Liturgies With Deaf Worshipers

For deaf persons, liturgies need to communicate through gesture, action, sign language, drama, film, slides, overheads, and skits, as well as through speech and music. Such media are the vernacular for deaf people. The following article will offer some suggestions on how to make liturgy communicate to deaf people. Music and sound, drama and poetry are closely linked to liturgical prayer, as indeed, most forms of worship are based on sound. For many people, worship is the spoken or sung Word. Sometimes music is added to the liturgy; and gestures and objects are part of the accompanying ceremonial. However, too often liturgists emphasize language only, citing the assembly's need to understand the service and to share in the proclamation of the Word. Severely deaf people derive little or no benefit, however, from this type of religious service; and they are unable to contribute much to it. For the deaf, the liturgist must change the emphasis from the auditory to the visual aspects of wo…