Deaf awareness video
Meeting someone at church who is deaf may seem like a challenge . How could you communicate ?
Our new free deaf awareness training video for churches or ministries is here to help ! Revd Neil Robinson , Chaplain to the Deaf Community for the diocese of Salisbury presents this training resource in British Sign Language ( BSL ), with subtitles and voice-over .
Neil tells you what to do if someone arrives at your church who is deaf , including how to book BSL interpreters , and other communication tactics .
Neil ’ s top tips if a deaf person comes to your church for the first time include :
• Smile and show they are welcome ! Don ’ t panic – just try to communicate .
• Ask if they can lip read – point to your mouth to show what you mean .
• Don ’ t assume all deaf people have the same communication needs – people may lip read or sign in BSL or use other forms of signing .
Neil shares his story . Check out youtube . com / TTRChangesLives to find out more
• Always look at the deaf person – speak to them directly , not to a person accompanying them .
• If a deaf person visits , never ever pray for them to hear without asking ! They know their prayer needs and being deaf may be their identity .
Neil ’ s video of advice , encouragement and practical suggestions is available at youtube . com / TTRChangesLives . There ’ s also an inspiring video covering Neil ’ s life story , and many other videos about the work of TTR . The idea for this video came from the Deaf Ministry Roofbreaker Network , and it ’ s a great resource to share with your church or group .
Grace upon grace
Thank you Paul and Angela – your support will keep changing lives !
During an online retreat in lockdown , Angela Webb was prompted to create a book of artwork , photos and creative writing based on her life journey . The book , ‘ Grace upon Grace ’ was born and reproduced by Treloar Print – the printing enterprise run by Treloar College , where we have held some of our holidays .
A retired Methodist minister , Angela was inspired to donate the proceeds of the book to Wheels for the World , which she sees as an example of Grace upon Grace through the 3-fold blessing it provides :
• Recycling – Saving discarded wheelchairs from landfill
• Restoring – Providing meaningful work in a repair workshop to volunteers and prisoners who refurbish the wheelchairs
• Resulting in giving freedom through the gift of a wheelchair to a disabled person in a developing country .
Angela ’ s son , Paul , who likes meeting new people got involved in promoting the book by speaking at different events with his mum . He describes himself as “ a student pilot and cat owner ”. Paul fully endorsed supporting Wheels for the World with the donations generated by the book , commenting , “ I think that people who are wheelchair users like me , even when they live in other countries , should be treated equally .”
Paul was pleased to hand over a cheque of £ 600 to CEO , Tim Wood , at the wheelchair warehouse . Tim said , “ I love how God uses each one of us as part of His plan . It is so encouraging to see strands of grace and blessing come together to form a picture that God loves . This gift will help further the work and bless even more people around the world .”
Copies of Angela ’ s book are available by contacting her at : graceupongrace . book @ gmail . com www . throughtheroof . org