Mercy Moment Deaf ministry in Dearborn, Mich

Deaconess Diana Rice works with a student at St. Martin Lutheran School for the Deaf in Dearborn, Mich.

‘HOW ARE THEY TO HEAR?’

ST. MARTIN LUTHERAN SCHOOL IN DEARBORN, MICH., SHARES THE GOSPEL THROUGH DEAF MINISTRY.

In a classroom in Dearborn, Mich., Deaconess Diana Rice teaches a small group of elementary students. The classroom appears, at first glance, like any other: There are books, pencils, paper and other teaching tools. Students work on their assignments, raise their hands and get called on by the teacher.

But something about this classroom is different. While Rice uses a variety of gestures, visual aids and facial expressions to teach, no words pass her lips. Her students respond in kind, answering her questions with signs rather than voices. When another student arrives a few minutes into the lesson, he is joyfully welcomed by his classmates, one of whom runs to greet him with a hug. Still, no words are spoken.

This scene takes place in a small school where Rice is the only full-time teacher. St. Martin Lutheran School for the Deaf — a program of Ephphatha Lutheran Mission Society, an LCMS Recognized Service Organization — opened in 2016 inside Emmanuel Lutheran Church and School in Dearborn. St. Martin accepts students from preschool through eighth grade and currently has six students enrolled — three full-time and three part-time. The students of St. Martin and Emmanuel interact regularly during lunch, recess and other activities, and all students and staff, deaf and hearing alike, learn American Sign Language (ASL).

Rice, who has been deaf since the age of 5, was born in Fujian, China. When she was 13 years old, her family moved to Macau, China, to access the city’s more extensive educational resources for the deaf. In Macau, Rice attended Concordia School for Special Education and met the Rev. Thomas Dunseth, who was then serving as an LCMS missionary. “It was pretty clear when I first met her,” said Dunseth, “that she was already an exceptional student — naturally bright, with an inquisitive mind.”

Dunseth baptized and catechized Rice and encouraged her to consider church work. After graduating from Macau University with a degree in elementary education, she moved to the United States. She studied English and ASL at Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C., and theology at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. She then entered the deaconess program at Concordia University Chicago, River Forest, Ill., graduating in 2018.

When she began teaching at St. Martin that same year, Rice — who homeschooled her four children — used her own materials. She continues to write and adapt curriculum as needed to serve her students. She advocates a classical Christian approach because “while we learn subjects, we also learn that God is in each of these subjects.” She says the best thing about her work is seeing a student who has not previously been taught ASL begin to develop a vocabulary for talking about God’s creation and learning about Jesus — perhaps for the first time.

The parents of Tavia Hardesty said they chose St. Martin for their daughter because the school holds the deaf students to the same standards as the hearing students. “[Tavia] is reading and writing at the same level that any normal 6-year-old is,” said Justin Hardesty. “She is exactly where she needs to be.”

The Rev. Tyler Walworth, senior pastor at Emmanuel and sole pastor at Our Savior Lutheran Church of the Deaf in Beverly Hills, Mich., is a deaf children who don’t have access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Both of these needs constantly come to my mind as I continue to think of how to serve this community that our dear Lord Jesus loves so much.”

Rice says that, while technology has opened up many new avenues in deaf

The Rev. Tyler Walworth works with a student at St. Martin Lutheran School for the Deaf.

| LEARN MORE | St. Martin is pursuing accreditation as a classical Lutheran school and hopes to add a high school in the future. Learn more at smlid.org.

daily presence at St. Martin, where he teaches Bible stories, English and Latin. He also teaches confirmation class to Emmanuel students and leads weekly chapel, which — for St. Martin students — alternates between a shared, interpreted chapel with Emmanuel students and St. Martin’s own ASL chapel. Walworth, who is fluent in ASL, first worked with the deaf community when he was on vicarage in 2013. He has continued working in deaf ministry because “there is a major gap in the education of deaf children. … But the even greater gap is the number of education, the need for deaf mission is not going away because “the number of deaf people around the world is not declining.” She quotes Romans 10: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? … So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (14, 17).

Cheryl Magness is managing editor of Reporter and a staff writer for LCMS Communications.

2022 Youth Gathering in Houston 1980 Youth Gathering in Fort Collins, Colo.

Encouraging the Church’s Young People

FOR 42 YEARS, the LCMS Youth Gathering has strengthened teenagers in the faith while also raising up young adults for service to the church and world.

Torrential downpours. Hurricanes. Pandemics. The LCMS Youth Gathering has weathered these situations and many others during its 42-year history as the Synod’s premiere event for teenagers. Every three years, church groups from around the United States — and even from a few other countries — head to the Gathering city for several days of worship, learning, fellowship and service.

The first Gathering was held on a college campus in Fort Collins, Colo., in 1980 under the theme “Rejoice in His Presence.” It replaced a prior pan-Lutheran event that included young people from several Lutheran church bodies.

After that first year, the Gathering moved to bigger cities to accommodate its rapidly increasing attendance. Since then, it has been held in San Antonio; Washington, D.C.; Denver; New Orleans; Atlanta; Orlando; Minneapolis; and Houston. The largest Gathering was in Orlando in 2004, when some 30,000 youth and adult leaders attended.

Director of Christian Education (DCE) Jim Lohman, associate director of LCMS Youth Ministry, has been involved in the Gathering since 1986, when he first brought a group of youth from his church. Over the years, he became more and more involved in the planning process until, eventually, he joined the LCMS Youth Ministry department full time in 2002.

One often-overlooked part of the Gathering, according to Lohman, is how it gives younger people the opportunity to strengthen their skills and gain confidence in serving the church. This includes the 200-plus planners, as well as the young adults who volunteer either with their home congregations or as part of the Gathering team. Although the roles have changed names over the years, those from age 19 to 25 can currently serve as Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) and those 25 and older can serve as Gathering Ambassadors or as part of Team Flex. At the 2022 Gathering, held in Houston this past July, there were some 500 YAVs and more than 200 Ambassadors.

“I was a young leader who was mentored and raised up. People took a risk with me,” Lohman recalls. “And the Gathering continues to do that. We recognize young adults, younger DCEs or pastors or deaconesses or even young people who are working other jobs. We invest in them and give them an opportunity to grow and use their talents. The Gathering builds strong churchmen and women wherever they might be serving.”

Cindy Twillman, DCE at King of Kings Lutheran Church in Kansas City, Mo., is one such example. She attended the 1980 Gathering as a youth and was “amazed by worshiping with the thousands of youth and adults that were there.”

The experience had a lasting impact on her desire to be

involved in youth ministry. Even after graduating from college and becoming an accountant, she continued to encourage the youth at her congregation to attend the Gathering. While volunteering at the 1992 Gathering in New Orleans, she finally decided to follow her passion by returning to school to become a DCE — a position she has now held for more than 25 years.

“Through my years of experience with Youth Gatherings, I have seen countless youth tremendously impacted in their faith life. It is an opportunity for them to join with thousands of others in prayer, Bible study, worship and fellowship,” she says. “The Gathering also provides our youth [with the opportunity] to step out of their comfort zones and be involved in service and leadership opportunities.”

THEMATIC HISTORY LCMS YOUTH GATHERING 1980

FT. COLLINS, CO “Rejoice in His Presence”

2001

NEW ORLEANS, LA “Higher Ground”

2004

ORLANDO, FL “Beyond Imagination”

The next Gathering will be held in New Orleans in 2025. Learn more at lcmsgathering.com.

1983 Youth Gathering in San Antonio

2016 Youth Gathering in New Orleans

1983

SAN ANTONIO, TX “Amigos de Cristo”

1998

ATLANTA, GA “Called to Be”

2007

ORLANDO, FL “Chosen”

1986

WASHINGTON, D.C. “On Wings Like Eagles”

1995

SAN ANTONIO, TX “River of Light”

2010

NEW ORLEANS, LA “We Believe”

1989

DENVER, CO “Blessed in the Journey”

1992

NEW ORLEANS, LA “Time for Joy”

2013

SAN ANTONIO, TX “Live Love(d)”

2022

HOUSTON, TX “In All Things”

2019

MINNEAPOLIS, MN “Real. Present. God.”

2016

NEW ORLEANS, LA “In Christ Alone”