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Church of the deaf offers denomination ministry legacy

 


Church of the deaf offers denomination ministry legacy

Feb. 16, 2004

A UMNS Report By Mary Cahill*

Charles Waters is one of the oldest surviving members of the old Whatcoat Black Deaf Mission. He signs his last name in American Sign Language by placing three fingers for a "W" over his heart. Waters and his fellow Whatcoat "alumni" have passed down a legacy of heart-felt ministry.

Among their many bequests to the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference is Christ UMC of the Deaf. What does Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf offer today?

  • 231 members and 30-plus nonmembers who attend regularly. The congregation is 46 percent white, 52 percent African American, one percent Hispanic and one percent non-citizens from Africa.
  • Worship in American Sign Language for deaf people.
  • Encouragement, training and resources to equip members for ministry within the congregation and community.
  • A strong discipleship program, with Bible study, church school for all ages, United Methodist Women and United Methodist Men.
  • A prison ministry to deaf inmates.
  • A visitation ministry to deaf residents at a mental health institution.
  • Religious education at deaf schools and deaf immersion/education experiences for hearing seminary students.
  • Deaf mission trips to help develop needed programs and relationships in Zimbabwe and Kenya.
  • Camps for deaf and deaf/blind youth and adults at West River Outdoor Ministry Center.
  • A food bank and a low-income housing project for deaf clients.
  • A Deaf Shalom Zone that provides collaborative, hands-on ministry and relationships among deaf people in Baltimore and surrounding communities.
  • "Breaking the Sound Barriers in your Church," a resource to help hearing congregations provide translation services and other ministries to deaf communities.

*Mary Cahill is a writer for the UMConnection, the newspaper of the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference.

News media contact: Tim Tanton · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn.

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