Contents 3-4
Rejoice!
Editor’s desk What a busy summer! I hope that you have all had a blessed summer in whatever you have been doing with your family and friends in the UK or abroad, or at Christian conferences.
5-6 Go! Sign News Go! Sign Bible Training Weekend
I would like to share with you that the New Horizon Conference this year was a great blessing because we saw 6 people accept Jesus Christ or re-dedicate their lives to Christ and 7 people received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (see pages 19 & 20)! We’ve got lots of exciting news from many different parts of the UK and it is very interesting to see what God has been doing in the Deaf Community. It gives us something to rejoice in the Lord about – for all these things happening in the UK.
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11-12 Go! Sign
Cross Drama
13-14 Deaf Youth 4 Christ
15-18 News around
the UK
Raymond Abernethy’s article “Rejoicing in the Lord” (pages 11 & 12) is relevant to me, and my life, at the moment because I had a knee operation at the beginning of August which has caused pain and a bit of frustration at not being able to do much. It is important to rejoice in times of trial, such as when are in difficult situations, facing temptations, or ill. Paul, the apostle, gave us an example of how to rejoice in the Lord because of the salvation that God gives us and the joy of having a fruitful relationship with Him. He knows what is the best for us... “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future”, Jeremiah 29:11b (NCV). Praise the Lord! Enjoy reading this magazine and at the same time rejoice and praise God! Go! Rejoice in the Lord God daily!
19-20
New Horizon Deaf Conference
God bless you all. Esther Maycock (D)
GO! SIGN Christ in the Deaf Community Through
Growth, Renewal, Access, Churches and Evangelism Magazine Editorial Team: David & Bronwynne Buxton, Karina Downing, Karen Gutberlet, Esther Maycock and Elizabeth Thomas-Morton Trustees: Franco Beschizza, Jo Pestell, Marlene Rayner MBE, Revd. Bob Shrine and Jonathon Bosman Council: Raymond Abernethy, Laurie Banks, Gill Behenna, John Delve, Bob & Gabi McFarland and Marlene Rayner MBE
Registered charity no. 1071830
GO! SIGN is the working name of Christian Deaf Link UK
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Rejoicing in the
Lord By Nicki Stevenson (D), Peterborough
Many bad things have happened in my past. Finally, I learned that God loves me but deep inside me I could not accept His love. I was very fearful and nervous and I panicked a lot. Last year I went to New Wine for the first time. I saw people go forward for prayer ministry but I was very scared. God wanted me to go forward for prayer but I didn’t want to because I was scared. I was depressed and sad. On the last evening I went forward and let someone pray for me. I felt something happen inside, I felt joy inside, I began to laugh. I couldn’t stop laughing, I laughed a lot. Inside I felt like a little child with the father God watching me and hugging me. Before I never hugged people but now I laugh and hug people. God gave me his joy, which means I can rejoice in Him and I can rejoice in all He has done. This year I changed a lot. I learned to laugh, I learned joy. I learned that God loves me, I am His child, I rejoice in His love, mercy and grace. This year I went to New Wine again. This year it was different. I felt more confident and I felt free to praise God. I met new people and made new friends and I enjoyed my New Wine family. In the Bible, in Philippians 4:4, Paul and Timothy write, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! “ Life is not always good or easy but we do need to remember that we have a lot to be happy about. God is an amazing, awesome, fantastic God. Look at creation and remember all the things God has done then see that we have a lot to rejoice about. Sometimes difficult and bad things happen but focus on God and Jesus and then you can rejoice. There is a song which says “Blessed be your name”. Whether life is good or life is bad, praise God and think happily of all that has been done for us. Ask God for help and He will give you His joy. Autumn 2010 GO! SIGN
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Rejoice! Always be joyful / rejoice because you belong to the Lord. I (Apostle Paul) will say / sign it again. Be joyful / rejoice. Philippians 4:4 (NLV) (Italics mine) Key Words: Always: Constant. Be: Active. Joyful: Great happiness.
Definition: Happiness: Depending on your feeling/emotion: feeling or showing satisfaction or pleasure. Joyful: Something or someone that provides a source of great happiness: Joy is obviously coming from Jesus’ Pure Joy in your spiritual life, like God’s Pure Original Love: Agape.
Reasons for being Joyful are? Aren’t you so glad that Jesus forgave and set you free from any darkness or bondage of dark sins that robbed your joyful life, which was God’s original design for your lifetime from birth to eternity? Unfortunately Satan doesn’t want you to experience any joy that can fulfill your everyday life to manifest God’s Presence constantly. Satan is actively entrapping and forcing God’s people to experience his miserable, destructive way of life, instead of the glorious way of our Majestic Creator. “I (Jesus) have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world victoriously.” John 16:33 (NLT)
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Do you ever wonder why many grandmas love to knit beautiful things or create works of art over many laborious hours?? They are merely reflecting their special love for and joy in their children or grandchildren or even special friends that bless the grandmas’ lives dearly. Similarly God created His magnificent creations on earth and in the universe, which are gifts to us freely. These are merely reflecting His divine love and joy for us. Guess what? The BEST of all His creations is YOU. You are among others who, as His children, are pure and bring true blessings to Him. You become a part of His life and fellowship permanently, which is His Great Joy, as long as you remain in His love faithfully.
A Well-Known Topic: J-O-Y: Jesus, Others and Yourself. J - Vertical Joy Relationship: Words, Worship, Praises and Thanksgivings. O - Horizontal Joy Relationship: Love and Forgive Each Other, Fellowship and Encouragement. Y - Inward Joy Relationship: Jesus as Lord of Your Life, Righteousness, Fruit of the Spirit, Being a beautiful child of God through His Son’s precious blood.
“I (Apostle Paul) thank my God every time I remember you and I always pray with joy that God’s work continues in you constantly until the day of Christ Jesus. “ Philippians 1:3-6 (Abridged) Be Joyful to appreciate His wondrous creations everywhere. Be Joyful to appreciate His people among us everywhere. Best of all is Be Joyful to appreciate His Son who gave His life for us to cleanse from all our dark and empty sins and give us joyful and victorious lives for Him.
Are You in a mode of Rejoicing Today?? Be?? Always?? Let Jesus Rejoice and Shine in your life to let your friends know you are in His Joy today, so they may experience God’s Greatest Joy by accepting His Free Gift of Jesus Christ, and His salvation, through the testimony of your lives!!
Reverend Emory Kevin Dively (D), USA
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G
ws e N n o! Sig
Go! Sign at the Christian Resources Exhibition (CRE), May 2010 This year, for the first time, Go! Sign was represented at the annual Christian Resources Exhibition, held at Sandown Racecourse, Esher, in May. The exhibition had 12,754 visitors, over four days and, although we didn’t get to meet every one of them(!), we had a great time meeting new people and telling them about the work of Go! Sign. We also had fun and fellowship with our fellow exhibitors in the “Churches for All” zone. Go! Sign is a partner of Churches for All and we had our stand alongside representatives from other organisations, including Torch Trust for the Blind, Livability, Causeway Prospects, Open Ears, Through the Roof and ASNA (Adventist Special Needs Association).
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Our zone included a workshop area and Esther Maycock attracted many people to our stand through her daily seminars in BSL. Signs of God worked along side us to provide interpreters where necessary and we are working with Churches for All to encourage CRE to provide BSL interpreters to cover the whole of the exhibition in future. This year the Go! Sign stand was run by Karen Gutberlet and Esther Maycock. We would love to take part in the exhibition again next year but need more volunteers to make it possible. Karen and Esther can assure you that there is a lot of fun involved, so if you have a day or two to spare between 10th and 13th May 2011, please get in touch with the Go! Sign office.
Go! Sign at City Lit Deaf Day, April 2010 City Lit Deaf Day is a huge event with a large number of stands providing information about organisations involved with the Deaf world. It is the biggest event of its kind in the UK and at this year’s event, in April, Go! Sign had their own stand. There was a great buzz around the building as lots of people asked questions and found out about different organisations. Many people were attracted by our amazing banner display and came and chatted with the two staff members and four volunteers on the Go! Sign stand. It was the first time at the exhibition for one of the volunteers, Sue Noakes (H), and here are her impressions: “I was really looking forward to the event and it more than lived up to my expectations – it was much bigger than I had expected and there were so many people all through the day. It was great to meet so many different people and I particularly enjoyed watching other members of the team sharing, in sign, their testimonies and the difference Jesus had made to their lives. I love Jesus, I love signing and I love being with deaf Christians and talking about Jesus so I was in my element! The Go! Sign team made me feel very welcome and I’m hoping that I will be able to volunteer again next year.”
Media News
Future exhibition tour:
Go! Sign appointed Esther Maycock as Media Coordinator from April 2009 and she has made a great impact on our media resources, such as leaflets, magazines, DVDs, exhibitions, information on Facebook, the website etc. But, there is still more work to come... so it would be good to have more volunteers in the Go! Sign Media Team, especially someone with skills in photography or design, or people willing to help at exhibitions or update information on Facebook and the website, or any other abilities that could be used by the Media Team. Let us know if you think you could help in any way.
Saturday 23rd October 2010, Nottingham Saturday 13th November 2010, Birmingham Saturday 27th November 2010, Ipswich Wednesday 30th March 2011, Conwy, North Wales Saturday 16th April 2011, City Lit - London 10th - 13th May 2011, Christian Resources Exhibition, Esher, Surrey Please contact the Go Sign Office if you are interested in volunteering to help on any of these dates.
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Go! Sign Bible Training Weekend About 55 deaf and hearing people attended Bible training for the weekend in Northampton. There were two guest speakers, Denise Flynn and Kenneth Nuttall, who shared God’s Word over the weekend, on the theme of “God is honourable.” Here are photos and peoples’ comments about the weekend! What a fantastic weekend! I’m really glad I was able to book at the last minute– it was such powerful and clear teaching. I was especially impacted by Kenneth’s description of Jesus’ last moments on the cross - about seeing the glory in the heavens before they became closed to Him – Wow! I’d never thought about it in that way before. I also loved Denise’s teachings, what a wonderful woman of God, she was so clear and evenly paced compared to what I usually have to interpret at New Wine or Spring Harvest; why can’t all speakers go at that pace??
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I also loved seeing familiar faces from Hands Together, alongside the many new faces that I hope to see again. There was a great sense of fellowship throughout the weekend. I would recommend more people to go and experience God in His Deaf Church. Praise God for all that He has done and for allowing me to be there, exactly where I was meant to be. Shalom. Linda Sawicki (H), Bristol I enjoyed the whole weekend because I learnt and understood what Honour means to me! It gave me a chance to polish up my Christian attitude and also to increase my knowledge of God throughout the weekend. John Barry (D), Beckenham
The Go! Sign Bible training was a very good seminar and relaxation weekend, including two sessions from Denise and the workshop discussions in three different groups, sharing opinions about what is “honour” and “God is honour” e.g. 1) If I honour God, what will my life be like? 2) If the church honours God, what will it look like? 3) It’s sometimes easier to honour God by myself. Why is church so important? I was able to think and consider my life in the light of the above questions and it helped me to understand what is “Honour”. Honour is valuable to God, you and me! Honour one another with love. Atinuke Igibntade (D) London
I thank God for you and all those from the ‘Go! Sign’ Team who led the weekend. I really enjoyed it and felt blessed by being there. Because the preaching was so clear, visually, and there was time in between sessions for us to think, pray and discuss what was said, God spoke very powerfully to me. I am still thinking and praying about the word that was given - ‘Honouring God’ – and asking God to help me to apply it to my everyday life. Denise, especially, through her Biblical and other down to earth examples, showed exactly what it means to honour others and so honour God. It was a challenging message but given with love and encouragement, through the power of the Holy Spirit. I am looking forward to receiving the DVD of the talks and hope that more deaf and hearing people will have access to such teaching and fellowship in the future. Hilary Cull (H), Buckinghamshire It was a fantastic weekend! Lovely to meet old/new friends gathering especially to study God’s Word regarding “God is honourable”, which Kenneth Nuttall & Denise Flynn shared with us. We learned a lot. It was worthwhile. Michelle Mills (D), South Yorkshire We would like to thank Go! Sign for arranging such a marvellous weekend, with good clear Bible
teaching, and the fellowship and worship were amazing! Our personal action plans are in progress so that we, and our church, bring more honour to God. We continue to pray for the work of Go! Sign and all our new friends. Barbie Nirvana (H) and Cynthia Arthur (D), North Wales I really enjoyed the conference, and it was lovely to see some ‘old’ and new faces. I found the messages both challenging and encouraging. The weather was an extra blessing! David Bamber (D), Preston
We sensed the presence of the Lord in the meetings. Everyone was in rapt attention to both of the speakers. Their clear and measured delivery ensured that the delegates could easily access the important subject of “The Honour of God”. The Biblical content and contemporary illustrations explained and unpacked the theme very well. David Flynn (H), Middlesex
“Honour God”. Wow! It has impacted me and my attitude on how to honour God and also other people. It made me think about respecting each other because God would like to see us working for Him in unity. Colette Blair (D), Belfast I went as a hearing person with level two signing, not having had the opportunity to see signing for the last year. I was a bit nervous, wondering if I would feel left out. People made a big effort to include me and I had a fantastic time. It was a huge privilege for me to see the openess, warmth and fun and to feel part of it and share in prayer. It is good to be in the family of God. Often this week (after the conference) I have thought before doing something, “Will this honour God?” Sarajane Saville (H), Kettering
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had a e w which s and , 0 p 1 0 u 2 o r th June ross drama g ex-member lows: 2 1 y a d ur ut 28 as fol o Sign C e r b t u a A On Sat r . o s b f r tion o 15 yea ether to cele celebra running for d tog e r n e e h t e a has b bers g m e m t curren goodness e Lord for His We rejoiced in th d us the Lord has calle at th ow kn e w , to us es. We any different plac to serve him in m many who gave us so rd Lo e th in ed ic rejo past w plays over the new faces and ne is in the Lord for H ed ic jo re e W s. ar 15 ye our team, has looked after goodness as He ere tired. even when we w th ng re st us ng givi odness e Lord for his go We rejoiced in th ithin od was spread w G of d or W e th that K, ity over all the U the deaf commun ghlight nt events! The hi re ffe di 73 h ug thro and as the old photos of the evening w werful with so many po n, ow sh g in be s film st thing, medy. And the la messages and co has Lord for all that he e th in ed ic jo re we is st 15 years and H done over the pa to serve him. call to continue helmsford Jim Iland (D), C
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Please continue with your support and prayers for God to bless the ministry of Sign Cross Drama, as they travel around the UK to share God’s message visually. Take the advice given above and find out when their next performance is and watch them, or get in touch with Sign Cross Drama and invite them to perform at your church across the UK! Jay Thomas-Morton (D)
they are oss Drama group, Cr gn Si o! G e th together and “I am glad I joined t each other, pray or pp su ey th , ble and a good team a lot about the Bi nt ar le ve ha I e. bl places and met talk about the Bi been to different ve ha I d an e lik drama. what God is t easy to practice n’ is it es im et m . So d Jesus, or to different people g to know God an in m co le op pe learn about I like seeing and Jesus, and to od G t ou ab nd ta unders r drama.” the Bible from ou th is (D), Portsmou Rozwanna Banar
I have travelled to different pla ces over many years. I have seen a growing nu mber of people coming to watch the shows and to see God working in us. The aim of our team is to bring the message of salvation to people by visual means, through drama, making people understand what God is saying through ou r shows. I want to see more people sharing in the shows and allowing God to put His seeds into their hearts. Alan George (D), Kent
alled isation c n a g r o ago his 15 years ord for t L p r u u t o e s k , . p Than the world ma Grou a o r t D e s c s a r o ue Sign Cr ve and g ill contin God’s lo w s e s e w r p n x to e to nisatio strength this orga m h o g fr u o o r g h T ue nd ill contin e Lord a w h t e e W v r . e lp af to s God’s he ch as De u h s it s w n h io t t streng ganiza d Hope other or t r o p ing, Goo p u lk a T to s d n a , etc., Christ, H ) Service M T ( n io as a Youth 4 iss to stand d rnacle M n e a b a d r T n. o d L an generatio g in our n o t o r n t s io t w a r to gro gene ible for idge from r being respons r b g n o r st nd fo nd also o Jim Ila Group a a m a r Thanks t D cluding s team, in ign Cros S ia ! d o e G m e n too! th support e Go! Sig h ir t e o h t t s r k than David fo eter and P r, e h t s E (D) intade Tina Igb Atinuke London
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Rejoicing By Raymond Abernethy (D), Belfast
Scripture tells us that we are to rejoice in the Lord always, Philippians 4:4. The Apostle Paul said “Rejoice”. He tells us how we should do it - “in the Lord”. He tells us when to do it - “always.” The Facts about Rejoicing We must never rejoice based on how we are feeling. We must rejoice based on facts. What is the most important fact? The fact that Jesus stooped way down to us in order to redeem His lost people and save them from sin. It is easy to be joyful when everything is going well but what happens when things go wrong? We do not rejoice, we complain. We do not pray, we worry. We do not know what true peace is. We see from the Scriptures that any time can be a time for rejoicing if we have the right attitude. Rejoicing is our Response to God’s Gift of Salvation Isaiah 25:9, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in Him; Let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” How much more should we all be grateful and rejoice at the fantastic salvation God has given us. God and the angels in heaven rejoice at our salvation. Should we not do the same? Luke 15:6 – The parable of the Lost sheep. The man said, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.”
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Luke 15:22 – The parable of the Prodigal Son. The father gave a party because his lost son had returned to him. We know how to rejoice at parties, at birthday parties and at weddings. We need more practice at rejoicing in the Lord. The joy we have in our salvation leads us to give everything we have to God, that includes our rejoicing. Rejoice Because of His Blessings God loves us so much, so we should rejoice in all our blessings, including the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Rejoice in Times of Trial James 1:2, “Consider it pure joy, my brother, whenever you face trails of many kinds. ” When our faith is tested, when times of illness come, when we are in difficult times, when we face temptations, it is the time to rejoice. The apostle Paul rejoiced in the Lord at all times and under all circumstances. May God restore to us the joy of salvation. Nothing Can Stop our Rejoicing in the Lord One writer said “Nothing can prevent us from faithfully rejoicing in the Lord.”
in the Lord Nothing can prevent us from rejoicing in the Lord when we have a relationship with Him. That is the key to our rejoicing, knowing that Romans 8:28 is at work in our lives. No matter what the circumstance we face, we can know the truth of this verse. Habakkuk 3:17-18 These verses tell us how to live in confidence during crises, in difficult circumstances, in difficult times.
I would like to suggest to you that you develop a better relationship with God because this produces hopeful rejoicing. Joy comes from a personal, living and fruitful relationship with the Lord. “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.� Philippians 4:7 I hope you enjoy reading about Rejoicing in the Lord always and trust that you will find wonderful joy in the Lord.
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D e a f Yo u t h will be over the past 5 years! We 4C DY to n ve gi d an ne at he has do say rejoice!” REJOICE in the Lord for wh Lord always. Again I will e th in ice ejo “R !!! os ot this is ents, with ph erything give thanks; for looking at past DY4C ev ev in g, in as ce t ou th wi always, pray Philippians 4:4. “Rejoice ON DON: salonians 5:16. es Th , 2006 – L 1 ” u. th 5 yo r 2 fo t y ris r a Ch s u Febr ut Jesus. the will of God in Jesu n: All abo , KNELL
BRAC 2005 – en: , d n 2 All July Brent : g n i d Rea er you. alling first event ev G od C y packed he ver It was t DY4C. It was people by ng set up ixture of you s of m . Lot with a amilies group f g n u and yo utdoors and eat o as a gr games e games. It w had a e g challen at the end w d n a time rden. the ga BBQ in
October 24 th, 2009 LEICESTER : Jay T-Mort on: Jesus @ 21 st Century A great day event, we u sed acting skills as well, as th our e main focus of the da had to act a y was drama. We Bible story in 21st century sty le and relev a nt to us. It shows th at the same m orals still apply to us nowada ys. Jesus is the same yeste rday, today and forever! Am en!
November 25th , 2005 – DERB Y: Brent Allen: U nity. A brilliant day, the workshops were great; danc ing, craft, BSL Po etry and Drama. We were blessed by the use of Derby Deaf Cl ub as our venue because we found out th e day before that the venue we were suppos ed to be using was doub le booked! Praise the Lord ! At the Derby Church ne xt day, two people rece ived Jesus; one of th em actually came ba ck to the Lord! Praise the Lord !!
– TORBAY: May 1 – 4th, 2009 n and Maureen Calhou rity Debbie Harvey: Pu as est weekend and w This was DY4C long es iti t. We had fab activ absolutely brillian ving and shooting, such as climbing, ca and es and CHATTING plus plenty of gam er op n’t really call it a pr sharing. But we ca re we as some people camping weekend, as so inside because it w chicken and slept l rfu d! It was a powe cold! Myself include ity’, ur ‘p on the theme of weekend, focusing d us all. which really touche
February 6th, 20 10 – STAR CITY A great day at Star City, again!! It is a great place for ev eryone to get to easily! We had fun bowling and some people did crazy go lf while others stayed and chatte d! We finished off the day at the King s Arms pub with yummy dinner an d pudding!!
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Brent Alle
nd! People ful weeke ’s A success nt people in d iffere r e v o d staye Lots of London! ho uses in which were r games, , icebreake a fab film hter! And g u la rt f a o p full o to ok people wh n create d by rkshop, o aking wo m lm t fi a h e in th temple! T nsing the Jesus clea bro ug ht kend that e e w e th was r!!!! e togethe Jay and m
February 21st, 2009 Star City for the day – BIRMINGHAM:
About 25 deaf and hear went to Star City, Birm ing young people day. A brilliant day of ingham, for the bowling and laser. catching up, The highlight of the day was the vee pink wig Siobhan wore!!
ORTFEST , 2010 - SP d n 2 ock, y a M – ther Mayc s E : n April 30th to p , Northam !! WEEKEND on: Pray, Play, Sign rs lace, which e p ff e e J n o k in ll a Dere , d modation, e weeken An awesom iant activities, accom Brill lved was great! SUS is invo JE ! y n a p om food and c ! Yay! rt o sp with ony Great testim d k an from Dere h Esther wit riences. e p x e ir e th
4 Christ By Elizabeth Thomas-Morton (D), DY4C Editor
July 7th – 9th, 2006: Gloustershire: Esther Maycock: Run the Race!
First DY4C camping weekend, we were blessed with great weather and had lots of fun with canoeing, sailing etc. Life is like a race; we have to aim for the finishing line, which is Jesus! October 3 1st - Nov ember 2n 2008 – SO d, UTH NOR M Pastor Ro d Chapma ANTON: n: We were b lessed to h Purity ave Pasto Rod to pr r each at DY 4C as he was in the UK and tr avelling to different places ove r a period a month a of nd he was free on th weekend e we had ou r DY4C! Three peo ple came to the Lor that week d end! Such a blessing !
July 1 NEW H7OthR – 24th, 2010: D Dively: Ca IZON: Rev Em Y4C AT Yes, Lovin n Deaf World chory K came to t g God. 27 Deaf ange? h y
Conferen e New Horizon D oung people week!! Emce Week. It was an eaf Christian being a y or y had lots of ex awesome to hear h oung Christian, it perience of younger! is stories about whwas great back to Jes4 young people rec en he was couple of us! Praise the Lor eived or came the Holy Syoung people werd!!!! And a sooooo go pirit, with tongu e baptized in od! es. God is
INGHAM: 2007 – BIRM , th 0 2 ry a u Jan impsons Nora Allen: S psons about the Sim as w lk ta ’s ra em was No each one of th w o h d an ily fam for example le character, ib B a to r ila sim ho worked r to Martha w ila m si is e g ar M at it was she forgot th at ld th ch u m so and she shou as her guest w o h w . S en SU h JE e kitc and not in th be with Him, oses and M to r is simila er m o H en Th r excuses and ere looking fo w o h w ah n Jo asked them do what God to t o n s n selves. o as re oubted them d ey th se au to do, bec The message o was about “G se au ec b ” for it u Jesus is for yo p el h ill w e h and you always. February 1 5th – 17th , 20 MIDDLESB OUROUGH 08 – : Jay Morton : Jesus Cult ure Fab weeken d, first time we all staye in a church d , wh it meant we ich was brilliant as were all tog ether and had more ti me togethe r! The them “Jesus Cultu e re” summary w was great! In e le both Deaf a arnt that we can be nd Christia n at the sam time!! We a e lso raised m oney for the Brazil D eaf Mission 20 08.
May 26th, 2007 – BEL FAST: Pastor Dim a: The imp o rtance of Bible, O bedience a nd eternal Lif e This was th e first time that DY4C flew over to Belfast! It w as only fair, as Belfa st people h ad been flying over to England for the prev ious events and still do now! Great day w ith workshops, which included a new one on tee shirt making.
rd, 2007 November 3 : CHELMSFORD
r it ock: Go fo Esther Mayc emo – Find ing N from tal. 12 were
to 55 people in us m some of ho Ho lland, w Deaf an pe the Euro had met at ing ur d p uth Cam Christian Yo eat gr A . summer the previous for it’ o ‘g n cusing o weekend fo ’s love, r the Father searching fo ters from using charac Nemo’ film. the ‘Finding
in d e s e r e C? 4 Inst Y D h t wi ? af people working oung De
y to reach t r a e h a ave tian? Do you h ted Chris it m m o c re? Are you a ills to sha k s e v a h ether Do you rking tog Lord? o w m a e the iting t s to know of an exc lt t r u a d p a e g b n f you ant to for more bring dea Do you w m o t o s .c t il n a e v m il. ee ign@hot bject of your ema s o to organis g _ c 4 at dy he su ail DY4C ader’ as t m e e L e C s 4 a Y le ‘D P n, putting informatio Autumn 2010 GO! SIGN
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News aroun s d n a H f o Word Birmingham
Hey everybody, we want to share some awesome news relating to the theme of this magazine, “Rejoice in the Lord”, about our Word Of Hands service. We had our 1st year anniversary on Sunday 6th June 2010, with an invited guest speaker, Maureen Colhoun, to share God’s message. Afterwards we had a buffet lunch, bouncy castle and other games, along with plenty of fellowship. We are so thankful to Jesus for His great help and endurance, working/supporting us all for the past year. We (team of eight leaders) have been through a learning curve of how to manage our gifts/ skills, serving at Word Of Hands, and will continue to learn so much more in the future. Word Of Hands will continue to run in October
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and December 2010 and some exciting news to share is that we will increase to monthly meetings from February 2011.
people upgrade all the time, for example some people keep upgrading their mobile phones every year: better quality, higher pixel for camera, better deals, more efficient, etc. It’s the same for us, we can’t stay in one place forever, we need to keep moving forward at HIS PACE, not ours and trusting in the Holy Spirit to do the work.
In a previous Go! Sign It’s very healthy to be Magazine (issue 71, challenged in every way red sha we n whe 14), e pag to grow in maturity in our the good news about the walk with Jesus. Becoming launch of Word of Hands, we mature doesn’t actually said this, “...and [we] need mean becoming older to do it at God’s pace, not and boring...Mature to our pace, as we have got so us means more strength, much to learn in order to flavour and more impact. grow in Jesus Christ before It’s like buying cheese, we taking many of His steps!” buy “mild” cheese and, Jesus challenged us to move when we eat it regularly, forward from our comfort it becomes familiar, we zone, as it’s important know the taste of it...if we to “upgrade” ourselves challenge ourselves to eat regularly. In a worldly sense,
nd the setting like Word Of Hands “medium” cheese then we but actually you can be an will experience a stronger l church anywhere, taste, with more flavour and informa s wants you we may like it, or not, when 24/7! Jesu to be a “church” through we change the level of the fellowship as Jesus deeply strength of the cheese. loves the friendship. Then eventually we may move onto “mature” cheese The Bible teaches us to and “extra-mature” cheese. “Love God with all your This is the same for us all, heart, mind, soul and we may like, or not like, strength” and secondly to going at God’s pace but love one another as yourself. we know in our hearts that Jesus REALLY REALLY wants it’s for the best, as Jesus to be your best friend and wants to see us growing for us to acknowledge Him more mature, walking with and become His best friend God closer and closer! That too and to show that kind of shows how much Jesus relationship with each other, loves us and wants the to see Jesus more and very best for all of us. more in us and that’s what g makes us “church”. A final encouragin message for you about “Church”. Word Of Hands is just a title for our service, which we run within the building called “Riverside House”, and what makes the “church” happen is having people unite together as one body with Jesus as our head and when we share fellowship together, sharing about Jesus – that is what is actually called “Church”. You can become “Church” yourself with one person or more anywhere, talking about Jesus, what you have learnt this week, encouragement and prayers – that is “church!” We often thinking that church is related to a formal
We need to develop this further daily and when we come together more “formally” in a building, like Word Of Hands. We are bound to feel at home, worshiping together, hearing the message from God via preaching and having fellowship afterwards because we are continuing to be “church” with each other, making us feel at home inside or outside of church buildings. Have you been upgrading your walk with Jesus? Moving forward into medium, mature or extramature with Him? Is your “church” being used daily or just on Sundays? “Rejoice in the Lord” – the word “Rejoice” means to be glad or delighted. Will you be glad to be challenged by Jesus in your lives? Then let’s rejoice in the Lord in everything – no matter what. Jesus is with us ALWAYS! Amen. Jay Thomas-Morton (D), Birmingham
Autumn 2010 GO! SIGN
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News around the
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knew it and we just ir p S that God n to prayers career path, e – m d A e b id ri sa sc e were d ouse, s, path to a h to describe th a in was with us. p g e y b tr n u u o y o is c o s d su re Je e . h rence W etc ch of the confe at shared su s ft flight path th p ra o c ce w ir sh n a ro rk re g o fe ly w n a co The d the we can on ent and love attended an His THE way and ll in e w lk a re w e e encouragem w w g n ians if t gave an eaf and heari up as Christ uld keep turday nigh o a within the D S sh share e l W . il H im r ith H r people to Cobe w fo d s? y y te a ie it c it w a n n u tr u is rt m d o p com op ed into rience. and not be has develop style on His path rkshop expe fe o li w a ir d e n a Conference th r e m v lways so cis uite special o ned song (a d y gossip, criti g o b si G L s. S B su d e Je n h t a something q T arried ip flec beautifully c s t does not re d the fellowsh a a n r a w th u r) rs o a la e ts u y n p l) e ou th po lways specia people who r ways and c (a e u a o th s m f s e o u ra se d ts ip n e sh a e w friend out; th sight into th ify to the ery day! God in st v n e te a – e ly is s n n H p o o e In n ry st a e y. attend c gave ev ve in year’s in His wa at we can ha for us all. This alk and work r th s w s fo su n , to e o Je c ti f n c o e a e d tr v fi is n ” llow Lo d can have co e was “PATH we do not fo e m e w n e y th e h a k a w w ce s n m e re v lp li confe our ction, (a new We can he hing, A for a the Labyrinth nted s He is with us. ; a th rs a e p . th g is o n r – P for preac H li a fo e was prese th straight g and H for h e our lives. word for some) her the pa v c li us a T for teachin e re w p y d a w te if e the era showing is a g se m d te a y n a c e a rl ig o th v e Fa a c id n v M a to Bob via ord of gone on like a map nicates the W le who had The Bible is g p o in e k p ta e t u and commu th r. o u h o d we it together an rity and hum to Heaven, w y s e e u rn w u d jo o G is f e God with cla th o b (Jesus of the Word reated path ch that could e n c c u o e ti ti m o c th n e so ir w is d o h re te The saw but the opposi ade people e Conference could go in a ntre) had m e e c k li e is th it said about th is ir p ce S e craft ly bite-size pie His and pray; th Hell! The Ho k g – in in d th il y u ll b a is here is a little re and od et h the beads y pass to us. G it ers so they g n m d w a a , o h c p re it o r w u sh o d y rk e r . ish fo wo eople – he isn’t fin e conference s, allowed p h a th d v rc f n n u o a a h r c y c u a n o d o v a s to the fl seed d still heals testimony of ack at their e word of us yet. Go t b if th k G g o e in lo h th c to f a o s Jesus nd Te reminded u s to see how b e y su o Preaching a e w B Je n rn f e u o h y jo w tr d s is n a ys lifts u the min m. of God alwa Healing and ays with the l. row up” u lw “g o a S s to a d s n w u a s y lp d e h , Bo t year! y receive it. It to the Spirit o come nex ot stay “bab D n d n a s n s g ia as Christ t into yer meetin York o do not pu morning pra h e w h T s” n Higgins (D), ia living st ’s ry ri a d d o e Ch M G rn a in le g is in y (H), on what were like be ess and and Isobel Appleb n n e p e o d personal acti a n a m s wa and aching. Bob room! There d everyone orthumberl e from Bible te N lp e e w h t ss a le th n that u friendship it quite clear ith the Holy are not e w n o ti l at home w c e A fe to to in is th put which purpose for fulfilling the ould od’s word sh G t. n a e m is it paths God's nge. d. Different e st a w cha e b r e nev never
Congratulations to Laurie Banks’ success!
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Congratulations to Laurie Banks. We take our hats off to you, Graduate Laurie! Let’s rejoice in his success, the completion of his course and his graduation and give thanks to the Lord. As Paul wro te in Philippians 1:3-4, “I thank my God every time I rem ember you, always praying with joy for all of you .” There will be more details about Lau rie Banks’ experience through his graduation in the next issue! So watch this space!
th” a P e h T “ – ) 0 1 0 2 25th-27th June
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me was Job allenged and encouraged ch d! en ek we e ways and What can I say about th 31:4, ‘Does God not see my ling how God ea d until the count my every step?’, rev From the moment I arrive step I take, ! …it was is interested in me, in every nd yo be d an t... lef I nt me mo my steps, ce where I go. He counts all sen ery pre ev d’s Go t tha me to obvious r map and His Cober Hill so with God’s word as ou was very clearly with us at are sure to gs were Spirit as our compass, we din un rro su e Th . ce ren nfe Co ely to end hills and stay on course. It was lov beautiful, with fields, trees, together inded me of this wonderful weekend sea, which only further rem would . This lead my with Holy Communion. I God’s wonderful creation . Thank ne yo an recommend it to God when I in heart to sing, ‘O Lord my nt. me great thou art’. The you for your encourage awesome wonder’...’How blessing. , very homely, Continue in your work of accommodation was lovely e food was (D), Preston comfortable and clean. Th course, David Bamber of , ng ssi ble tra ex An ! m! fantastic. Yu we couldn’t was the beautiful weather, s so nice to have have asked for better. It wa cuits outside in fellowship, coffee and bis ps to me were the sunshine. The worksho portunity to use a blessing, giving me an op God. It was great sign to praise and glorify friends and share to meet with old and new word on every and pray with them. The ng. Our theme occasion was a real blessi of Spiritual was ‘The Path – A journey ich particularly growth’. The Bible verse wh
on! i t n? a u d raduatio a g r y G m t a s old me hen I wa teve’s
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lw rd t did I fee n the Lo e h w 6 I can’t 0 So how ack to 20 d I told the Lord EVER b d e k o N n I lo college a e! But the LORD Lord cis and t n le r a r e ib F b B o n o R e e old the 3 years. e is Stev e to g lish and a degr 8:20). I t e Lord My nam g llege for een there befor 2 n o s c E le o le ic d ib yB had b and th 1 Chron Matterse and attersey ILS US! ( pass this degree ent Allen M r A F B o g d he stage n o t t a o s e t ’t o e t n m n k t a o u c n ld Flo to rd I I did walked I just wa hen God him, “Lo ass! So I aise to the Lord! p a e me but w e, in 2006, I told sh!” I prayed for m gave li . Yes! pr lleg lly in Eng would open for I got my degree men! ia Bible Co c e p s e t Jesus! A oor ree, u . d g o e e e h d m h it t a d w if e s o d see ough accept not pas aiting to dlesbor and they or for me to id e M g , ) e while, w ll D ( o Bible C Francis d the do because Steven me to go Lord had opene d e y a r p he me, so I is hard I knew t plan for a d ge and it ass the a a h u d g n n a la , go rst ed to p not my fi at I want h ob, t d r English is o L church B the in ld y o a t I d . e e and n for m all, and o r, prayed for me sus ’s t a h t , degree and Je Leiceste teacher astor in t p s e a b is e o h wh s is t ars. that Jesu hrough the 3 ye told me t e e with m and would b been up s a h and fe li 010, rted me 2 o o p t p 7 u s 0 hie has From 20 e lost! wife Sop t her I would b y M . n r me u dow prayed fo e, witho o m h r w fo d d praye y frien y wife, m m k n a Autumn 2010 GO! SIGN h It you! k n a h t I and
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New Horizon Deaf Pastor Ray and Rita Abernethy asked me to write a conference report about the things I had seen and it is a joy for me to do so. It was my first ever visit to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland is the 24th country I have had the opportunity to minister in since 1986, when I started to minister overseas. The UK has a special place in my heart since I am directly related to English descendants of a missionary family sent by the Church of England to America over a hundred years ago.
19 GO! SIGN Autumn 2010
With the leading of the Lord, I felt joy in teaching the Deaf attendees from the UK, including the exciting DY4C – Deaf Youth for Christ – a UK-based deaf youth group. I spoke about “Worshipping our Wondrous Lord” through our Deaf lives, designed by our loving God. The setting was beautiful green scenery at Portstewart, in the northernmost part of Ireland. While I taught daily morning seminars, with approximately 90 attendees, along with some preaching sessions, we witnessed some powerful events, such as 6 people accepting Jesus Christ or re-dedicating their lives to Christ and 7 people receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Praise God!
The movement of the power of the Holy Spirit marked “2010 Deaf Port-stewart (d) Commission”, on the last day of conference week, by more than 10 people accepting the challenge to Port (Plug-in) into Jesus and to serve Him willingly, full-time as Deaf Christian Stewards/Servants for the Deaf. I thanked Lord for His grace and the attendees for kindly helping me to learn Northern Ireland Signs, along with British Sign Language and its 2-handed alphabet, through the power of Holy Spirit. The attendees warmly invited me to have fellowship with them daily over meals and I visited some DY4C night events. These folks very quickly lead me to think of the UK as my second home, with a rich heritage of the UK and Ireland.
Conference 2010 Conference attendees may remember me as “the ice-cream guy”, which I would not deny, but in fact the Lord considers us all as the jewels in His crown. He will have been blessed by the attendees’ worship, praise, and prayer times throughout the conference week. Instantly, I was aware that the Lord is moving to shake up the United Kingdom by planting the seeds of His Word in the difficult and dry land, to grow into His TRUE green land through His power of healing in repentance and reconciliation. Please pray that the Deaf adults, including young people, will be reminded by the Lord of the “2010 Deaf Port-stewart (d) Commission” at the New Horizon
Deaf Conference, where they committed their lives in obedience to serving Him by Preaching His Word, Planting His Deaf churches, and Praising Him in His Pentecostal Way. Praise God! With firm conviction, I do believe that the UK Deaf are beginning to experience another chance to have revival, in the Pentecostal way, which will prove that Jesus was indeed Resurrected from His Death and He will be coming Soon, definitely! Emory K Dively (D), USA
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world
News around the
Report from Jordan
During the last few days of our journey in Jordan, when we started to write the report of how God had been leading the three of us, immediately the word came into my mind to look at the first letters of our names, Bob, Allister and Gabi, spelling BAG. So we can say that God used a BAG in that beautiful place, in the hot weather. Many people asked for our help in many ways so we could minister to them and help them to enjoy God’s Great Name. him for the first time. During the Easter time we spent our time with the leader’s lovely family in Aqaba, in the south of Jordan and swam too. WOW! We had a good bag of fellowship.
Bag of Friendship We asked Allister Gauld, from Aberdeen in Scotland, to join us on our mission trip for 3 and a half weeks. God opened our eyes to see His wonderful works among deaf people – generation to generation. We read a verse of Psalm 104:24 which says, “How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” A mature, deaf leader of Peace Dove Church in Az-Zarqa, Jordan, became friends with us. We had met him for the first time in Estonia, at the European Deaf Christian Conference, in 2000. Three of us met him again, in 2008, at Deaf Ministries International, in Egypt. He was interested in sharing with us about his work in Jordan, in the Deaf school, deaf church and Deaf Cultural Centre, for a lovely couple had asked him to become one of their staff in the Deaf Cultural Centre. This leader encouraged us to come to Jordan. We had heard about the Director’s work at the school but we were glad to meet
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Bag of love and work We stayed at the school called the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf, in Salt. We were able to meet a crowd of children and teenagers and also played with them. It was an opportunity for us to eat with pupils, teachers and staff. They were full of life. We had lovely fellowship with the Director and it was wonderful to see his gift of ministry among different levels of people. It was fantastic for us to share English and Scottish culture at the Deaf Cultural Centre in Amman on two Wednesdays and to have deaf young ones asking us a load of questions. They thought that there is no God in Europe but we told them that many people believe in God, including us. Very quickly we all became friends and had many laughs; for they knew that we are Christians. We had a lovely meal with them before we went home. On two Fridays – like Sundays to us, we went to Peace Dove Church and I shared the Word of God. We had lovely fellowship together around the Arab culture of food. We appreciated everyone for their lovely food. Bag of food! Bag of
interesting places. It was a great experience for us to travel and see many different, interesting places, which match up with the Bible’s history and prophets, plus Petra, Roman castles and old churches. There were some accidents and troubles before us but we were protected by God’s angel. We were able to minister to people and they were amazed that God can use deaf people. Bag of prayers Ministers asked us to tell you to pray for them in Jordan, that they will know the love of God. We pray that God will bring a Bag of blessings upon Jordan. We are very impressed with their work among deaf people through their different ministries. Bob (D) & Gabi (D) McFarland, Leicester / Allister Gauld (D), Aberdeen
Bob Allister Gabi
ion Belarus maislysTaks, deaf missionaries
it Margit and V y English ere funded b w , ia n o st E wns and from isit several to v to s, n ia st ri sk. Deaf Ch Brest and Min ly in a m s, ru cities in Bela Vilnius, vited to visit in o ls a re e was w They Their main aim i. a ly u a h S d n ms Kaunas a es and proble su is ily m fa t nd what to talk abou le to understa p o e p lp e h aling and to em about de th s e ch a te rd God’s Wo reached blems. They p ro p ily m fa h w them wit shows to sho a m ra d id d o and als race and t God’s love, g p e ny cc a to w o h mily lives. Ma fa n w o ir e th ry helpful forgiveness in their visits ve d n u fo le p o in to deaf pe me back aga co to m e th d and Vitaly and wante t God! Margit u o b a re o m k n. spea ain this autum g a m e th it is plan to v
Deaf сonference at
S.Peterburg
Margit preach ed on the th eme of “Love about 80 De ” from 1 Cori af people an nthians 13, to d interpreters as well as sp fr om many pa eaking partic rts of Russia, ularly to wom people, from en. Vitaly spo God’s Word, k e to the youn on the them to see 20 pe g e of “Pardon”. ople make a It was thrilling confession o f faith in Jesu s. School Church Prem
Confe re
nce
s
Belaru
City Visit
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world
News around the
European Deaf Christian Worship Days Before the end of the event, we had a discussion and decided who would host the next Worship Days. It was agreed that it would be Italy. People were very happy about it and asked for an extra day. The Worship Days have usually lasted for three days, but a four-day event was requested in Italy. So the 5th European Deaf Christian Worship Days will be held in Italy from 2nd to 5th June 2011.
The 4th European Deaf Christian Worship Days were held in Malminharjulla, Finland, from 7th-9th May 2010. People gathered to learn about worship and singing. The words of the songs were shown on the screen in English and the songs were signed in international sign. Alla Kurg from Estonia taught about having the courage to take a step and start worshipping, Bible verses; Psalm 34:2 and Mark 12:30. Luca Dascoli from Italy taught about singing about victory with Jesus, Bible verses; 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. Marika Jouhki from Finland talked about teamwork in worship, Bible verses; Acts 16:19-34. People from different countries presented songs and dramas based on Psalms. Some presenters used background music from CDs or electric drums, some performed only in sign language, without music. People most enjoyed the video presentations and worship shows, giving new ideas to make worship in sign language even better in the future. There were more than 80 people who had worship in their hearts; 11 from Estonia, 13 from Russia, 7 from France, 3 from Austria, 1 from Germany, 2 from Lithuania, 1 from Denmark, 6 from Italy, 1 from Bolivia, and the rest of the participants were from Finland. Finland was a perfect place for the event, our Finnish hosts were very nice, the venue and the accommodation were perfect and we also had a chance to taste Finnish traditions and to go to the sauna. Those who were especially strong could also have a swim in a cool lake after the hot sauna.
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Riho Kurg strongly encourages every worship leader in European Deaf churches to participate in this event. Please read the verses from the Bible and open your voice and hands to worship. Pastor Riho Kurg (D), Estonia
Support Fren ch Deaf Mission
At the end of Ju ne, Pastor Raym ond Abernethy (D) and David Buxt on (D) flew to Toulouse, Fr ance, for three d ays to meet four Deaf French Christian leader s. The time was spen t discussing th e future and teaching them about Christian leadership and God’s calli ng. David com mented, “After three days, we realised how m uch work there is to do. Th ey really need us, and other deaf leaders fro m the UK, to su pport them and help them develop further to reach out to Deaf people , both in Bible tr aining and evangelism. Fr ance is really a huge country,
with different cu lture and issues in different parts of France . Th
ere are no paid deaf leaders or pastors, full or part time, in France!!” Please pray for them to seek G od’s direction and for guidan ce as to how w e can help them e.g. regular visi , ts, Bible teachin g, discipleship training, and so on. We plan to go back at the end of October this year and m ake more visits next year. If God touches your heart to h elp to fund the cost of thes e visits to provi de more Bible training in Fran ce, please send your donation Go! Sign and sa to y it is for the Fr ench Deaf Missi project (chequ on es should be m ade payable to “Go! Sign”). Th ank you
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R e v iew k o o B y Morning? a d n u S n o g n ti re Who’s Interp ord By Doreen E Woodf
xclusive Brethren Stories of Deaf E e eserve a small piec
ten to record and pr se. This book was writ tioned anywhere el en m un is at th y or of Deaf Hist a wide range of ’s family and using or th au e th on g in usual and Build cture of a rather un pi a , ns io ut rib nt co anonymous ground sketch p is built up. A back ou gr n tia ris Ch d te ows that restric ent of this group sh pm lo ve de d an y nded of the histor r Deaf people depe fo g in nd ta rs de un membership and tation. d quality of interpre on the provision an llowship and of the quality of fe n tio es qu e th s ise This ra eaf Christians was possible for D participation that oup. belonging to the gr
Reviewed by John Doreen E Woodford is a well respected member of The British Deaf History Society. She is the hearing daughter of Deaf parents & Deaf grandparents, who were members of the Deaf Exclusive Brethren. She was a teacher at the Royal School for deaf children at Margate before she went to Africa, including Somaliland and Tanzania, and she has made several trips, even in her 80s. Exclusive Brethren is not well known throughout the Evangelical Protestant Christian Church. Doreen has been researching the history of the Deaf Exclusive Brethren in England and in Australia. You may well ask what the Plymouth Exclusive Brethren is. In Doreen’s new book, Peter Jackson, the editor of the British Deaf History Society, has written a short but excellent introduction describing the Exclusive Brethren. The word “Exclusive” in the dictionary states, ‘shut out or to keep out from society’. The Exclusive Brethren keep themselves separate from other people (including other Christians) because of their doctrine– the ‘separation from iniquity’, or separation from sin. Peter gives a few examples in the book: They must not: * visit other churches * join a trade union * live in the same building, including apartments and semi-detached houses, as outsiders * marry outside the Exclusive Brethren The lifestyle of the Exclusive Brethren extends into other areas, where they are prohibited from: * watching television * listening to the radio * owning pets * going to university
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Delve (D), London The prohibition from watching television, in particular, has hit Deaf Exclusive Brethren hard. They are also forbidden to go to any Deaf club. There are now only about 16,000 Exclusive Brethren in Britain. Doreen gives some history describing how the Exclusive Brethren was formed in Dublin, in 1832, by John Nelson Darby and then came to Plymouth. She also writes about some Early Deaf Brethren, her deaf grandparents and parents were involved in the Exclusive Brethren. In her book there are about 52 photographs of Deaf groups, individual deaf people and deaf families in England, Australia and New Zealand. There were several mainstream meetings at Luton, Bedford, Watford and other places like Grimsby and Manchester. I noticed that the deaf people did not have their own Sunday Deaf Brethren meeting but I am not clear whether the Deaf group were allowed to have their own bible study in the week without having a ‘shepherd’ or elder present to see that they did not detract from the truth of the one body. One interesting point in the book is about a new sign for ‘God’. “In the late sixties a new sign for the Trinity entered Australian interpreting among the EDs. This passed to Britain for implementation here. The new sign involved closing the fists with the index finger pointing straight upwards. There were various reactions to this”. Doreen also talks about the quality of the interpreting in meetings, “… for many of the older Deaf members this may not have been important as they relied on finger-spelling, but it will have had more effect as sign became more and more used. It seemed too that
sometimes interpreters sought lessons from other interpreters, or Deaf sign language teachers, instead of learning from the Deaf Brethren themselves”. I have met a few deaf who were brought up in an Exclusive Brethren hearing family but I have never seen photographs of the Deaf Brethren group before. I was the third generation of the Open Brethren family. I know a little about the Exclusive Brethren’s background and what their beliefs are but the book gives us an excellent explanation. I know there were quite a large number of Deaf Exclusive Brethren members gathered in Dublin about hundred years ago. I know it was not easy to research the history of the Deaf Exclusive Brethren because it is very rare to meet any Deaf person who is a member of the Plymouth Exclusive Brethren nowadays. I found Doreen’s book very interesting and enjoyed reading it and seeing the photographs, especially one old photograph of a group of schoolboys, with old fashioned uniforms, at Margate School. I recommend you to buy this good book to give you a better understanding of the background and history of the Deaf Exclusive Brethren. It’s worth reading a hearing member’s perspective on deaf fellow members in the church. I must congratulate Doreen for researching and producing this excellent book. John Delve (D), London
GO! SIGN is published three times a year. The aim of GO! SIGN is to support and enable Deaf Christians through Christian Network, Outreach, Equipping, Teaching and Evangelism. Any person or organisation wishing to photocopy or reproduce GO! SIGN articles, may do so provided they acknowledge GO! SIGN’s copyright and do not edit text. The views expressed in GO! SIGN should not necessarily be taken as GO! SIGN policy. Whilst every care is taken to provide accurate information, neither GO! SIGN Ministry Team, Trustees, the Editor nor the contributors accept any liability for any error or omission. A subscription to GO! SIGN costs £11.50 per year for an individual or £20 for an organisation.
Next issue 75 The theme of the next issue of the magazine will be...
“What do you think of Jesus at Christmas?” Please could you write an article, your experience, testimony, story or any biblical point of view on “Jesus at Christmas” to help people to understand more about Christmas. It can be your thoughts about Christmas, what it really means to you and how it relates to our lives. If you have something to share, please write to: GO! SIGN Editor (Esther Maycock) 21 Newton Wood Road Ashtead, Surrey KT21 1NN Or email to her: crazyerm@hotmail.co.uk
Deadline by
8th October 2010 Autumn Spring 2010 GO! SIGN
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