New Ministries

New Ministries

"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." 1 Corinthians 12: 4-7

Inclusivity

Jesus' teachings show us the better way, a way to rise up and from separation, from sin, to wholeness and unity. His is a most inclusive message.

What does inclusivity mean when a different culture, such as Deaf culture, is involved?

Rev. Dr. Robert Walker refers to the lack of full inclusion of Deaf, late-deafened, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind people in the United Methodist church as attitudinal deafness.

Attitudinal Deafness

Attitudinal deafness is what Holly Elliot spoke about in paraphrasing Matthew 25:31-46 at the United Methodist General Conference of 1992 when she asked for legislation to form a committee to survey deaf ministries .

Then the Holy One shall say to the people on the right:

"You who are blessed by my maker come and receive the birthright that has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world:

I was deaf and you provided sign language interpreters.
I was hard of hearing and you gave me listening devices ...
I was vision-impaired and you bought an enlarging copier machine...
I had no voice and you gave me a funded conference task force."

And the righteous will then respond: “Friend, when did we ever greet you in the sign language of the deaf? Or provide you with FM or infrared transmitters?… Yes, and when did we share the burden of your diminished eyesight…? And when did we support your advocacy with a task force?” The Holy One will answer them: “I tell you, indeed, whenever you did this for any of these my brothers and sisters, you did it for me.”

Rev. Dr. Walker spoke of the church’s ears becoming opened when its attitudinal deafness is healed:

In Mark’s story,3 Jesus exclaimed “Ephphatha!”—Aramaic for “be opened!” – to the man who could not hear well. Let Jesus’ command be exclaimed now to those who are spiritually deaf to God’s love that makes them whole, despite their physical hearing loss. And let “Ephphatha!” be exclaimed to the church that has not heard the way Deaf, late-deafened, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind people hear. Those who are culturally Deaf hear, with eyes and hands, their own unique American Sign Language (ASL). Deaf-blind people may hear with a tactile version of sign language or fingerspelling (signed into the palms of their hands). Oral deaf persons hear through speechreading and visual aids. Late-deafened people hear with visual aids such as captioning, and hard of hearing people hear with hearing aids, assistive listening devices, and visual aids.

The community around the deaf man in Mark’s story was itself deaf until it heard, and helped the Deaf man hear, the Good News of God’s all-inclusive love. Any church today is remiss in doing the “works of God” when it turns a deaf ear on Deaf, late-deafened, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind people.

Let it also be said that every church is “hearing” when it welcomes the healing of its own attitudinal deafness. With its ears now open, as the Deaf man’s ears were opened, that church will hear its own ministry and mission with persons who live, worship, and serve—despite their hearing loss—as gifted members of Christ’s ever-new earthly body (1 Corinthians 12:27).

For 2005-2008, the Committee will focus on New Ministries which represent more than just having sign language interpreters in worship. To invite people with hearing loss into your program requires total accessibility. One church has a Shalom Zone ministry with the Deaf, another provides transportation for people in a 50-mile radius. Another offers a Deaf version of Walk to Emmaus. To better determine the individual needs of a Church, see the Accessibility Audit.

We hope to support ministries that are serving the community of hearing loss or hearing/vision loss. We seek to help launch ministries with Deaf, late-deafened, hard of hearing and or deaf-blind people.

At our recent annual planning meeting we brainstormed ideas such as: developing videos to explain and promote various models of ministry; these videos need to be captioned and audio described. These are in the planning stages.

We are available to do workshops in districts, Conferences, seminaries, jurisdictions, or agencies where new ministries can be resourced.

To invite us to your group, contact winevah@yahoo.com, or call 281 360-4500.

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