Sign language students to perform at Christ’s Church

Christ’s Church at Whitewater will celebrate Deaf Awareness Month Sunday, May 1 during the 9:30 and 11 a.m. worship services.

Highlights include the deaf and sign language students joining the Christ’s Church orchestra to present the song, “Above All,” one of the deaf members signing the communion meditation, and a brief question and answer session between one of the deaf and associate minister, Michael Plank.

The church’s deaf ministry began in 1977 through a Sunday school class for two 8-year-old deaf children and a couple of other deaf members.

Willie Lamb, deaf ministry director, states that the ministry grew after she announced in the newspaper that the church would begin a ministry to the deaf. Hazel Cataldo became the first member and according to Lamb, she and her husband were instrumental in its growth, becoming the backbone of the ministry as they invited other deaf into the church.

“Through the years, our deaf ministry has reached into the local community, inviting the deaf to be a part of our church, having socials where they can build friendships with one another, and trying to incorporate them into our worship service as much as possible,” stated Lamb.

Lamb has taught beginner and intermediate sign languages at the church as well as conducted Bible studies for the deaf. Each Sunday, the 9:30 a.m. worship service and the 11 a.m. Sunday school classes are interpreted for the hearing impaired.

Lamb says she has discovered that the deaf ministry not only ministers to the deaf, but also to the hearing world, through the sign language classes, enabling the hearing world to communicate with the silent world.

“The major way that the deaf ministry has grown through the years is by reaching out into the hearing world, allowing them to better understand the world of silence,” Lamb said. “God has allowed us to minister to many people in different life situations such as counseling, medical situations, and most recently through our partnership with Square Foot Ministry and the home we remodeled for J.C. and Jean Ison.”

The community is invited to be a part of the deaf ministry by attending the May 1 service as well as the sign language classes and the 9:30 interpreted worship each Sunday, and by associating with the deaf members.

For more information, contact the church office, 770-461-1487.