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AP Wire | 08/17/2006 | Wisconsin Weekend Package
The Rev. William Dietzler is not a stand-at-the-pulpit kind of guy. The pastor of the St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church often roams around the sanctuary as he delivers the homily to his parishioners on Sunday mornings.
All eyes are upon Father Bill as he makes his way around the room - all except those of the deaf and hearing-impaired parishioners in the front pews. Their eyes are on Sue Kelley, the sign-language interpreter who takes Dietzler's spoken words and turns them into visual signals so that the deaf community can understand them.
Kelley, who is also a member of the St. Paul congregation, has worked as a sign language interpreter with schools and other organizations for 12 years. She began interpreting Sunday mass at St. Paul about five years ago and the half-a-dozen families who make up the deaf community within the congregation are very grateful for her presence (the 10:30 a.m. Mass is the only one she interprets).
"It allows us to actually be a part of the Mass," said Margaret Calteaux, who has been attending services at St. Paul for almost two years.
Rather than trying to read the pastor's lips, the deaf can follow everything that is said during the mass by watching Kelley's hands. Along with the sermon, she uses sign language to interpret all the readings, prayers and announcements - even the hymns that are sung.
Kelley's skillful hands and expressive face make what can be a difficult task seem easy. Armed with a music stand full of notes and a good understanding of the liturgy, she serves as a conduit between everyone who speaks or sings to the congregation and those parishioners who cannot hear.
Members of the deaf community not only follow along with their eyes, but with their hands. When a hymn is sung, for instance, they can sign the music along with Kelley.
"It feels good to be able to come here and sign along with the group," said Julie Conigliaro, who has been attending services with her hearing dog, Jade, for about a year.
In addition to being able to understand the Mass, Conigliaro said she appreciates the very welcoming atmosphere she has found at St. Paul the Apostle.
"It's the people here who make you feel welcome," she said. "Even though I didn't know anyone when I first came here, I felt comfortable because people came up and talked to me - they asked me about my dog and made it easy to get to know them."
Calteaux said she also appreciates the relaxed atmosphere of the church and the way the congregation has made her feel a part of the community beyond Sunday mornings. Not long after she started attending Mass at St. Paul, some members of the congregation invited her to help with a fish fry, and Calteaux said she was glad to be able to get to know the group of people she worked with at that event.
"There is a certain awareness here, and people seem to know how to identify with the deaf community," she said.
David Silvasi said he and his family - wife Annette and sons Peter and Paul - also feel very comfortable at St. Paul. After experiencing some frustration trying to follow uninterpreted services at other churches, they found this congregation to be a better fit, he said.
"We are thrilled to be here."
One of the things that has helped create that atmosphere is the support for the sign-language interpretation services from the church's pastoral staff, said Kelley. Both Dietzler and his predecessor, the Rev. Paul Esser, have always been very supportive of the concept, she said.
Having sign-language interpretation during services is something Dietzler says is just as important as making a church wheelchair accessible.
"We need to make the liturgy accessible to as many people as we can," he said.
Not only is it good for the hearing-impaired who are already members of the congregation, but for the community at large.
"We recently had a family join the parish because of the sign-language interpretation," Dietzler said.
That family was the O'Leskes, who live in Caledonia and had been traveling to Milwaukee to attend interpreted Masses at St. Matthias Parish.
"I was very excited to learn about this church," said Jill O'Leske. "Instead of having to make a 45- to 50-minute drive, now we only have to travel about 10 minutes from our house."
O'Leske said she feels the sign-language interpretation program at St. Paul will serve as a good role model for her family, in and outside of church. She is hoping it will help inspire her children to learn to sign.
"We are happy to be part of this church community," she said.
Kelley said she finds being a part of making the church community welcome to all very rewarding. Yes, she said, the job of interpreting a Mass has its challenges, such as trying to keep up with people who talk fast, or spelling out the individual letters of people's names on the prayer list.
"Interpreting music can be difficult. The lyrics are usually very flowery, so rather than interpret a song word for word, I try to convey the meaning of the song."
The satisfaction Kelley gets from being able to help others better understand the messages of the mass, however, make such challenges worth while, she said.
Because Kelley can't be at church every single Sunday, St. Paul does hire other interpreters to fill in for her when needed. Calteaux and other members of the congregation are in the process of developing a program in which they hope to work with other churches to form a team of interpreters who could provide services to a number of congregations in the area.
"Our goal is to be able to spread the word that these types of services are available," Calteaux said.
The Rev. William Dietzler is not a stand-at-the-pulpit kind of guy. The pastor of the St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church often roams around the sanctuary as he delivers the homily to his parishioners on Sunday mornings.
All eyes are upon Father Bill as he makes his way around the room - all except those of the deaf and hearing-impaired parishioners in the front pews. Their eyes are on Sue Kelley, the sign-language interpreter who takes Dietzler's spoken words and turns them into visual signals so that the deaf community can understand them.
Kelley, who is also a member of the St. Paul congregation, has worked as a sign language interpreter with schools and other organizations for 12 years. She began interpreting Sunday mass at St. Paul about five years ago and the half-a-dozen families who make up the deaf community within the congregation are very grateful for her presence (the 10:30 a.m. Mass is the only one she interprets).
"It allows us to actually be a part of the Mass," said Margaret Calteaux, who has been attending services at St. Paul for almost two years.
Rather than trying to read the pastor's lips, the deaf can follow everything that is said during the mass by watching Kelley's hands. Along with the sermon, she uses sign language to interpret all the readings, prayers and announcements - even the hymns that are sung.
Kelley's skillful hands and expressive face make what can be a difficult task seem easy. Armed with a music stand full of notes and a good understanding of the liturgy, she serves as a conduit between everyone who speaks or sings to the congregation and those parishioners who cannot hear.
Members of the deaf community not only follow along with their eyes, but with their hands. When a hymn is sung, for instance, they can sign the music along with Kelley.
"It feels good to be able to come here and sign along with the group," said Julie Conigliaro, who has been attending services with her hearing dog, Jade, for about a year.
In addition to being able to understand the Mass, Conigliaro said she appreciates the very welcoming atmosphere she has found at St. Paul the Apostle.
"It's the people here who make you feel welcome," she said. "Even though I didn't know anyone when I first came here, I felt comfortable because people came up and talked to me - they asked me about my dog and made it easy to get to know them."
Calteaux said she also appreciates the relaxed atmosphere of the church and the way the congregation has made her feel a part of the community beyond Sunday mornings. Not long after she started attending Mass at St. Paul, some members of the congregation invited her to help with a fish fry, and Calteaux said she was glad to be able to get to know the group of people she worked with at that event.
"There is a certain awareness here, and people seem to know how to identify with the deaf community," she said.
David Silvasi said he and his family - wife Annette and sons Peter and Paul - also feel very comfortable at St. Paul. After experiencing some frustration trying to follow uninterpreted services at other churches, they found this congregation to be a better fit, he said.
"We are thrilled to be here."
One of the things that has helped create that atmosphere is the support for the sign-language interpretation services from the church's pastoral staff, said Kelley. Both Dietzler and his predecessor, the Rev. Paul Esser, have always been very supportive of the concept, she said.
Having sign-language interpretation during services is something Dietzler says is just as important as making a church wheelchair accessible.
"We need to make the liturgy accessible to as many people as we can," he said.
Not only is it good for the hearing-impaired who are already members of the congregation, but for the community at large.
"We recently had a family join the parish because of the sign-language interpretation," Dietzler said.
That family was the O'Leskes, who live in Caledonia and had been traveling to Milwaukee to attend interpreted Masses at St. Matthias Parish.
"I was very excited to learn about this church," said Jill O'Leske. "Instead of having to make a 45- to 50-minute drive, now we only have to travel about 10 minutes from our house."
O'Leske said she feels the sign-language interpretation program at St. Paul will serve as a good role model for her family, in and outside of church. She is hoping it will help inspire her children to learn to sign.
"We are happy to be part of this church community," she said.
Kelley said she finds being a part of making the church community welcome to all very rewarding. Yes, she said, the job of interpreting a Mass has its challenges, such as trying to keep up with people who talk fast, or spelling out the individual letters of people's names on the prayer list.
"Interpreting music can be difficult. The lyrics are usually very flowery, so rather than interpret a song word for word, I try to convey the meaning of the song."
The satisfaction Kelley gets from being able to help others better understand the messages of the mass, however, make such challenges worth while, she said.
Because Kelley can't be at church every single Sunday, St. Paul does hire other interpreters to fill in for her when needed. Calteaux and other members of the congregation are in the process of developing a program in which they hope to work with other churches to form a team of interpreters who could provide services to a number of congregations in the area.
"Our goal is to be able to spread the word that these types of services are available," Calteaux said.
