St. Catherine, Jamaica | Charmaine Bailey-Bloomfield/JAMU/IAD
Five deaf persons were among the 104 persons baptized during a tent evangelistic series held in Portmore, St. Catherine, in Jamaica, last week. The hard of hearing new members are the first to be baptized since the Church for the Deaf was established at the Portmore Seventh-day Adventist Church three months ago.
Nadine Peart-Thompson speaks with Pastor Coniel Morgan about her experience. Image by Damian Chambers
Pastor of the Church for the Deaf Coneil Morgan, whose training in sign language gives him the ability to communicate effectively with members of the deaf community, said that the church has been growing and several hard-of-hearing individuals have expressed an interest in joining.
The newly organized group of 46 worshippers have faced challenges, “as with this growth, the social issues of the members are brought into sharper focus,” said Morgan.
“It is a community that has been marginalized because of their impairment so the Church will have to also cater to the physiological, educational and social needs of this community,” explained Morgan.
Among the initiatives already implemented to bridge the gap between the hearing and the deaf, is the commencement of a ten-week sign language class began at the church’s Central Jamaica Conference headquarters office, earlier this month. There were 40 persons who signed up for the class, church leaders said.
Morgan hopes that in the near future, the church’s educational institutions including Northern Caribbean University (NCU) will be able to implement training programs for the special group of persons.
