Eunice is the Accessories Product Developer at Nordstrom. At VPC, she leads social events. Oh, and she loves salsa dancing every Saturday night. Where are you from and where do you live now? I was mainly raised in Hillsboro, OR and I have lived in Seattle for...
It’s a beautiful Sabbath morning. The Seattle rain has fled from the bright sunshine that occasionally makes an appearance in the sky. Invigorated by the glorious weather, you decide to visit a church in the area.
After choosing which church you will go to, you drive there. You walk to the door and are met with smiling faces of the greeters who begin to speak to you. Not being able to hear what they are saying, you smile and nod. Those who were smiling at you a moment ago are now frowning at you not sure how to react. You suddenly realize that they asked you a question, and you did not answer appropriately. Pulling out a pen and paper, you quickly jot down, “I am deaf. I did not hear you. Can you write down what you said?” The people at the door are now flustered, realizing that communication will not be as quick. More individuals begin to arrive behind you, and the greeters are attempting to mouth their words with more exaggeration so you can understand quickly. Still not able to make communication with the greeters, you are ushered to the side to create more room for those coming in the door.
Undaunted, you make your way into the sanctuary for church service. Sitting towards the back, you are met with more smiling faces from those occupying the pews in front of you. They begin to speak to you, and you quickly point to your ears and shake your head, indicating you are deaf. But they are baffled on how to communicate with you so their smiling faces turn to quizzical looks, and they soon turn around.
This same situation is played out several times throughout the course of church with various individuals; soon no one comes to say hello because people are afraid to attempt communication with a person who does not hear. While you knew that you would not be able to hear the church service, you had hoped to meet someone who would be willing to be a new friend. Silently, you get up and leave church in the middle of the service. No one seems to notice your departure. No one comes after you to encourage you to stay.
It's a sad story, right? Unfortunately, this happens all too often to members of our Deaf community. While they do not expect to meet a person who is fluent in American Sign Language at the door or even in church, they do expect to meet people who are willing to make communication happen in any form. Let's review two common misconceptions that hearing people have about the Deaf and then provide some suggestions that will help to reach the Deaf.
November marks the beginning of the holidays (Thanksgiving!) and kicks off a galore of family gatherings. Most of us will be taking time this month to list the things we are thankful for, but it’s also a perfect time to think about F A M I L Y.
Recently, while I was in downtown Redmond, thinking about these close-knit bonds, I saw a family member I’ve lost contact with. It’s been eight years since I saw her last, and instead of being excited, I was reluctant to say hello. Our relationship has always been extremely complicated and awkward, hinged on messy family dynamics that started before I was born.
Eventually I did have a conversation with her (but only after a lot of encouragement from a friend who is arguably also a saint). Just before I walked towards my estranged family member, I thought, Here I am thinking about family—isn't this what it means?
When Pastor Andreas talked to me about expanding the Volunteer Park Newsletter, our plans did not include starting a blog too. But as we thought about the ways to share the news of our growing community and faith, over time a blog made sense.