Written by Tony Lewis
In 1993, just before General Synod 19 in St. Louis, my partner, Donald Lawrence, and I, Tony Lewis, stayed with a Presbyterian couple. Since Donald is Deaf, they offered to take us to a Deaf church near their home. The experience was invigorating and resulted in us feeling a call to become involved in a Deaf congregation when we returned home.
We visited all the churches with a Deaf ministry in our area and found that none of them had a theology anything close to the UCC. This led us to start a house church that met in our home. We had as many as ten people come and participate in Bible study, but the number soon dwindled down until it was only another couple, both of whom are Deaf, and us. As often happens, the other couple’s life and schedule became complicated and our effort fizzled out. We were disappointed that our dream of a Deaf UCC congregation did not come to pass. At the time, we didn’t realize that God was working on a different schedule than we were.
Just before Lent this year, the couple who had come to Bible study in our home called us. Another couple, one of whom is Deaf, had moved to the area and had found their way to Eden United Church of Christ in Hayward. We agreed to try worshiping at Eden and for the first three months, I interpreted the worship services. The six of us engaged in a dialogue with the pastor and the church leaders about how the church could be supportive of the Deaf community.
On May 2, 1999, the Eden congregation voted to allocate outreach funds to pay for American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters for one year. We have contacted interpreters to establish a schedule and we now have six interpreters who sign up to insure that we have an interpreter available at every worship service. There have been a few rough edges with some “no shows” for the interpreter, which has been frustrating for the Deaf members of the congregation. We are working to resolve these problems.
On Pentecost Sunday the couple who came to Bible study in our home, Donald, and I all joined the church. The congregation has been very receptive and supportive of this new community in its midst. Many in the church have requested an opportunity to learn more about ASL and Deaf culture; we are looking into the possibility of having classes in the fall.
With a commitment to have an interpreter available every Sunday, we will be able to do outreach into the Deaf community. We’re convinced there are Deaf people in the Bay Area who are looking for a church where diverse opinions are respected. We have already had several Deaf visitors and look forward to seeing many more. I intend to continue interpreting worship on average about once a month. I consider it an active part of my ministry in the church, but it is also a pleasure to be able to sit in the congregation and simply worship. Please keep this new Deaf ministry at Eden United Church of Christ in your prayers. (Hayward UCC may be contacted at 21455 Birch Street, Hayward, CA 94541, tel: 510-582-9533.)
Editor’s note: Tony Lewis shared a particular insight in a note received separately which may be of interest to the reader. It is as follows: “This is really exciting for us. For the first time-in our relationship, Don will be able to go to church when I’m out of town (which is much too often between UCC meetings and business travel.) Also, I’ll be able to go to church without working every Sunday. While I plan to continue to interpret once a month or so, having a budget for paid interpreters will mean that I will be freed up to participate in worship in other ways. It has been years since I’ve been able to sing in the choir or be the lay leader during worship.”
From UCC DM Newsletter Archive