"Deaf Ministry: Make a Joyful Silence"

My pastor/boss/co-worker/friend wrote a book. It chronicals her experience in Deaf Ministry just like this blog does for me, although her books includes the last twenty years, like five church moves, murder, AIDS/HIV and the life of community. The book is entitled "Deaf Ministry: Make a Joyful Silence" written by Rev. Dr. Peggy Johnson including a study guide for bible studies and small groups written by Dr. Rev. Robert L. Walker a United Methodist Pastor who has his own vision and hearing loss.

I am making my way through the book excitedly, recognizing the changed names and giggling, then finding myself in tears. I know that evreyone says that about books "I laughed, I cried" but I say it with sincerity. I was so struck by her account that I wanted to share a passage with you all.

"One if the members of the deaf-blind club, Walter, took me on yet another journey into the deaf-blind world, one that is all-too-common to the life experience of the deaf-blind people in this country. Walter, a young, six-foot-four African American man with very dark skin, deserved his nickname of "King Kong." He had Usher Syndrome and in his mid-thirties began to lose considerable central vision. He lost his job cleaning toilets for Good Will Industries in what I considered an act of "bad will" on thier part, simply because he could not see the dirt as well as he used to. Almostover night he became a jobless, homeless, and emotionally wounded from the frustration of not being able to see much of anything. He had not communicated with his family in years and the church was his only source of human contact and help. Walter was quite popular at church because he often led hymns during worship. His massive hands, his expressive signs and the soulful look on his face made him an over-night hit with the deaf choir members and the congregation at large.

After Walter became homeless and jobless, a Deaf church family took him in for free, and he lived in their basement. For the next nine months a number of church workers and I launched a long bout with the Department of Education of the State of Maryland and the Federal Government to get Walter's Social Security Disabilty Benefits. Paperwork was lost several times. Carol Stevens, the interpreter, spent whole days in the Social Security Administration office literally staking out intake workers who seemed to have been holding up his paperwork. Benefits that were expected in 90 days took 180 days. There were never any explanations, no apologies, just blantant inefficiency and endless waiting.

The Department of Rehibilitation Services was another jungle of bureaucracy that was almost unbelieveable in its inabilty to function. It was like dancing with an elephant to accomplish even the smallest tasks. For walter to be assinged a casworker, a complicated application had to be filed. That took several weeks to be reviewed until at last he met with the caseworker assingned to him. Unfortunately she resigned from this job about that same time and his file was left on her desk for three months. Walter started over with a new caseworker who ordered eye exams and an audiogram to document his vision and hearing loss. Both of those tests were preformed by vendors who were contracted by the state. Both sent in results after two months and both sets of tests were lost and had to be redone.

At the second eye exam, Walter was in tears because the retina test was painful. While we were in the doctor's office, the Rehabilitation Services office called. It seemed that the voucher for payment had not been completed, so they were not sure the voucher would get paid and the test would have to be done a third time since the doctor would not do the paperwork until the money was in hand. I asked the doctor's secretary to hand me the phone and let me talk to the Rehabilitation office secretary. My purple rage with her made the board meeting at Friendly Homes look like a tea party. They suddenly had a change of heart and agreed to fax a voucher to the doctor while Walter was still in the office so the appointment would not have to be postponed a third time.

It was decided that Walter should spend a year at Helen Keller National Center in White Plains, New York, a trainging facility for the deaf-blind people of all communication styles and walks of life. There Walter could learn all he needed to know to function independently as a deaf-blind person: Braille, mobility, independent living, job skills, computer, and even cooking class. This was exactly what he needed but it took another three months for the fundingpackage from the state to be approved and an opening to become available at the Helen Keller Center. Finally one golden day we got word that everything was in place. Carol Stevens drove him to the Hellen Keller Center, and he spent over a year there learning many new empowering skills. He even learned to find his way around the crowded New York subway system independently.

The following year the new and improved Walter, complete with new equipment, a white cane, and a button that says " I am Deaf and Visually Impaired" arrived back at the Deaf church. Waves of deaf-blind applause thundered in the church. Deaf-blind applause (stomping feet) is not clapping, nor is it the waving of hands, as neither of them is percieveable by a deaf-blind person. Instead, deaf-blind applause is the thunder of feet stamping on the floor. The thunder went on for over five minutes. Walter smiled, held his hand up to the crowd to still the thunder and began to sign "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, early in the morning our songs shall rise to thee." His massive arms, like ebony tree limbs rose upward in song. I believe at that moment he touched a little piece of heaven".

If anyone is interested in reading her book or doing a bible study with your church contact me and I will send you copies happily. peace.