Hearing impairment is no longer a reason to miss the spoken Word at worship – at least not at First Congregational Church in Dudley. Once a month, the Dudley church offers a sign language interpretation at its Sunday service.

“I am so happy that my church is able to offer this wonderful service,” says Kenny Laferriere. “As a child, I would always attend church with my grandmother because my parents were unable to hear the service. It is such a wonderful feeling to be able to attend church with my whole family and know that my parents are enjoying the service just as much as I am.”

The Rev. John White, pastor at the church, explains that several years ago, Laferriere was facing some serious health issues. His parents were profoundly deaf, so White had limited conversations with them. However, when White visited the family at the hospital, there was a sign language interpreter on duty who could help in the conversation. Through that exchange, White discovered that the parents had wanted to attend worship in the past, but the language barrier had discouraged them.

After contacting a service for the deaf, White hired a certified sign language interpreter/transliterator to interpret one worship service per month. The $100 cost is paid anonymously by two generous members of the church. “I have found that people, with or without hearing impairments, love the sign language service,” says White.

“I will often incorporate the work of Jennifer, the interpreter, into the service itself,” says White. For example, on Pentecost – a day believed to be a time when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages – White’s sermon addressed foreign languages and other methods of communication, including sign language. “We had people come forward who spoke French, Polish, German, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and English. In addition, we also included both music and signing as languages. Then everyone said ‘God loves you’ in his/her own language.” It was a great way to show that the church was made up of many different languages but was still one, he explained.

Kenny’s father Raymond believes he is blessed to be a part of a church that provides signing. “I always look forward to attending church service on these ‘special’ Sundays because I know on this day I will be able to understand what Pastor John has to say,” Raymond wrote. “I can only wish that this service was offered on more Sundays throughout the year.” Kenny’s mother, Robin agrees. “I think that the Sign Language Interpreter services that are offered can be described with one word,” she wrote. “Magnificent! I am able to enjoy church now because I can understand what is going on throughout the service. It is a wonderful thing that the church can offer to their parishioners.”

Jennifer publishes her own newsletter and includes her schedule. As a result, two or three additional visitors attend the service. “And Jennifer herself has fallen in love with the church,” says White. “She now occasionally attends our church even when she’s not interpreting.”

“We have grown so well because we are finding more ways to broaden our welcome,” says White, noting the increase in membership from 40 to 150 in less than a decade. “Whether it’s inviting people to communion, having an Open and Affirming conversation, using the New Century hymnal with its inclusive language, sending out enewsletters, or even using sign language during service: we do whatever we can to widen the welcome and have worship speak the message — in any language.”

“I am so proud to be a part of such a wonderful congregation because we chose to fund this excellent service before other very important church needs,” says Kenny.

The Massachusetts Conference has incorporated sign language into its Annual Meeting for many years. For additional information and resources, visit the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing website at www.mass.gov/mcdhh/

Part 2
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“Stigma and discrimination against persons with brain disorders are huge barriers that keep people from getting effective treatment and living a full and productive life,” said Rev. Norma Mengel, UCC Mental Illness Network representative on the UCC Disabilities Ministries Board of Directors. 0
Participating in the interdenominational Anti-Stigma Poster Campaign is one way congregations can begin to overcome these barriers for the one in every five persons who lives with these serious medical illnesses (brain disorders commonly known as mental illness).
The United Church of Christ is among the nine national faith groups that will distribute informational anti-stigma poster packets to approximately 26,000 congregations nationwide. According to the Rev. Robert Dell, Chair, and Acting Executive Director, Pathways to Promise, Ministry & Mental Illness, the packets were sent out to local UCC congregations in mid-September. October is Mental Illness Awareness month.
“The utilization of Faith Communities as an access point for information, education and treatment resources is extremely important and timely,” said Douglas M. Ronsheim, executive director of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, in a recent press release from the Religious News Service.
This project has the potential to reach 10 million people with the faith-relevant message that “light can emerge from darkness” for people with mental illnesses. Packets and subsequent materials to be ordered by local congregations will include information on the effectiveness of appropriate psychiatric treatment, how to access such treatment, how to obtain family support, and how to develop a more caring congregation for individuals and their families coping with mental illness. An attention-getting poster-based on artwork from a person with mental illness-photocopy-ready information sheets, and bulletin inserts will convey this vital information. 
Evaluation of the project will include postcard survey responses and in-depth interviews with a sample of congregations from each of the participating faith groups. The evaluation will document the extent to which local congregations are better able to refer people to appropriate treatment, develop connections with local chapters of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) and other helpful organizations, and respond in more tangibly supportive ways to individuals and families coping with mental illness.
The anti-stigma campaign was funded through an $87,900 American Psychiatric Foundation Grant awarded to Pathways to Promise. The mission of the philanthropic and educational arm of the American Psychiatric Association is to advance public understanding that mental illnesses are real and can be effectively treated.
Pathways to Promise is an interfaith resource center in St. Louis offering liturgical and educational materials, program models, and networking information to promote a caring ministry with people with mental illness and their families.  
In the United Church of Christ, the Mental Illness Network is in affiliation with the UCC Disabilities Ministries. 

Related Contacts:

• Mental Illness Network: www.min-ucc.org or click “All” in the ucc.org home page mission statement.
• NAMI:  www.nami.org 
• Pathways to Promise: www.Pathways2Promise.org

Reading the Signs column

An S.O.S. in church for walkers resulted in eight volunteers and a parcel of mutuality.
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