Sabine Fries, Germany Connected in Faith Deaf Identity and Faith Academic conference for Nordic pastors, catechists and deacons in deaf ministry Tromsö, Norway, June 2013
Personal Background Deaf minister in the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) Deaf Studies lecturer at the Humboldt University, Berlin PhD Candidate (Thesis: Communication and violence: Risc factors in the lives of Deaf women)
Contents 1 Ways to Deaf Faith: Deaf witnesses of Faith 2 Deaf Identity and Faith Faith: Substance and confidence (Hebrew 11,1) Deaf Identity: Complex and uncertain Deaf Identity and Faith: Perspectives for Deaf (Youth) 3 Perspectives: Deaf Indigenous Faith Some recommendations for the future A message from the past
Ways to Deaf Faith: Deaf witnesses of Faith I Artwork by Nancy Rourke (Deaf artist) Laurent Clerc: When I was a child, my father made me pray, using gestures, every morning and evening. I knelt down, clasped my hands and moved my lips, imitating speaking people in their prayers to God. Now I know that there is a God, the creator of heaven and earth. But as a child, I adored the sky, not God. I did not pray to God, I prayed to the sky. (quoted in Lane 1988, 40)
Laurent Clerc (1785-1869) As a child: born to hearing parents who did not sign (mother: laborious pantomime ; father: a deaf son was irritating, uncomely, embarrassing ) using home signs with his brother and sisters growing up uneducated and untaught until the age of 12 years I saw not God, I saw the sky 12 years old: entering the famous Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets St. Jacques, Paris discovered the nature of language through the daily morning prayer of Our Father learned Sign Language from his (deaf) teachers (especially from Jean Massieu, who gave him his name sign) Now I know that there is a God, the creator of heaven and earth. Understanding the contents of Faith through a naturally functioning language
Ways to Deaf Faith: Deaf witnesses of Faith II BSL Daily Devotions Trust in God Sunday, 24 February 2013 http://bsldailydevotions.co.uk
BSL Daily Devotions Trust in God Bible Reading: Matthew 6:9-13 Sunday, 24 February 2013 Translation: I recall when I was in primary deaf school. I was worried about which secondary school for deaf children I would be attending after primary school. People talked about other schools and I did not know which one would be best for me. So I started praying and asking God to help me find the school that would be best for me. I read the verses in our today Bible Reading and learned how to pray. In these verses, Jesus showed His followers how they should pray. I trusted in God. I believed that God would help me find the right school. Every day I prayed and asked Him to help me. Finally God answered my prayers and showed me a school that I enjoyed attending. Successful mission programme: proclamation of Faith, religious communication and liturgy in pure BSL reaching Deaf people within the context of their/our own lives
Ways to Deaf Faith: Deaf witnesses of Faith III Christ, you love me Christ, you love me Christ, you love me Every day anew Christ, you give me love Christ, you give me joy Christ, you give me power Every day anew
Ways to Deaf Faith: Deaf witnesses of Faith III Christian Deaf Congregations Jesus people : Personal relationship to Jesus Christ Often closely connected to hearing Evangelical Free Churches Disengagement from traditional Deaf congregations within the official churches Own websites, own Bible sign dictionaries (http://www.cgg-online.de/ GebaerdenlexikonNeu/index.php) Special features: Deaf lead Lay training (Bible schools) Self-organised Bible seminars, home groups und services Self- and co-determination in the organisation of congregations Independent of hearing dominance and professionalism Personal development through collective readings of the Bible in Sign Language Close-knit community of faithful Christians
Ways to Deaf Faith: Deaf witnesses of Faith IV What does Deaf Faith mean? Interview with a Deaf Christian Deaf Congregations leader Q: Is there a connection between your Faith and your identity as a Deaf person? What does Deaf Faith mean for you?
2. Deaf Identity and Faith Faith: Substance and confidence (Hebrew 11,1) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (King James Bible) What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. (New Living Translation) Having faith, how is this at all possible? Faith means to hope for something, to be deeply convinced that it will happen. It means knowing about something, even though it cannot be proved. (Volxbibel)
2. Deaf Identity and Faith Faith: Substance and confidence (Hebrew 11,1) πίστις = FAITH confident assurance hope no doubt: evidence not to be seen
2. Deaf Identity and Faith: Deaf Identity: Complex and uncertain Deaf Identity complex, uncertain anxiety existence: to be in doubt present, to be seen
2. Deaf Identity and Faith Deaf Identity: Complex and uncertain Deaf patchwork Deaf cyborg Deaf diaspora
2. Deaf Identity and Faith: Perspectives for Deaf (Youth) 10000 German Deaf Association: Membership Deutscher Gehörlosenbund: Membership 7500 5000 0 27 years 2500 0 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 1991 bis 2005 2013 558!
2. Deaf Identity and Faith: Perspectives for Deaf (Youth) Decline of (residential) deaf schools Increasing number of cochlear implantations at an early age ==> mainstreaming, inclusion For hearing parents & families: To decide against hearing often means having to decide in favour of something one does not know (Leist 2009) Alternative enculturations (Grushkin 2003, Kusters 2006)
2. Deaf Identity and Faith Perspectives for Deaf (Youth) New experiences of belonging Virtual Deaf community Scattered in a Deaf diaspora Frequent contacts with Deaf people all over the world Interconnection in a technologically increasingly sophisticated world This change in Deaf culture leads to a change in pastoral ministry
2. Deaf Identity and Faith: Perspectives for Deaf (Youth) New experiences of pastoral ministry Be at home with Give a home to those who are looking for MSN oovoo ichat Skype facebook twitter... etc. Accept the fact of the changing Deaf community: become part of a virtual Deaf community Friendship Fellowship Faith Let them come home in a community and a visual world in which smooth communication and belonging can be experienced
3. Connected with Faith Some recommendations for the future Full appreciation of Sign Language and Deaf Culture: Deaf people must be encouraged to express proclamations of Faith, religious communication and liturgy in their indigenous languages and culture. Building a Deaf space in the Church: Making sure that Deaf culture is visible on all levels of the Church and its congregations Reaching Deaf people through services and pastoral care within the contexts of their/ our own lives Inverted inclusion: Approaching Deaf people not as a disabled group but as people who have contributions to share with the whole Christian community Staying connected with the secular Deaf world: Join events and support actions of your regional and national Deaf organisations. Be part of NADs, EUD, WFD! Engaging in Deaf theological studies: Reflecting the role of Faith and religion in Deaf communities on an academic level
3. Connected with Faith: A message from the past Artwork by Nancy Rourke (Deaf artist) It is my hope that we will all love and guard our beautiful sign language as the noblest gift God has given to Deaf people. Georg W. Veditz (1913) The preservation of Sign Language
D A N K E