By Lisa Schulte
The Catholic Voice
Jerry and Kathy Bierman say they are fulfilled in the Catholic Church. Jerry, raised Catholic, and Kathy, who became Catholic 20 years ago, take their four children to Sunday Mass and serve as Eucharistic ministers at St. Anthony Parish in Columbus. Jerry also is a member of the Knights of Columbus.
But being active in their faith has been challenging because they are deaf.
"We've had a hard time making friends at the parish because we can't speak. People will say hello, but won't have conversations," Kathy told The Catholic Voice through her daughter, Kelly, who interpreted for the interview. "That's why we are Eucharistic ministers. It helps people know who we are."
There is no interpreter for Masses at their parish, so the Biermans follow along in the missellettes. And as far as the homilies go, Kathy said they don't always know what the priests are saying. If they could get a printed copy of the homilies, the couple said it would be helpful.
"People say that Father Chris (Grimmond) gives good homilies," Kathy, 40, said. "It'd be nice to know what he's saying."
Despite the struggles, the Biermans said they love the Catholic Church, and they hope to get better acquainted with their fellow parishioners because they feel welcomed at St. Anthony.
Those who work with the nation's 5.7 million deaf and hard-of-hearing Catholics acknowledge the positive steps the Church has taken to nourish the lives of those who cannot hear. There are an estimated 150 to 200 deaf people in parishes in the Archdiocese of Omaha.
"The Catholic Church has bent over backwards for the deaf people," said Marlene Rowe, who works with the deaf community at Mother of Perpetual Help Church of the Deaf, 5215 Seward Ave., Omaha.
Sister Marita Kolbeck, OSB, said the National Catholic Office of the Deaf and the International Catholic Deaf Association strive to bring the Catholic faith to people who are deaf and hard of hearing. For six years she served on the board of the National Catholic Office of the Deaf. She now works in hospital ministry in O'Neill.
Both organizations spread the gospel through various publications, workshops and conferences, Cursillos, retreats and youth leadership camps, Sister Kolbeck said. Last summer the National Catholic Office of the Deaf hosted an American Sign Language Program for Priests in Michigan to help train and improve sign language skills for clergy, she said.
The Archdiocese of Omaha has been serving the Catholic deaf community in Omaha with a parish for the deaf since 1975. Mother of Perpetual Help Church of the Deaf is considered a lay parish of the archdiocese. About 50 parishioners attend the 10 a.m. Sunday Mass, which provides interpreters for the celebration.
The parish, which holds a monthly dinner and an annual picnic, offers training for Eucharistic ministers and religious education classes. In April, it is hosting a retreat for the deaf and hard of hearing. Free interpreters for events outside of the parish also are provided when needed.
After Masses, parishioners gather in the church basement for coffee and fellowship.
"Communication helps the deaf person feel connected to their parish," Sister Kolbeck said. "The deaf have a need to socialize and communicate with each other, so it is very important that they have a place and means to do this after a church service."
According to interpreter Julie Delkamiller, 90 percent of deaf children are born into hearing families. Therefore, many of them will attend Mass in "hearing churches," instead of in churches specifically for the deaf, she said.
St. Gerald Parish in Ralston and Sacred Heart Parish in Omaha provide interpreters for at least one of their Sunday Masses.
Delkamiller, a certified interpreter for the deaf and a teacher at the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs, Iowa, has been interpreting at Sacred Heart for the last 10 years. She will be interpreting at the Archdiocesan Eucharistic Congress on Sunday, April 27, at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
"I love being able to offer that choice to families," she said.
In addition to providing interpreters on Sundays, Sacred Heart has a deaf religious education teacher, Stacey Morgan, who works with the deaf and hard of hearing in the parish.
More needed
Sister Kolbeck said she commends the archdiocese for the support it gives to the Catholic deaf community, but more is needed.
"There is a need for more priests and religious to be able to sign and relate to the culture of the deaf community," she said.
For many years, the late Father James Vance, who baptized the four Bierman children, was the archdiocese's only priest who knew sign language. Since his death in 1999, there has been no other priest who can do American Sign Language - a language based more on concepts than on words.
"I just would like to see more of an awareness and a recognition that the deaf are under ministered to," said Delkamiller, who serves on the Archdiocesan Committee for People with Disabilities. "I'm not saying that people aren't trying, but it's under served. Options need to be there."
She suggested the archdiocese start by inviting the deaf community to archdiocesan events by providing interpreters.
"How do you make people feel invited, especially when there is a language barrier?" she said. "I think it starts with that welcoming."
Members of the deaf community need to reach out, too, she said. If they want to attend something, they should find an interpreter and go, instead of waiting for an interpreter to be provided at events, she said.
That's what the Biermans did. They had Delkamiller come from Omaha and interpret for them at their daughter's graduation.
Delkamiller said she hopes that one day the archdiocese will create an archdiocesan-sponsored position that would work specifically with the Catholic deaf community and provide ongoing spiritual formation.
"I'd love to be that person. I would love to do deaf ministry," she said.
