We are a group of students and young people, desiring to form community through prayer, worship, shared meals, play, and service at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. We rather like each other, and we enjoy our congregation. And we like long walks on the beach.
It's important to understand that ministering to the deaf is more than just having interpreters. Just as spoken languages both define and are defined by a specific culture, the deaf have a distinctive culture and language. They are not just English speakers who cannot hear.
The word "interpreter" has signficance as well, because interpreters are not just translating--they do not do a word-for-word translation--they are interpreting meaning. Part of that is facial expressions and body language (other than the signs).
I once saw "Gianni Schicchi" done by the Theater of the Deaf. It was amazing. There was a huge array of percussion, because they could feel the vibrations and interact. Music, though, can be frustrating to some deaf people. One of my mom's friends had to quit playing records when his wife became deaf, because she could see the record spinning and could not hear it, and it was irritating to her.
In the case of PPC, we would have to rethink the way we do a lot of things in worship--which is probably a good idea anyway!
It's important to understand that ministering to the deaf is more than just having interpreters. Just as spoken languages both define and are defined by a specific culture, the deaf have a distinctive culture and language. They are not just English speakers who cannot hear.
ReplyDeleteThe word "interpreter" has signficance as well, because interpreters are not just translating--they do not do a word-for-word translation--they are interpreting meaning. Part of that is facial expressions and body language (other than the signs).
I once saw "Gianni Schicchi" done by the Theater of the Deaf. It was amazing. There was a huge array of percussion, because they could feel the vibrations and interact. Music, though, can be frustrating to some deaf people. One of my mom's friends had to quit playing records when his wife became deaf, because she could see the record spinning and could not hear it, and it was irritating to her.
In the case of PPC, we would have to rethink the way we do a lot of things in worship--which is probably a good idea anyway!