Greetings!
As we begin a new year, many Pagan organizations are beginning to plan their events for the year. Most of these events take place during the summer, usually around the Summer Solstice, although some take place during the spring (around the time of Beltaine on May 1st) or during the fall, (around the time of Samhain on October 1st).
One thing I am excited about is that through Deaf Pagan Crossroads, more Pagan organizations are becoming aware of Deaf issues, and taking a greater interest in accessibility.
However, accessibility for the Deaf Community generally means the need to provide sign language interpreters, and this is no easy task. Many of these organizations know little about interpreting, have never been confronted with the need for such in the past, and would not know how to go about getting an interpreter should such a need arise.
However, a number of them have been contacting me asking if I know of any qualified interpreters in their area who might be willing and interested in providing such services for their event – be it a public ritual, a gathering, a presentation, a workshop, etc.
I’m now trying to put together a list of qualified interpreters able to provide such services, that I might be able to consult such a listing should I receive such inquiries in the future.
If you or someone you know would be interested in providing sign language interpreting services for a Pagan-based event, please contact me – I will then send you a form you can fill out to be placed on a private list.
This list will be the property of Deaf Pagan Crossroads, and remain confidential. Your information will not be made public unless you give me your specific approval to do so. I have no plans to publish this list on Deaf Pagan Crossroads or elsewhere… I will only make it known to certain organizations that I do have such a listing, and they can contact me for further information as necessary.
While certainly it would be nice to identify those Interpreters in the community who are themselves practicing Pagans, I am aware that the vast majority of Interpreters are not. However, I know of several interpreters who have indicated a willingness to interpret for Pagan events, even though they themselves are not Pagan. This is fine – I am not requiring that one must be Pagan to be on this list… only that you are willing to be contacted and considered for such events. I realize that some individuals would not be comfortable with providing services due to personal conflicts, and I respect that. I strongly feel that no Interpreter should be forced into a situation that compromises their own beliefs – it would be unethical to do so. But by the same standards, I would expect any Interpreter who does take an assignment working with a Pagan organization to conduct themselves in an ethical and professional manner, regardless of his/her own personal beliefs and practices.
I have spent much of my adult life advocating for Deaf Pagans and educating both the Pagan Community and the Deaf Community. Through creating this blog, I have come to realize that there are in fact a number of Deaf Pagans, or at least Pagan-Friendly Deaf individuals who might be interested in attending such an event if it was accessible to meet their needs. I have also come to realize that there are many Pagans out there who would be willing to provide such accessibility should the need arise, if they knew how to go about doing so, and whom they could contact.
It is my hope to use the power of the Internet to help bring these two groups together, and thus create a world where the Deaf Community – just like any other community – can explore various spiritual paths and religious choices.
If you are not an interpreter but do have sign language skills and would be willing to utilize them to the best of your ability to assist any Deaf individuals who may wish to attend events in your area, you can still contact me – I will put you on a “Sign Language User” list as a Friend of the Deaf Community… someone who can at least help a Deaf person feel more welcomed and give them someone they can talk to, etc.
Once again…
If you are an Interpreter or a Pagan with Sign Language Skills (at least conversational, please – meaning more than just the manual alphabet and a few signs!)… please do get in touch with me privately so that I might thus send you a form to be placed on a listing for future reference.
Contact me at
oshginva@gmail.com
Feel free to pass this information on to others you know!
Many Thanks and Many Blessings!
~ Ocean
I also encourage all individuals interested in Deaf-Friendly Pagan Events to read these posts elsewhere at the Crossroads:
http://deafpagancrossroads.com/2006/12/11/providing-interpreters-for-pagan-events/
http://deafpagancrossroads.com/2007/02/27/three-bars-of-soap-and-a-massage/
This sculpture shows the sign for "connect"...and that is what Deaf Pagan Crossroads is all about - making connections. Connections between Deafhood and Paganism, connections between the Deaf Community and the Hearing Community, connections between myself as the writer and you as the reader. I hope you will take the time to read my various posts, some of which are listed below. Welcome to the Crossroads, and I hope you make some connections here!
Hi Ocean ~
I’ve sent you an email… I’m Pagan myself, and I’m also an RID certified interpreter. I think what you are doing here is fantastic… there is definitely a need to educate Pagan organizations about the need for accessibility, and to encourage them to hire qualified interpreters. The Pagan Community in my area hosts an annual Beltaine Spring Ritual, and I have been providing interpreting services for it for the past four years. We’ve had several Deaf people attend… while they are not necessarily Pagan, they still enjoy the ritual and have fun participating in our Maypole Dance!
I also loved your post about “Three Bars of Soap and a Massage.” What an innovative idea! I can tell you that this interpreter would gladly trade a few hours of service for a couple of bars of that homemade soap and a full body massage – I’d be in bliss!
Thanks again, and best of luck with your project. I hope other interpreters contact you as well, and I will try to encourage the ones I know to do so.
Ancient Chinese proverb, “Always give the job to a busy person, that way you know it will get done!” Glad to see you shoulder the yoke to give us the information we need! Other than the nice guy you brought with you to the Firewalk, I don’t personally know any interpreters, though I have been introduced to two others here in the local area.
Blessed Be
MoonStorm
Finding pagan friendly terps are tough. We’ve seen deaf people run in to brick walls trying to find these types pf terps. This includes Agape, Daniel O’Hara ‘s pranic workshops, and so forth. Most of the terps have been sorensonized to the point they’re going to be afraid to provide terp services to people of the alternate faiths.
While locating Pagan-Friendly interpreters can be a challenge, it’s not impossible. I know of several qualified interpreters who have interpreted for me and other Deaf Pagans over the years. It’s just a matter of being able to locate them, which is one of the reasons I am doing this project – to develop that comprehensive list of such individuals to make it easier on both Pagan organizations and Deaf people wanting to attend such events.
I don’t think that Sorenson can or should be held accountable for any difficulties one might confront in locating such interpreters. The obstacles that I have identified over the years mostly center around issues of money (many Pagan organizations have very small budgets and paying for such services can be cost prohibitive), or the lack of full understanding of how to locate and arrange such services effectively.
Yes, in some areas it is going to be tough… and not all interpreters are willing or comfortable with interpreting for alternative faiths. But in many cases it’s a simple problem of the lack of qualified interpreters in general, not necessarily an anti-Pagan issue.
Ocean!
Good to know you’re on top of this….often I’ve heard of Pagan Deaf / HOH talk about wanting to grab a ‘terp for an event. ADD me to your list!
Also – a suggestion – as an educator, I often find my students looking for volunteer opportunities. So I’d like to remind folks that IF you have the patience and understanding to endure a new / ITP student’s work, I know the ITP nearest you may be able to offer some leads.
Much love — dam.bear
Wonderful opportunity for interpreters to let you know if they can do interpreting for pagan events. I SURE need one, but doubt I’d actually get one ’cause the event’s board said “we do have an interpreter *****” and I know him and he is indeed NOT an interpreter, he uses home signs that I couldn’t even understand. So I hadn’t signed up for that event which is the weekend after this coming weekend. Ah well. Thank gods, there ARE interpeters available for another event I’m going in May!
I am a seasoned, certified, Pagan/Witch interpreter and would love to learn more signs for many of the concepts so important to our practice. Fingerspelling everything sure takes some of the inspiration out of what we do… Have any efforts been made yet? If not, what a wonderful opportunity for the Deaf Pagan and Pagan Interpreter communities to work together!
)
Blessed Be
I hope you don’t mind too much. I added a link to your site from mine. I run a site for those homeschooling pagan children (no charges or fees) and yours is one of the few out there that has information for deaf pagans. My son was recently found to have a hearing problem in one ear and it looks like it may be progressive. As my stepdad also wears hearing aids in both ears this is something that I am very interested in. I’m just now seriously learning sign. Yes, I should have learned it long ago but my stepdad is stubborn and refused to learn it himself
I would love to know if there are signs for some of the concepts so that my son could grow up knowing how to express his views. He’s young but has already asked about life and death due to some recent happenings. I wasn’t sure how to sign for reincarnation so used the signs for death, birth and forever. Someday I would love to be certified to be an interpreter but for now I’m still busy learning.
Just correcting a typo in the website that popped up. I forgot to type an A in there. Sorry about that
This web site is actually quite good, but for some reason it does not display properly when trying to view on my Nintendo Wii. If it helps, the console uses the Opera browser and am forced to using the console for accessing the Net whilst my PC is away being repaired.