little communication with others, he asserted that deaf people were likely to suffer from depression or substance abuse to fill a void from isolation.
Barker and Ventura wouldn't go that far.
"I don't know where the evidence is to suggest that that is true," Barker said. "Perhaps there is some study among people who work with people who are hearing-impaired that they are undercommunicated with. I don't really think it's a defect in the religious realm, per se."
For Catholics, serving the hearing-impaired comes with unique challenges to satisfying church rituals. In 1984, Ventura, who is 65 percent deaf in his left ear, wanted a Catholic marriage for his fiancee, who was totally deaf. After making a series of calls, Ventura said he knew of only one priest in the state who could translate into American Sign Language. He eventually flew in another priest from New York to perform the ceremony.
Moreover, ASL has its own shortcuts. A deaf Christian could read along with the New Testament, for instance, but a homily ---- typically the priest's thoughts of Gospel readings ---- aren't printed. Signing Bible passages and homilies leads to truncated versions.
"We don't sign word for word," Ventura said. "We eliminate words. We don't say. 'I go to the park.' We say, 'Me go park.' ... Saying 'The Lord be with you,' it's 'Lord with you.'
"People say, 'Wow, you did a lot,' but we do a lot of shortcuts."
Ventura skips the homily. King ---- who can hear, but has a deaf relative ---- works on a one-sentence delay. Ventura is hoping that Barker will eventually provide him with a written version of the homily he can translate.
Barker said that confession is not a problem, however, even though translators are not allowed to join the priest and deaf believer.
"The deaf are able to speak and they can read lips," Barker said. "When you are one-on-one in a quiet room, it is possible to have a conversation that enables me to administer the sacrament."
Ventura and Barker said no deaf residents have asked them to be confirmed Catholic after attending an ASL-translated Mass. However, Ventura said the goal of outreach to the hearing-impaired is not church growth.
"I don't see it that way," he said. "They just don't have many people to attend to their needs. But maybe in the future. I hope they do (join the church). I hope I'll be the one to influence them."
