Signs of Solidarity is a useful resource that will aid congregations in involving persons with auditory and optic losses in the life and mission of the church. These persons include children, women, and men who are hard of hearing, Deaf, late-deafened, or deaf-blind.
In the United States, there are about 28 million hard of hearing people, .5 million persons who are Deaf, 1.5 million late-deafened folk, and 1 million deaf-blind individuals. The latter group includes people who may be hard of hearing, late deafened, or Deaf, and either partly-sighted or blind. A growing number of older people are developing losses of BOTH hearing and eyesight.
The need for churches to broaden their outreach and serves the needs of these groups is critical. About 90 percent of church members and constituents living with any of these forms of hearing loss become church dropouts. The culprit is the not uncommon failure of churches to be "hearing-accessible." Not only are the needs of Deaf, late-deafened, hard of hearing and deaf-blind folks neglected, but also the churches and communities are deprived of the talents of these individuals.
The first edition of Signs of Solidarity was published in 1994. It was revised at the request of the National Committee on Ministries with Deaf, Late-Deafened, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind Persons. That committee and the Health and Welfare Ministries unit of the General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church, developed and published the second edition of this book. The authors are the Rev. Dr. Kathy Black, Nancy Kingsley (also its editor), Candis Shannon, the Rev. Kirk Van Gilder, and the Rev. Dr. Robert Walker.
Order Signs of Solidarity: Ministry with Deaf, Late-Deafened, Hard of Hearing, or Deaf-Blind People (#02088), second edition, for $7.00, plus shipping and handling, from the General Board of Global Ministries Service Center by telephone (1-800-305-9857), or by fax (1-513-761-3722). This new edition addresses ministry with the Deaf culture, late-deafened and hard of hearing people, and deaf-blind folk. It also includes a theological statement, a glossary of terms, suggested steps toward specific ministries, a list of resources, and a cutout survey document to guide a church or agency toward hearing accessibility.
