Strawbridge United Methodist Church in Kingwood, Texas, adds accessibility for seniors attending the 11am Traditional Service in the Chapel.
Funding from the United Methodist Committee on Ministries with Deaf, Late-deafened, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-blind People (DHM) provided a grant for the purchase of an assistive listening system to be used in this new chapel worship opportunity.
Rev. Beth Chenault of Strawbridge first borrowed the Mardy Walker Memorial ALS from the Committee, to see if it would meet the needs of persons in that new worship service. Then the grant allowed her to buy a system to place in that alternative space for worship.
Photos show individuals using the new system.
Ordination of Rev. Elke Sharma
Rev. Elke Sharma will be ordained in the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference on June 13th. Elke was first commissioned, and then went through 3 years of probation. Now she is finally ready to be ordained an Elder. This is the new way we do this in the UMC. (In the old days there was ordination as Deacon and then a second ordination to Elder � now we only ordain once. The first step is called commissioning, and it is a time to see if a person will really work out before they are ordained and guaranteed an appointment for life. Rev. Elke has been serving the Deaf Faith Community in Jacksonville, IL within the Illinois Great Rivers Conference. She was recently elected Secretary of the United Methodist Committee for Ministries with Deaf, Late-deafened, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-blind People (UMCom) (see below). She is married to Aditya Sharma, and they have a son named Ashwin. Elke's mother, Carol Carter, is an ordained UM Clergy from California Nevada Annual Conference.
The Deaf Fellowship Altar
of Lovers Lane United Methodist Church
In the Christian tradition, the symbol of an eagle with a halo represents the Gospel of John, proclaiming the high theology of Christ's love for us. It is indeed appropriate that Trevor, a Deaf young man who is serving Christ, would respond to God's grace in using his Eagle project to proclaim the love of Christ.
Bishop Robert Schnase, the Bishop of the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church wrote about the The Deaf Fellowship Altar on his blog, "Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations". Click here to read his comments.
"Deaf Missions in West Africa" is presented by Dr. Victor Vodounou of Live Ear Ministries. Victor was born in Benin, West Africa and is a naturalized citizen of the USA. He has written a book "The Incredible Journey of Victor Vodounou", which includes a story of meeting and being baptized by Andrew Foster, a famous graduate of Gallaudet University who established Deaf schools and churches in Africa. Victor will be available afterwards to sell and sign his book, which will support his on-going ministry in West Africa.
For more information about the Deaf Fellowship, please contact Rev. Tom Hudspeth at thudspeth@llumc.org
Hurricane Ike Recovery
Lovers Lane Academy for the Deaf and
Deaf Perceptions in
Santa Fe, Texas, March 16 to March 20, 2009
After the video plays there will be other videos dispayed, those are not from this Web Site.
Transcript of Donnie Gardner:
"My Name is Donnie Gardner. We had bad, terrible destruction that happened with Hurricane Ike. There was terrible floor and roof damage, also the walls. We are very happy to have a Team to came here to clean up and do some cleaning work and replace walls, roof, ceiling and everything. The environment really improved, cherished.
That Hurricane was really terrible, awful. It was, water came through the roof. You can see that the Team has cleaned (pointing to sides of house and around the house). We are very happy about that.
We are looking forward to having a safe House again. If it happens again we will be safe, we will see.
Thank you, thank you. God Bless"
Photos from Mission Trip will be available soon. See Blog for some pictures.
An Arabic Rap About Different Abilities
From the DISC Digest for Saturday, March 14, 2009:
You may not spend a lot of time watching Arabic Rap Music Videos, but I think this one, made in Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt for the UN is worth spending three minutes taking a look and may be work letting others know about.
Visit DISC on the web: http://gbgm-umc.org/disc/
Transcript of Lyrics
He comes down the stairway
To the right he turns
He knows where he's going
He knows where he is
He greets his neighbour
As if he sees him
But Shafic cannot see
Since 10 years, he wakes up in darkness
And in it, he eats and walks
Don't pity him, he knows the town
And has no need for you
Rana was playing around the house
Hide and seek, riding her bike
Shelling started, she was badly hit
Because of the war
Her leg was cut off
But she lives normally
She goes to school
She has grown up
She doesn't need your pity
Treat her like anyone else
Even in nature, it is normal for things to be alike or different
But they are much in harmony
Even in nature, it is normal for things to be alike or different
Difference is a natural thing
Difference is normal
We are all equal
The World is full of blind hearts
And eyes that can see
It is natural to be different
I wish that all my relatives love me, And I love them
We have to be open, despite our differences
I hope to realize myself
It is my right to have a chance
I hope to live normally
I refuse pity
At my school, there was a slow boy
The teacher kept shouting: 'Said doesn't understand a thing! I don't have to repeat!'
During the recess, Said stayed alone
Nowadays, he doesn't go out
Society has isolated him
It didn't allow integration
I don't know why. It must be a defect in our education
For every person born in the world of silence
In spite of this, learned to communicate, learned to read and write
And now is teaching
Don't underestimate anybody's capacity
It is normal for us not to be alike
But it is not normal that war creates such differences
They are like you and me
No question of unequal rights
Even in nature, it is normal for things to be alike or different
But they are much in harmony
Even in nature, it is normal for things to be alike or different
Difference is a natural thing
Even in nature, it is normal for things to be alike or different
But they are much in harmony
Even in nature, it is normal for things to be alike or different
Difference is a natural thing
Disabilities Ministry Symposium,
North Texas Conference
The Disabilities Ministry Symposium sponsored by the North Texas Conference is one of our grant recipients. We provided a grant to pay for Sign Language Interpreters for this event, which was held on February 21, 2009, at Custer Road United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas.
Rev. Liz Moen, the Associate Director of Connectional Ministries for the North Texas Conference, was the contact person and organizer of this event.
To see and read more click here.
Bishop Peggy A. Johnson Ash Wednesday Message - ASL
Transcript of Ash Wednesday Video
Hello. My name is Bishop Peggy Johnson. And today is Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of the church year known as Lent. And during that time we think about the life of Christ.
We think about our lives and how it is short. God calls us to repent of our sins and try to live a better life. Really the ashes are made from palm branches that were used the year before on Palm Sunday to remember Jesus� triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The ashes we used on Ash Wednesday to put on our forehead to remember that our life is short and that we are repenting of our sins.
So why is this repentance of ashes connected to the joy of Palms? Why? O really they are connected very well, because as we repent of our sins and ask God to forgive us. Then we experience the forgiveness and joy of sins put aside and new life in Christ.
So I encourage you this time of Lent to think about your life. Think about the things you need to change. Then ask Jesus to forgive you, then experience that forgiveness and more forward into victorious Christian living. Amen.
Committee's Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas
The United Methodist Committee held its first annual meeting of the new quadrennium (2009-2012) in Dallas Texas in February 2009. Outgoing President Tom Hudspeth hosted the meeting at Lovers Lane UMC in Dallas. The Cross-Heart-Hands Class commissioned the new committee as we began the work of ministry with people who are Deaf, late-deafened, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind. Our first ever youth/young adult member provided an altar for the commissioning service, one he built as an Eagle Scout project.
Three items quickly surfaced as our first priorities for the new year: leadership development to encourage deaf pastors for deaf congregations; work with children and youth; and developing models of hard of hearing ministry.
Watch for more as our Committee continues now to work together online!
"Thank You Daddy"James Marsala
September 21, 1939- January 7, 2009
by Tom Hudspeth
"Thank you Daddy." Three words, spoken quickly across a restaurant dining room in Del City, Oklahoma, were the first I heard my wife say.
In the fall of 1989, I was starting my third year of seminary at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Only, I wasn't in a Dallas classroom. Rather, my class was a 3 1/2 hour drive north of Dallas - in the homes and churches of Deaf people and in a hearing congregation at St. John's UMC in Oklahoma City. Earlier that year, in April, I had my first introduction to a Deaf community when, from across Oklahoma, about 75 Deaf people gathered at St. John's UMC for fellowship and worship.
Surrounded by people and a language I knew not, yet sensing God's Spirit leading me, I interacted with Deaf people for the first time. Through an interpreter's guidance, I understood a Deaf man sign to me, "You have a hearing aid, you belong with us." Later, when seeing the sign for "Glory" on the hands of a sign choir, tears began to flow. Hidden by years of striving for success in the hearing world, the deaf part of me was being called out by God. As I drove back to Dallas, I had a 3 1/2 hour conversation with God, the highlight being, "Yes, God I'll go. I'll go." A decision was made, I would spend my third year of seminary- my intern year - with the Oklahoma Conference Ministry with the Deaf.
Problem was, I needed to learn sign language. My nerve-dead ears qualified me as a deaf person, but not my eyes and hands - barriers to the Deaf world. In September 1989, I enrolled in an American Sign Language class at Rose State College in Midwest City, on the east side of Oklahoma City. There, I found a seat in a class that would change my life.
Sitting at my table was an older student, James. His farm-bred, broad hands swatted the air awkwardly whenever we imitated the signs made by our ASL teacher. One night, during a break in our three hour evening class, I asked James, "Why are you taking this class?" "My counselor told me that I needed to learn ASL." His answer was unexpected and bluntly honest. James added, "I have two deaf daughters." Curious, I asked their ages. "Twenty-two and nineteen," said James. Though I thought, "That's a bit late to start learning ASL," I didn't say anything more and I wondered about that 22 year-old daughter.
I learned a bit more about James the next few weeks, his swooping, meaty hands still jarring my eyes. But, I also was learning ASL, and James' hands-on-the-plow perseverance was pushing me to excel. At the eighth week of our class, our teacher invited us to celebrate at "Don's Alley" a local restaurant. There we would order our food in ASL and not use our voices. This wasn't a celebration, this was a test!
On October 30 1989, I took my seat in Don's Alley along with 20 other beginning ASL students at a long table. After a half-hour had passed, an attractive young woman with blond hair entered our semi-private dining room and took a seat near our table. My back to her, I turned to see her signing with some of the students. Wanting to practice my signing skills, I impressed her by signing, "I am a washing machine." Without speaking, she signed and mouthed "You are a washing machine?" Catching my goof, I signed "No, I am confused."
One pie slice later, I saw her get up to leave. Before walking out the room, she turned and spoke these words, "Thank you Daddy." Then I knew, this was James' daughter. By the end of that evening, I learned that James had invited his daughter to join us. By the end of that week, I had traced James' last name, phone number, address and his daughter, Mary Kay.
Four and a half years later, the student who took ASL to communicate better with his daughters became my father-in-law. Fourteen short years later, on January 7, 2009, my father-in-law died.
At a Catholic Mass about a mile from Don's Alley Restaurant, I signed in ASL a passage from the Book of Revelation. As I fought back my tears, signing the promise of God wiping away our tears, I recalled my future bride's words 19 years ago, "Thank you Daddy." Looking at my father-in-law's cross-draped casket, and the tear stained face of my wife, I saw crystal clear the serendipitous gift James had given me. So as I close the earthly relationship with my father in law, I too want to say: "Thank you, Daddy."
Grace and peace, Tom Hudspeth
Incoming UMCom President Michelle Martin recently attended a Texas Conference Quadrennial Training Event representing the Conference Committee on Disabilities.Michelle, a member of Cypress UMC, in Cypress Texas, northwest of Houston, is an Annual Conference delegate from her district. The Annual Conference provides interpreters for Michelle to attend meetings such as this training event. Michelle is a late-deafened adult, losing total hearing at age 25. She uses voice and sign language and is active in many organizations in the Houston Texas area.
Kudos to Michelle for stepping out in leadership within our United Methodist Church community, both local, city-wide, and nationally.
