CHALLENGES IN THE RELIGIOUS SETTING ENCOUNTERED BY THE DEAF CHURCH MINISTRY
A religious setting refers to an environment centered around church services, where various religious activities such as weddings, baptisms, funerals, and holy days are conducted within the church. In addition, religious activities like seminars, retreats, counseling sessions, and meetings may take place outside the church, but are still connected to religious themes.
Challenges within a religious setting are the difficulties that arise during church activities. These challenges may be beyond the capacity of deaf priests, who bear divine responsibilities to lead their deaf parishioners in serving God. Namirembe Diocese, the oldest diocese in the Church of Uganda, was established in 1897 as the Diocese of Uganda and renamed “Namirembe Diocese” in 1960. Located in Kampala District, Namirembe Diocese’s deaf ministry is led by priests proficient in sign language, enabling effective communication with the deaf congregation.
However, Namirembe Diocese consists mostly of a hearing congregation that lacks sign language skills. This includes the church administration—priests, bishops, canons—and staff who carry out their religious duties in various departments with the support of religious organizations. It is unclear whether communication barriers hinder the ministry’s effectiveness in other areas. It is anticipated that this majority hearing group may inadvertently exclude the deaf ministry from certain religious activities. Therefore, the researcher aims to investigate the challenges faced by deaf priests in Namirembe Diocese as they work with the predominantly hearing congregation.
Although Namirembe Diocese has successfully trained its priests in sign language, enabling mutual understanding, the ministry has not fully utilized available technologies, such as hearing aids and other assistive devices, for the benefit of the deaf community. The absence of these technologies marginalizes deaf individuals, leaving them on the fringes of both society and the church. As a result, many deaf people have limited access to religious teachings, leading to low attendance in church activities. Thus, the researcher seeks to explore the challenges faced by deaf priests in Namirembe Diocese as they minister to a predominantly hearing congregation in Kampala District.
