Date posted:
Auslan – Seeing the word.
by Pastor Michael Prenzler.
The Adelaide Deaf Community Church (ADCC) is a congregation of deaf Christians based in Adelaide. It is unique in the LCA as it offers worship services and Bible studies solely in Auslan (Australian Sign Language) – the native language of the Australian deaf community.
Since 2017, the ADCC has been in partnership with Pilgrim Lutheran Church, Magill, SA, sharing the church plant and a pastor on a 50/50 basis. People who can hear take it for granted that the Bible and many other Christian resources are available in their native language, but this is not the case for the deaf in Australia. The Bible has only been partially videoed in Auslan, and other resources (e.g. the Small Catechism) have to be translated from English on-the-fly.
Thanks to a ‘Have a Go’ Grant received as part of the LCA’s 50/500 commemorations, this is soon to change. The grant, as well as the donation of a room from Pilgrim, has allowed us to set up a dedicated video studio with a high-quality digital camera and professional lighting. The video studio will allow the ADCC to develop its own resources in-house, including translations of parts of the Scriptures, Bible studies and other teaching materials, which will allow ADCC members to more easily share their faith with their friends and family. Because the studio is on-site, it will allow members to participate in the video-making process rather than outsourcing the work at additional cost. We feel very blessed to be able to help deaf people see God’s word in their native language!
Check out their Facebook page: ADCChurch
In 2017, the LLL provided the LCA with a 50/500 grant of $550,000 to help commemorate the 50th anniversary of church union, and the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. ‘Have a Go’ grants were awarded to individual congregations from this funding by the LCA.
