AN EVALUATION OF THE CHALLENGES IN THE RELIGIOUS SETTING ENCOUNTERED BY THE DEAF CHURCH MINISTRY, NAMIREMBE DIOCESE, KAMPALA DISTRICT
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Introduction
The study is aimed at exploring challenges in the religious setting encountered by the deaf church ministry, Namirembe, Kampala district. This chapter presents the background to the study, the statement of the problem, general and specific objective of the study, research questions, scope of the study, significance and limitation and delimitation of the study.
1.1 Background of the study
Religious setting is defined as a setting which deals with church services, where many religious activities such as weddings, baptisms, funerals, holydays, may happen in a church. While other religious activities are carried outside the church, these include seminars, retreats, counseling sessions, meetings, and others based on the religious theme.
Therefore, this study challenges in the religious setting refer to those problematic situations that may occur within the church activities. These may be considered to be beyond the working abilities of the deaf church priests with divine responsibilities to lead parishioners who are deaf and hearing in serving God.
Namirembe Diocese is the oldest diocese in the province of the church of Uganda and its centrally located in central region. It started in 1897 as the diocese of Uganda until it acquired the name “Namirembe Diocese” in 1960. In the deaf church ministry care taken by Namirembe diocese in Kampala district, deaf priests have appropriate signing abilities who can hold their communication with other deaf church members.
Namirembe diocese comprises of the majority hearing congregation without signing abilities. These comprise of the church administration (priests, bishops, canon etc) and staff with divine responsibilities toward their duties in serving God in different departments backed by religious organizations.
It’s therefore not known whether communication barriers may in one way or another limit their divine ministry in other areas. It is anticipated that this group of the congregation may lag behind and left out in a variety of religious activities necessary for deaf ministry to work effectively. It is for this reason that the researcher seeks to explore the challenges encountered by deaf priests involved in the ministry of church when working with the majority hearing congregation at Namirembe diocese, Kampala District.
1.2 Problem statement
Despite Namirembe diocese being able to train deaf Catholics and Christians in sign language which they mutually understand, the ministry has not been able to fully reach-out to the Deaf community. This has created made many deaf people to have little access to the word of God and has been the reason for the few attendances of deaf people in the ministry. Therefore, the researcher seeks to explore the challenges encountered by deaf priests involved in the ministry of church when working with the majority hearing congregation at Namirembe diocese, Kampala District.
1.3 Purpose of the study
The study is aimed at exploring challenges in the religious setting encountered by the Deaf church ministry, Namirembe, Kampala District.
1.4 Specific objectives
The study will be guided by the following research objectives;
- To find out the challenges encountered by Deaf priests in ministering with their counterparts hearing priests.
- To examine whether communication barriers limit Deaf priest’s divine ministry in a variety of religious activities within and outside the church.
- To suggest the different measures that can be employed to improve the Deaf Church Ministry.
1.5 Research questions
- What challenges do deaf priests encounter in ministering with the hearing priests?
- What barriers limit the participation of Deaf priest’s divine ministry in a variety of religious activities within and outside the church?
- What different measures can be employed to improve the services offered by the deaf church ministry?
1.6 Scope of the study
The study will be carried out at Namirembe Diocese, Kampala District. Namirembe Diocese is the oldest diocese in the province of the church of Uganda and its centrally located in Central Division, in Kampala District. The study will aim at exploring challenges in the religious setting encountered by the Deaf priests ministering the Deaf church ministry, Namirembe. The study will be carried for a period of six months from February to July in 2017.
1.7 Significance of the study
It is hoped that the study findings will have the following significances to the under mentioned beneficiaries;
The findings may provide policy makers in the church ministry with information that can be used to improve the Deaf church ministry.
Deaf priests will use the findings to identify strategies that they can adopt to minimize the challenges they undergo while ministering with their hearing priests.
Deaf people may benefit from the study findings since it will suggest more and better ways of improving deaf church ministry.
Future researchers may use the study as a source of useful information.
1.8 Limitation and Delimitation of study
It is anticipated that the following limitations may hinder the successful conduction of the research study;
Unrealistic expectation from the respondents may be one of the problems the researcher will face. Many respondents may expect material rewards for their information from researcher for example money etc, yet the researcher is totally student who does not have money. The researcher will convince the respondents that the information required will be used for academic purposes only.
Lack of appropriate textbooks related to the field of study in the library is considered to limit the study’s literature review. However, other sources of information from the internet, newspapers and previous reports will be used.
There has been research studies conducted in the religious setting since the topic of study is relatively new. Therefore the subjects who can supply the information needed may be limited. However, the researcher will use the available subjects at Namirembe Diocese.
This chapter presents the methodology to be used in the study. It is structured according to the following sub topics: the research design, study population, sample size & sample techniques, instruments of data collection, ethical consideration and data analysis.
The research will employ qualitative research design. Its main objective is to describe the variation in a phenomenon, situation or attitude like description of an observed situations, or opinions. Qualitative research design helps to capture qualitative data, based on qualitative aspects that cannot be quantified. It aids in discovering the motives and desires or what people think and how they feel about a given subject or situation. Qualitative allows flexibility in all aspects of the research process. It is more appropriate to explore the nature of a problem, issue or phenomenon without quantifying it.
According to Baron (2011) population constitutes individuals, organizations, groups, communities or other units that provide information about for the study. The population of the study will compare of four (4) Deaf priests and hearing priests. Deaf priests will be chosen because they are the main subjects. While hearing priests will chosen because they frequently communicate with the deaf priests.
3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Procedure
The sample refers to a few items selected from the universe or population for study purposes, (Baron, 2011). The study will use a total of 2 respondents to provide a manageable volume of data and allow the researcher to make accurate estimates of thoughts and behavior of a larger population.
Sampling is a definite plan determined before data collection for obtaining a sample from a given population. It involves three decisions: who to be sampled, how many people to sample, and how to obtain the sample. The study will use purposive sampling involves deliberate selection of particular units of the population for constituting a representative sample by the researcher. In this study, one Deaf priest and one hearing priest will be selected purposively basing on the virtue of their positions and their divine responsibilities in the church ministry at Namirembe.
3.5 Data Collection Instruments
The main methods of data collection will be interview guide and observation checklist.
Interviews
Opuko (2000) qualifies an interview as a conversation where questions are asked and answers are given. Interviews involve a one-on-one conversation with one person acting in the role of the interviewer and the other in the role of the interviewee. Semi-structured interview guide will be used to generate in-depth information from respondents. The interview guide will be developed based on objectives. Interview method is chosen because it suits the respondents to whom it will be administered in eliciting more data as it allows the interaction of both the researcher and the respondents. In addition it is cheap and does not waste much time.
Observation
Informal observation is usually done when the researcher has little knowledge of a population and its behavior. The main purpose of the information observation will be to take notes of what the researcher observes in a survey in order to understand the spiritual relationship between Deaf priests and hearing priests. Using informal observation has many advantages, which include observing the naturalistic behavoiur of the respondents and it can be carried out anytime.
The researcher will ensure the approval of the research proposal and instruments especially the interview guide to test their effectiveness in carrying out the study. Thereafter, a letter of introduction from the Head of Department, Special Needs Studies, faculty of Special Needs and Rehabilitation, Kyambogo University will be got to introduce the researcher in the field. Courtesy visit to Namiremebe Cathedral will be paid to meet the church administrators with the purpose of seeking permission to conduct a research study. Letters to individual respondents requesting them to participate in the study will be prepared and administered to the sample respondents.
Prior the researcher also will explain the purpose of the study and appointments will be made to confirm the convenient venue for the interview, the time and convenient days to conduct the interviews. Then actual interview data collection will be carried out accordingly lasting 40 minutes. Responses will be recorded using the digital voice recording equipment for later analysis. Respondents will be appreciated for their time taken to participate in the study.
Raw data will be qualitatively analyzed. It will involve transcribing interview data, identifying the major themes arising from the respondents answers; assigning codes to these themes; classification of the major responses under the main theme according to the study objectives and integrating the responses into the report in a descriptive and analytical manner.
3.8 Ethical Considerations
The researcher will consider the research values of voluntary participation, anonymity and protection of respondents from any possible harm that could arise from participating in the study. Request will be made to the respondents to participate in the study on a voluntary basis and refusal or abstaining from participating will be permitted. The researcher also will assure the respondents of confidentiality of the information given and protection from any possible harm that could arise from the study since the findings will be used for the intended purposes only.
LETTER OF INFORMED CONSENT
Dear respondent,
I am carrying out a study on “an evaluation of the challenges in the religious setting encountered by the deaf church ministry, Namirembe diocese, Kampala District”.
.
For the completion of this study, you have been identified as one of the key respondents for this study. Therefore, I request for your cooperation to participate voluntarily without being forced. The information you will provide will be treated with utmost confidentiality and will only be used for academic purposes.
Thank you for your time.
Researcher
Signature:……………………… Date:……………………….
Nampita Mary
Student, Kyambogo University
Respondent
Signature:……………………… Date:……………………….
INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR DEAF PRIEST
Dear respondent,
I am carrying out a study on “an evaluation of the challenges in the religious setting encountered by the deaf church ministry, Namirembe diocese, Kampala District”. For the completion of this study, you have been identified as one of the key respondents for this study. Therefore, I request for your cooperation to participate voluntarily without being forced. The information you will provide will be treated with utmost confidentiality and will only be used for academic purposes.
Thank you for your time.
Background information
- Sex:
Male Female
- Duration of ministering
5-10yrs 11-20yrs
21-30yrs 30yrs
Above 30yrs
Challenges encountered by Deaf priests in ministering with their counterparts hearing priests.
- Challenges encountered by deaf priests in ministering with their hearing priests.
- Does the diocese have enough funds to run its operations?
- Who are the sponsors?
Do communication barriers limit Deaf priest’s divine ministry in a variety of religious activities within and outside the church.
- From your perspective, do you feel that communication is the main barrier in your divine ministry of Deaf priests?
- What kind of activities do you participate in within the church?
Different measures that can be employed to improve the Deaf Church Ministry.
- What different measures can be employed to improve the deaf church ministry?
- Who has been instrumental in implementing these measures?
- What support has been accorded to the church to improve church ministry?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION
INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR HEARING PRIEST
Dear respondent,
I am carrying out a study on “an evaluation of the challenges in the religious setting encountered by the deaf church ministry, Namirembe diocese, Kampala District”. For the completion of this study, you have been identified as one of the key respondents for this study. Therefore, I request for your cooperation to participate voluntarily without being forced. The information you will provide will be treated with utmost confidentiality and will only be used for academic purposes.
Thank you for your time.
Background information
- Sex:
Male Female
- Duration of ministering
5-10yrs 11-20yrs
21-30yrs 30yrs
Above 30yrs
Challenges encountered by Deaf priests in ministering with their counterparts hearing priests.
- Challenges encountered by deaf priests in ministering with their hearing priests.
- Does the diocese have enough funds to run its operations?
- Who are the sponsors?
Do communication barriers limit Deaf priest’s divine ministry in a variety of religious activities within and outside the church.
- From your perspective, do you feel that communication is the main barrier in your divine ministry of Deaf priests?
- What kind of activities do you participate in within the church?
Different measures that can be employed to improve the Deaf Church Ministry.
- What different measures can be employed to improve the deaf church ministry?
- Who has been instrumental in implementing these measures?
- What support has been accorded to the church to improve church ministry?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION
