Last year a small group of deaf and hearing women and men came together because we had seen and experienced the tragic oppression of deaf people. We come from Catholic, Protestant, and Mennonite traditions, as well as the Sojourners Community congregation. We are teachers, pastors, linguists, interpreters, actors, social workers, and poets. We were drawn together because we believe that Jesus has powerful good news for us to share and we need that good news.
We prayed, studied the Bible in the context of the struggles of deaf people, and explored the implications of liberation theologies as they shed light on the historical experience of the deaf community.
Months of preparation for this meeting had led us to read Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Donald Kraybill’s The Upside-Down Kingdom, as well as writings by Gustavo Guttierrez, James Cone, Dorothee Solle, Henri Nouwen, and Jim Wallis. We also included in our readings sad reminders of the past and present condition of deaf people and writings by the many hearing leaders of church ministries who view deaf people as pitiful, incompetent, and dependent upon them.
In response, each of us tried to write down our own understanding of the meaning of the gospel in the context of deaf people’s experience. Sharing those writings with one another was the beginning of our four-day dialogue, as we took turns presenting information and leading discussions.
Communication together was never simple. We used two languages — American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English. That is, some people signed ASL while interpreters spoke English for those who didn’t understand ASL. Those who didn’t know ASL well enough spoke English, and the interpreters signed for them. One deaf woman, a theologian and pastor who had never learned to sign, spoke for herself and then “lip-read” the speakers or interpreters. We took great care not to exclude anyone — even when we became excited and then needed to repeat our comments or slow down.
We grew to love one another. We shared our fears and our common suffering, the suffering of oppressed deaf people and of those who choose to stand with them. We rediscovered the promises of Scripture are promises of freedom, liberation, and salvation. And that when oppressed people learn of that Scripture, they know it is meant for them.
On the final day of our meeting at the Claggett Retreat Center in Maryland, we drafted a statement of our shared faith, hurts and hopes. The Claggett Statement is found on the following pages. An ASL version has been recorded on videotape by two deaf participants.
Showing this tape to deaf audiences is an unforgettable experience, as they exclaim with signs, “Yes, that happened to me!” and tell their stories one after the other. The stories hurt; they are hard to watch. Heads slowly nod in common recognition. But then comes the grace, the part where we remember together the promises of Jesus and the call of Jesus to liberation. Eyes begin to thirst. We want the good news.
When this article appeared, Charlotte Baker-Shenk was a linguist who did research on American Sign Language and deaf culture. She worshipped with Sojourners Community.
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