Heavenly Signs - The Barrie Examiner - 26 July 2008

Heavenly Signs - The Barrie Examiner - 26 July 2008

Posted By KELLY MCSHANE

Barrie priest uses sign language to connect with deaf parishioners

Parishioners come to Holy Spirit Parish [http://www.holyspiritbarrie.ca/] in search of a sign from God and Father Keith Wallace knows just how to deliver it. "(Having sign language) shows us that we at Holy Spirit are inclusive and all members are part of our family. To have a religious and spiritual leader that you can converse with bridges the gap between the two languages," Wallace said of the separation between the spoken word and sign language.
Wallace has been a priest for more than 20 years, seven of which were spent in Toronto teaching at a school where 25 per cent of the students were hearing impaired. He said he had people in his parish who were both deaf and blind, but still managed to take the subway to get to church every Sunday. Wallace came to Barrie two years ago to join the clergy at Holy Spirit, to the delight of local hearing impaired church-goers.
"Before I came here, they would still go to church and just sit there, even though they couldn't hear anything," Wallace said. He said one of the families in his parish has a child who can hear and was able to translate the service for the hearing impaired members of their family before Wallace's service became available.
One of the five families with hearing impaired members attending Holy Parish comes from Wasaga Beach each Sunday to participate in the service. Wallace said even if there was no sign language offered, there is still a lot a hearing impaired person could get out of a service.
"Most Catholic churches are a feast for the eyes with the stained-glass windows and the wine representing the blood of Christ. They can see that and know what it means," Wallace said.
Being one of only six Catholic priests in Canada who signs throughout their service, Wallace would travel from Toronto to perform services, such as baptisms, for hearing impaired families and individuals in other areas.
"Canada generally tends to be very limited in the number of people who know sign language. The U. S. is far ahead of us. The U. S. seems to be a lot more proactive and not just in churches. Even in restaurants there is usually at least one waiter who knows sign language. Canadians can be pretty mellow," Wallace said.
Many of the younger members of Holy Spirit have chosen to learn sign language in order to communicate with the hearing impaired persons in their congregation.
"(Our hearing impaired members) remind our students not to take things for granted," Wallace said. He said people who can hear have their choice of church, but those without hearing have limited options at best.
Wallace is optimistic for the future. He said there are already three hearing impaired deacons in Ontario.

"Deaf people are taking more leadership roles in the church. That is a real trend here in Canada," Wallace said.

Holy Spirit is in the planning stages of building a new church on Essa Road. The building plans take into account the special needs of each member of the church's congregation. Members who have partial hearing loss would have the benefit wired in hearing aid system in a section of the church. Instead of stairs throughout the alter area, the church would have ramps so that all areas would be wheelchair accessible.
"One of our members wants to be an alter girl, but she's in a wheelchair. We are taking that into account during the planning of the new church," Wallace said.
Wallace said he benefits from using sign language because he has to be so expressive while signing.
"Signing has helped me to be more animated as a person. That's what signing and the deaf people have taught me," Wallace said.
Wallace signs throughout his Sunday mass, which starts at 10:30 a. m. and is held at St. Joan of Arc High School at the the corner Ardagh Road and Mapleton Avenue in Barrie's south end.
Contact the writer at: news@thebarrieexaminer.com