From the Pastor's Pen

Dear friends,

I now have the video ready for you so you can learn the Lord’s prayer in sign language.  The link is below.  I hope this will be fun for all of us.  I find learning to “speak” in other languages opens up my own language in new ways.  I have taken the time to explain the origins of some of these signs so the signing of the Lord’s prayer can be more meaningful for you.

One other thing I want to note as we begin is that signed prayers are always signed with eyes open.  This makes sense if you think about it.  A deaf person cannot participate in prayer without watching the person who is signing the prayer.  And a group of deaf people cannot sign the Lord’s prayer together unless they are looking at the leader in the same way that we listen for the Pastor to lead the Lord’s prayer.  So when we sign the Lord’s prayer together we will sign it with eyes open.  Incidentally there are whole segments of the Christian church who pray with eyes open.  Orthodox Christians are encouraged to pray with eyes open, particularly when they are praying with an icon.  The Coptic Christians of Egypt pray with eyes open to watch for the return of Christ.  So I’m confident the Lord hears us with eyes open or shut.

We will pray the Lord’s prayer with signs this Sunday in our online service and again the following week at our outdoor service at the Wellfield.  Here’s the link to the video so you can learn to sign the Lord’s prayer:  https://vimeo.com/461551775

Peace,

Pr. Sally