Touch of Christ members and hearing guests gathered at the Indoor Sporting Facility, Chaguanas, for the organisation's Fellowship Day, last December 30.

The afternoon function began with an opening prayer thanking God for his blessings and asking his continued guidance. Following the introduction of Touch of Christ staff, the small audience got a taste of life as a Deaf parishioner.

A fifteen-minute skit depicted the isolation many deaf and hard-of-hearing persons endured when they were unable to follow the spoken Mass and participate in other parish activities. In the skit, a priest, who is able to communicate with the deaf through sign language, arrives in the parish. His presence helps them to feel more at home in the Church.

In his testimony, Catechetical Coordinator, Bryan Rodrigues spoke of his experiences growing up deaf. He revealed that his mother and grandmother were excited to take him to church, hoping this would be a catalyst for change. They journeyed from Mayo to the POS Cathedral, the only church at the time with a sign language interpreter.

As the trips became more taxing, they lessened. To help him follow the Mass, his grandmother pointed out the words for the readings and hymns, but everything seemed to move too quickly for Bryan . Instead, he looked all over the church at the pictures, a "common habit," he said, of Deaf people.

He described US priest, Fr Thomas Coughlin's visit to the parish for a youth retreat as pivotal to realising the discrimination that the deaf must overcome within the church. Fr Coughlin related a series of rejections he faced before finally becoming a Dominican priest.

Among them was the reluctance of religious orders to accept his applications since they believed he would not be able to keep up with his studies or communicate with hearing priests in the seminary.

Bryan Rodrigues

Rodrigues pointed to the US as the country offering the most opportunities for study and personal development to the Deaf and hearing impaired.

Because of consistent advocacy over the years, today, the Deaf are able to pursue tertiary education and work professionally as doctors, lawyers and religious.

He spoke admiringly of the work of Christina Araujo, who has advocated for similar opportunities for the Deaf locally, but added that more people were needed to lend their support to the cause.

He lamented the loss of Catholic Deaf to other churches, which provide more benefits to the deaf. In those assemblies, the Deaf view evangelical videos; they receive free magazines, and get the opportunity to travel on missionary programmes.

Rodrigues said, in faithfulness to Christ who called the disciples to be "fishers of men", Catholics need to become more actively involved in drawing the deaf toward the Church and making them active members.

He said that the Fellowship Day was meant to highlight the achievements of the Deaf and to show people that "God wants us all to be together, to be united."

The programme also included a healing service, and a presentation by Fr Hudlin on evangelisation. It ended with Mass.

Touch of Christ called to spread gospel

Speaking at the Touch of Christ Fellowship Day, Fr Urban Hudlin told the audience that evangelisation was often associated with non-Catholic denominations. He was quick to point out, however, that the Church is a product of evangelisation.

He explained that evangelisation is the proclamation of the Gospel in an attempt to awaken and nourish faith; to build Church and transform the world.

Fr Hudlin informed the gathering that the Evangelisation Commission resulted from the 2003 Synod. Located in Chaguanas at the Family Life Centre, its purpose includes reaching the large numbers of people who do not attend Mass or have left the Church, encouraging enthusiasm for the faith, and creating dynamic Catholic communities.

He described the work of the commission, speaking of their goal to establish a National Evangelisation Team (NET) and of the ALPHA method being used to promote evangelization exercises. He said that this year, NET will visit parish communities to organize evangelical crusades.

ALPHA, he noted, is an evangelical tool used not only by Catholics, but also by many other denominations. It covers the basic teachings of Christianity exploring, among other topics: "Who is Jesus?" "Faith", "Can I receive the Holy Spirit?" and "How to live in the Spirit".

In the past three months, three ALPHA retreats have taken place in the Diego Martin area, with the Petit Valley meeting drawing over 300 people.

Fr Urban Hudlin, OP

Last year, some ALPHA events, which always take place in a spirit of hospitality and friendship, were conducted in pan yards and overall these attracted approximately 2000 people. He recalled that one of the ALPHA retreats was carried out on a cruise ship, both an enjoyable and unforgettable experience.

He lauded the work of the departments comprising the commission and told the audience of a meeting in January to determine plans for the New Year.

Emphasising that Touch of Christ is a department of the Evangelisation Commission, he reminded members that they too must do their part to bring people into a deeper relationship with God.

Among other activities this year, the commission plans to make outreach programmes a main priority especially within the 31 parishes that have expressed interest in ALPHA.

To further its work, members of the commission are working with Jemma Redman, former director of the Theatre Company of Brooklyn , New York, to produce He Is Alive, a resurrection play. Mrs Redman has previously produced Peter Pan. The commission hopes to source local talent for the play.

In closing Fr Hudlin asked Touch of Christ for their continued prayers and support and told members that as a department of the commission, they are an integral and active part of communication and the work of evangelisation.