The deaf choir at my church went to a four hour worship service last night that is an annual event for all the deaf ministries in the Baltimore area. About eight choirs preformed and three deaf speakers preached. It was a great service that was very affirming of deaf culture and the beauty in the way deaf people make music.

All the choirs were amazing and I am not saying that our choir was better because it was a worship serivice designed to showcase the many different deaf choirs. One thing I did notice though was the fact that all the other choirs signed to music. Which if you are really trying to preform a service for the deaf does not make sense for two reasons. One, the obvious reason, deaf people cant hear it; and reason number two being that the lyrics automatically put the signs into english word order, which is not american sign language.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with signing to music. It makes it moving for the hearing people in the crowd (like me) and it is making an effort to include deaf people. Although, if you really want to honor deaf people and their own language it is nice to allow them to do the music that they write and that they direct and preform.

The choir from my church is going to do a deaf choir tour in Michigan in November. I am elated. I can't wait to see my friends and family and my church families, and I can't wait for them to experience the world that I am living in now. I will post specific dates, times, and places in the month to come so that anyone who is interested can come see them. They are an all deaf choir and their music is culturally accurate and amazing. It is mindblowing the many ways god chose to give humans the gift of music.

I have so many stories that I want to write about at this exact moment that my brain is finding it hard to make anything sound interesting or complete. I will hopefully find some clarification soon and continue to write about my US-2 tales in a more coherent manner.

Below is a poem I wrote about the deaf choir after the first time that I saw them.

Caitlin’s Silent Choir
In honor of the deaf choir at Christ church in Baltimore.

Caitlin’s hands are crooked. Caitlin’s crooked hands are beautiful. She sways slowly and clucks…clucks…Caitlin clucks the beat, deep in her throat. She sings of her savior with silence. She signs of the savior with her crooked crinkled hands and the drum beats loud. Slam…Silence…Slam…Silence. Shhhhhh. Caitlin’s crooked hands conduct the silent choir. She raises. They raise. They praise. And they all sway. Slam… Silence…Slam. Caitlin’s choir feels the beat from their feet to their hands. Slam. Caitlin’s choir sings the praise of the lamb. Slam. Caitlin quietly voices the sounds she was taught. Ah. Ma. Zing. Grah. Ssss.