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Religion

Class brings the word to the deaf

Sue Paulus teaches sign language to help train interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing, so they can enjoy church services.

By GAIL HOLLENBECK
Published July 30, 2005

INVERNESS - Sue Paulus would like deaf people to be able to "hear" the Gospel.

"Some of the deaf think they can't hear the word of God," she said, "But with sign language, they can."

Paulus, 48, who has been deaf for about five years and hard of hearing since her youth, spends a lot of time teaching sign language classes throughout the county.

"I like to share the signs," she said. "I think sign is a beautiful language. When we share our language, there will be better communication."

Many of Paulus' classes are nonreligious and are held at various community centers. Others are in churches and are geared to helping train interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing, so they can enjoy church services.

Paulus also teaches sign to several homeschoolers, and this fall she will teach an eight-week religious sign language class at Central Florida Community College.

On Thursdays this summer, Paulus has been teaching several classes at First Christian Church. One of the classes is for the pastor, Todd Langdon, and wife Denise.

"I know there's a large deaf community here in Inverness," Langdon said. "We have listening devices in the church for people to use if they just need amplification. But we have two ladies who are beyond that. Since Sue has gotten some interpreters up front on Sunday mornings, they have been coming a little bit more regularly. It's a beginning. More and more as the word spreads, we're going to be having folks coming in that are hearing impaired."

When Paulus began visiting at the church and teaching a member sign for interpretation purposes, Langdon felt it was time for him to learn sign himself.

"I've wanted to learn for ministry and for personal use," he said. "We run into hearing impaired folks all the time. Even visiting in the hospital I may have somebody in the room with someone I'm visiting that is hearing impaired. I like to ask them if there's anything I can do for them, like pray for them."

Another reason the Langdons want to learn the language is so that when needed, they will be able to provide pastoral counseling to deaf people in a private setting without needing to have an interpreter present.

"The whole idea is for them to learn signs so the deaf will be more comfortable with them," Paulus said. "An interpreter is like a third person. I've always told all my interpreters, if you go in with a pastor or pastor's wife, you can't repeat it. They need to be invisible."

Mrs. Langdon, who teaches third grade at Citrus Springs Elementary School, hopes to use her new skills in the classroom.

"This year I'm thinking about doing a unit on sign language," she said. "I'd like to introduce it to my students just to get their feet wet. Those that love it will seek it out and learn more. I'd like them to see what it's like to learn as a deaf student, so we'll probably have a couple of days where we don't use the spoken language at all."

Paulus learned some sign language when she was a young girl in Ohio. But signing was discouraged because it wasn't how the rest of the world communicated, she said.

"We weren't allowed to use signs. We had to do oral," she said.

After moving to Florida and attending New Hope Baptist Church in Homosassa, which had an interpreter, she was able to learn more of the language.

"They had a man who was deaf. He taught me a lot of other signs," Paulus said.

She also made some spiritual decisions while attending that church.

"I was saved in January 1985," Paulus said. "Quite a few years ago, I was struggling. I finally said, Okay, God. What do you want me to do?' At the time a lot of people wanted me to teach, but I didn't know the terms, and I had to study to learn them. Then I became more comfortable with it. Now I want to help more of the churches have a deaf ministry."

Once she has finished her work at First Christian Church, Paulus plans to begin helping First Baptist of Inverness with a deaf ministry.

"If you learn signs," she said, "you might get deaf people coming."

At a recent class, Paulus taught the Langdons how to sign several words from the Bible like: Jonah, judge, king, Luke, David, Christ, God. Each placement of the hand means something different. Some words are spelled out letter by letter. Others have a sign that represents the whole word. Learning will take lots of practice, Paulus says, and associating with the deaf.

The Langdons are eager students.

"I'll try that Sunday," Langdon says as he learns how to sign the word "pray."

"You can tell them what chapter to open their Bibles to," encourages Mrs. Langdon.

"You're doing really good," Paulus says to her students. "I think the deaf will have a warm welcome here."

Sue Paulus will teach Religious Sign Language beginning Sept. 12 at Central Florida Community College's Lecanto campus. The eight-week class will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Mondays and is open to everyone. There are no class prerequisites. Cost is $30. Call 746-6721, ext. 6140, to register.

First Christian Church, 2018 Colonade St., is one of several churches in the county that offers interpretation for the deaf and hard of hearing. An interpreter signs during the 9 a.m. Bible study and the 10:15 a.m. worship service on Sundays. Call 344-1908.

[Last modified July 30, 2005, 01:09:17]