A newly developed sign language team at Iola’s First Christian Church entertained Sunday’s congregation through a medley of worship music.
The performers “sang” along to the tunes, rhythmically using their hands and arms, one of the group’s first public performances.
“We’ve been working to build the numbers of people,” noted Wade Vogel, the group’s de facto organizer. “We don’t know where it’s going to go, but it’s a start.”
Six of the eight signers were on hand for Sunday’s service.
Because the opportunities for hearing-impaired worshippers is so limited in these parts, incorporating sign language into a church service is viewed as outreach, Vogel said.
But mostly, it’s just fun.
Vogel’s introduction to signing came as a child, when he read about Native Americans using means other than speaking to communicate with the hearing-impaired.
“I just became fascinated with it,” he said.
As he grew older, Vogel learned American Sign Language, or ASL, the predominant method used for the deaf.
He shared that passion with his daughter, Klair, a few years back, then purchased her a book about it for Christmas when she expressed an interest of her own.
“By the time Christmas break was over, she’d read every page,” Wade recalled.
Shannon, left, and Klair Vogel sign along to a song Sunday at Iola?s First Christian Church.
The two then began signing for songs at Iola’s Church of the Nazarene, when they were members.
More recently, they began attending First Christian, whose pastor, Kenyon Kaehr, was enthusiastic about having the sign language group perform.
“I know Wade and his team have a real heart in this ministry,” Kaehr told the congregation Sunday. “They want to try to fill a need, and give this a whirl.”
The group meets each Monday, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. to rehearse.
Vogel expects their next performance to be around Christmas.
