Isn’t Joan the wife of Noah?

Accessibility and a fair shot in this country for all people regardless of ability is the entire reason the Americans with Disabilities Act was put into place. Access requirements have been put into place for nearly every entity and facility in this great nation via through ramps, wider doors, room to turn around, signage in braille, flashing lights, vibrating alarms, captioning (open and closed), computers and ATM’s that will speak to the user if they cannot see, and the list goes on and on and on.

But then there’s Joan.
Joan?
Joan of Arc.
Oh, the wife of Noah from the Bible story about Noah and the Ark.

No. The two are not related, nor are they from the same time frame.

Did you know that?

Let me take a stab in the dark and say, YES, you knew that.

Did you know that there are many deaf people who do not? Did you know that there are many deaf people who were “raised in church” but do not know basic Bible stories such as Noah and the Ark, Moses and the 10 Commandments, Jonah and the whale, Jesus feeding the 5,000 men with a few loaves and fishes?

How is this possible, “raised in church” but don’t know the most popular of Bible stories.

Simple. The lack of accessibility not to mention the lack of “requirements” to provide accessibility to the deaf/hearing impaired in the realm of the church.  The church is exempt from the ADA when it comes to the deaf/hearing impaired.  Many have accommodated the hard-of-hearing by adding a “loop system” to their buildings much like small theatres/play houses have done; but the system is worthless to individuals who cannot hear.

But Guess What? GREAT NEWS!!!

Knoxville, Tennessee can now add yet another accessible church to its roster of growing churches who have a heart and an open door to the Deaf community.

Kudos goes out to the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd on Jacksboro Pike in Knoxville. They will begin offering sign language interpreted services through a professional ASL interpreter for the deaf during their 11:00 a.m. Sunday service. starting August 22 until Thanksgiving of 2010. If the interest remains, then the church is committed to continuing this service for our community.

The church has dedicated a webpage to this announcement. We encourage you to check it out and share it with your deaf friends and family.
The church also has a vision statement of why and how they plan to impact the area Deaf community for the Kingdom.

On behalf of VCI, I do not advocate/support attendance at any one particular church.  I do, however, strongly encourage everyone to attend a Christian church of their choice that preaches the Word of God from the Holy Bible and salvation through Jesus Christ alone.

Welcome Episcopol Church of the Good Shepherd to the growing group of churches who have taken to heart the command of our Lord to go into ALL the world and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. May God bless your congregation and your deaf church beyond measure.

In His Service,

Ruann Wood

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