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Signs of Solidarity is a useful resource that will aid congregations in involving persons with auditory and optic losses in the life and mission of the church. These persons include children, women, and men who are hard of hearing, Deaf, late-deafened, or deaf-blind.

In the United States, there are about 28 million hard of hearing people, .5 million persons who are Deaf, 1.5 million late-deafened folk, and 1 million deaf-blind individuals. The latter group includes people who may be hard of hearing, late-deafened, or Deaf, and either partly-sighted or blind. A growing number of older people are developing losses of BOTH hearing and eyesight. The need for churches to broaden their outreach and serves the needs of these groups is critical. About 90 percent of church members and constituents living with any of these forms of hearing loss become church dropouts. The culprit is the not uncommon failure of churches to be "hearing-accessible." Not only are the needs of Deaf, late-deafened, hard of hearing and deaf-blind folks neglected, but also the churches and communities are deprived of the talents of these individuals.

The first edition of Signs of Solidarity was published in 1994. It was revised at the request of the National Committee on Ministries with Deaf, Late-Deafened, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind Persons. That committee and the Health and Welfare Ministries unit of the General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church, developed and published the second edition of this book. The authors are the Rev. Dr. Kathy Black, Nancy Kingsley (also its editor), Candis Shannon, the Rev. Kirk Van Gilder, and the Rev. Dr. Robert Walker.

Order "Signs of Solidarity: Ministry with Deaf, Late-Deafened, Hard of Hearing, or Deaf-Blind People" (#02088), second edition, for $7.00, plus shipping and handling, from the General Board of Global Ministries Service Center by telephone (1-800-305-9857), or by fax (1-513-761-3722), or online at http://gbgm-umc.org/e-store/detail.cfm?id=271. This new edition addresses ministry with the Deaf culture, late-deafened and hard of hearing people, and deaf-blind folk. It also includes a theological statement, a glossary of terms, suggested steps toward specific ministries, a list of resources, and a cutout survey document to guide a church or agency toward hearing accessibility. Equipment The Committee has equipment we use as we offer workshops in districts, Conferences, jurisdictions, and at seminaries and local pastors schools. When the equipment is not needed by Committee work, it is available for loan. The borrower is responsible for the care of the equipment and for the shipping charges both ways. Damages and replacement cost will be the responsibility of the borrower. See the link for application to borrow equipment.

The Mardy Walker Memorial FM Assistive Listening System is available for a month at a time to try out such a system before purchasing one. It consists of Williams Sound components (table microphones, speaker mic, neck loop and Flat-Folding Headphones with receivers) and has a traveling case and set up instructions. We have a laptop for power point presentations and a VHS projector that can be shipped at the borrower's expense. We also have a video camera for loan to take videos of ministry programs. These are available by application only.

The Assistive Listening System (ALS) was purchased in 2004 through memorial monies placed in an Advance account of the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) for the United Methodist Church. The funds honored Marjorie Gamon “Mardy” Walker (photo on the left), the spouse of the Rev. Dr. Robert L. Walker, a member of the United Methodist Committee on Ministries with Deaf, Late-deafened, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-blind People (UMCom). Mardy died on July 7, 2003 following an eight year siege of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. She was a strong supporter of UMCom's work, and accompanied her husband to its meetings, serving as his sighted guide.

Memorial gifts were supplied by relatives and friends. In addition, UMCom at its March, 2004 meeting honored the Rev. Dr. Peggy Johnson in her four-year service as the group’s first consultant, by placing a large gift in the memorial account.

At its 2004 meeting, UMCom authorized the expenditure of the Advance account for the acquisition of an Assistive Listening System, to be used in its meetings and outreach programs, and made available for lending to institutions, agencies and local churches as set forth in the Guidelines. See below for Guidelines and Applications for the ALS. The Assistive Listening System is being used and appreciated in many places. Steve Rice of Moses Lake United Methodist Church writes, "B. F. Kirby enjoys the Assistive Listening System. He said he could even hear joys and concerns that were picked up through his lapel microphone." Mr. Kirby's picture is on the left. He is wearing the ALS equipment.

In the picture on the right, Elenore Stanley and Shirley Dickerson from Ocean Park Washington enjoy use of the Mardy Walker ALS. Click Here For
ALS Guidelines and Application Resources http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/work/health/disc/deaf-ministries/ ©2007 by UMCom - Design by Pearson Web Design