For years now I've been using sign language in worship. I think it probably started with the Doug Horley children's song 'Wonderful Lord', which includes signs. For those of you unfamiliar with all-age Christian worship, songs which have actions for children to do as they sing along are very popular. Rather than making up simple 'actions', Doug Horley is a Christian songwriter who chooses to use British Sign Language to accompany his songs. Since learning the signs to 'Wonderful Lord', I've been inspired to hit Google and learn some new signs to use when leading public prayers. For example, we use the sign for 'praise' when we're praising God; the sign for 'sorry' when we're confessing our sins to God, and so on. It's not just me - lots of other Christians have been using signs for a long time to help children engage with worship. I really like using signs, but I'm not quite sure exactly why.
I guess the obvious benefit would be to be inclusive of deaf or hearing impaired people in the congregation. I'm not aware of anyone in our congregation who uses British Sign Language, however. While signing to include deaf people is a wonderful thing, I think signing has lots of other benefits for hearing people too.
When I was signing the start of the Lord's Prayer in church this morning (it's amazing what you can find on YouTube), I was struck by the fact that everyone was responding - everyone's hands were in the air, adults as well as children. It's good to get the congregation involved, and it reassures me they haven't fallen asleep or zoned out completely. I've heard other preachers say that congregations don't always give you eye contact or indeed any outward sign that they've heard you. A church service is meant to be a collaboration rather than a performance, and I always think that if I were sitting there listening I would want something to do.
When introducing sign language to children I usually say "we're going to use our bodies to help us pray". Having been a teacher, the notion of different learning styles was drummed into me. Some people like to listen (so most church services would suit them down to the ground); some people like visual aids to help them learn, such as pictures or diagrams; and some people are 'kinaesthetic' learners - they learn by doing. Perhaps some of us are kinaesthetic pray-ers - movement helps us focus.
If I'm honest, though, the main reason I use signing is that I think it's fun. I've always been fascinated by language and BSL is a language in its own right. It's fun finding out the signs for everyday words (for example, discovering that the signs for 'life' and 'toilet' are rather similar... Pretty important to get right when you're signing a verse about eternal life). I think the gestures are beautiful and I enjoy watching YouTube videos over and over and over in order to get them right. It's fun to pray in a new language.
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