Practical Responses

The Committee for Ministry of and among Deaf and Disabled People (CMDDP)

Through the CMDDP the Church of England seeks to support and encourage the ministries of deaf people, people with disabilities and the ministries of all those who work with them.

This involves encouraging and strengthening the participation and representation of deaf people and people with disabilities at every level in the life and witness of the Church.

Providing training, advice and support for those involved in ministry with deaf people and people with disabilities, and seeking to ensure that the gifts and ministries of all deaf people and people with disabilities are fully used and valued in the Church.

Church Action on Disability

An article from 'Church Action on Disability'.

Church Action on Disability says:

The needs of profoundly Deaf people are very particular and are rarely catered for in most churches. They will be able to participate little in any act of worship without BSL, their first language. However, BSL users are only a small minority of the overall number of people with hearing impairments in the UK: 100,000:8,500,000. It is not enough for services to be interpreted into BSL all the time.

Whilst Churches are finding that both funds and human resources are declining, less support is now available for Deaf people.

In most Anglican and Catholic Dioceses in England there is a chaplain among Deaf people. Each of them has various levels of BSL ability. Most of the work they do is with the Deaf Community — i.e. those who use BSL as their first or preferred language. This is because they are a linguistic and cultural minority and usually find it much more difficult to participate in worship with everyone else. Many of these chaplains will work ecumenically as many Deaf Christians, regardless of denomination, prefer to worship in their first language.

In Scotland, The Church of Scotland has a number of part-time chaplains among Deaf People as do the Roman Catholic Church.

In South Wales, there are some Anglican and RC chaplains while in North Wales, there is a new ecumenical chaplain who works half time with Deaf people paid for by the Diocese of St. Asaph and the Presbyterian Church in Wales.