Rachel Marr has called on her gifts in developing her pastoral role with the Deaf community in Auckland.

It was almost five years ago when I sensed God calling me into service for the Catholic Deaf Community. A vacancy for a pastoral worker for the Catholic Deaf Community came up and I felt encouraged to apply for it. I’d become aware of a huge gap in ministry to the deaf community. Members needed support to grow in faith and to understand the Gospel teaching to be loving and kind.

I am blessed with a gift of advocacy which I employ daily for the Deaf community to advocate for accessibility for their many needs. One of my initiatives has been to introduce the Daily Gospel Reading in New Zealand Sign language (NZSL), our first language. Now we post videos in NZSL daily on our Facebook page.

The feedback from viewers has been overwhelming. People have said their lives and hearts were deeply touched. Many for the first time had access and were able to understand the Gospel in their language. From engaging with the daily readings in their heart language some said how they were for the first-time building relationships with God. A Deaf woman said she watched one of the Gospel videos and afterwards, upon reflection, felt convicted to change her judgemental attitudes towards other people.

The daily signing of the Gospel reading is an ongoing project and we continue to see our online community grow. Deaf people as far away as Ireland have been accessing the videos and now America has started producing daily Gospel readings in American Sign Language for their communities.

During Lockdown, my first thought was how to encourage the Deaf Catholic community in their faith journey. Through that seven-week period, for the first time ever we had weekly Sunday Mass videoed with an NZSL interpreter. Most of the people viewing the Mass were isolated and had never experienced the kind of access an interpreter gave. Some said: “It was my first time ever to understand what the priest was saying during the Mass because of the interpreter.”

So many of their stories touched my heart and encouraged me. The success of the Signed Eucharist online led me to start doing Zoom sessions with the Catholic Deaf Community. We read and unpack the Gospel together and learn about one saint each session. As a community we support each other to gain a deeper understanding of our faith so we may be strong and established in our faith, like a tree with deep roots. I find those who participate are hungry to learn and build strong relationships with God.

Additionally, we are so fortunate to have Michael Depcik OSFS, a Deaf priest from Detroit, USA, offering us the amazing opportunity to ask him questions and learn about our Catholic faith in monthly Zoom meetings. Fr Michael knows Auslan (Australian Sign Language) which is similar to New Zealand Sign Language.

I have one last story to share. As part of my ministry, I give communion to Deaf members who are sick. I visited an elderly Deaf woman, who was very ill and unable to go Mass, to give her communion. We prayed the prayers, Gospel and the Our Father together and received communion. She said it was the first time ever she had felt so connected with God because receiving the communion in her heart language resonated deeply with her. She felt there were no barriers to God. In the past she had received communion regularly in her local parish, but she had not understood it. She just accepted it and took communion.

This story illustrates the importance of language in our relationship with others and with God. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit has new significance through the heart of our language.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 257 March 2021: 4