‘Delighted And Fulfilled’: Nigerians Make Mass Accessible
LAGOS, Nigeria — Towards the end of 2023, the Rev. Emmanuel Bekomson, the parish priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Calabar, Nigeria, became deeply concerned about how members of his parish with different disabilities were being engaged in church activities.
He became even more unsettled and burdened when he discovered that some members of his church who had hearing impediments did not follow their parents to church because they could not comprehend what was being said at Mass.
“Over time, I became personally troubled at how people with disabilities in my parish were coping with church activities. It was very important to me to create a safe space where they can come to church, be treated right and be loved,” Bekomson said.
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Bekomson’s thoughts on inclusivity are not new. In 2003, the World Council of Churches in Africa mandated its member churches to "embrace a non-elitist and inclusive Christian theology" that gives opportunities to people with disabilities to express their abilities and service to God.
“The command to make disciples of all nations in Matthew chapter 28, verse 19, and to extend hospitality to everyone provides the basis for the church to welcome all people of goodwill. We also recognize diversity in Christ; this already causes us to imbibe the culture of unity and acceptance in the body of Christ,” Bekomson added.
This motivated him to create a sign language unit at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in 2023 to bring inclusivity to disabled members in his parish. The unit also allows members of the church who are visually impaired to be lectors and recite scripture readings, including responsorial psalms and prayers of the faithful, during Mass.
Every first Sunday of every month, responsorial psalms and prayers of the faithful are read by a visually impaired member of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Calabar using braille.
Fabian Agbor, 43, went blind at age 5 due to measles and is one of the visually impaired members of the church who regularly reads on the first Sunday of every month. This has made Agbor feel like a very important member of the church, his Christian life more fulfilling, his faith firmer.
“I feel delighted and fulfilled with my purpose on earth since I started taking readings in the church. I’m so happy with myself. One of my desires was to become a minister of the gospel, but as a catholic, my [disability] doesn't allow me to be a priest, but being a lector is another way that has made me a minister of the Gospel,” Agbor said.
The sign language unit also has volunteers who use the sign language to interpret Mass to hearing-impaired members of the church. This has helped deaf members of the church feel more integrated and in sync with mass proceedings.
Augustine Okafor, 30, used to rely on written notes from his friends and family to understand and engage with Mass on Sundays before the sign language unit was created. He says the sign interpreters and unit have been life-changing.
“With the sign language interpreters, I can now fully understand and participate in the Mass. The sign interpretation has helped me understand the readings, prayers and homilies. I feel more connected to the church community and can participate more fully,” Okafor said.
Chukwuemeka Nnamani, 30, also noted how valued the sign language units and interpreters have made him feel. He now looks forward to attending mass every Sunday and no longer feels left out during important moments during mass.
“It's been amazing! I can now finally worship freely without struggling to understand what's going on. The sign language unit has helped me deepen my faith in God. I now follow along with the service, understand the readings, and even participate in the prayers,” Nnamani said. “The interpreters like Cynthia are so skilled and make it look effortless.”
Treasures Uchegbu, a disabilities advocate and convener of Speaking Fingers Network, added that the sign language initiative will boost the confidence and participation of deaf and blind members of the church to a very large degree.
“The church can also incorporate disability focused themes in sermons, including commemorating the International Day for People with disabilities and intentionally ensuring digital accessibility for PWDs, such as captioned videos and an accessible website,” Uchegbu noted.
Despite the positive impact, the sign language unit at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church still faces some considerable challenges. First off is the dearth of braille materials, including the braille Bible, to allow visually impaired lectors to read more frequently.
“Braille paper [is] capital intensive, and we have to order them from the U.S or U.K.,” Agbor said. “We have now fallen back to using cardboard sheets, which are divided into A4 sizes, and I use them to braille and read during Mass.”
Bekomson added that it was difficult at first to get consistent sign language interpreters and braille readers to volunteer. However, with time, this has been solved as the sign language unit now boasts four committed members. The church also doesn’t have funds to train the visually impaired on using braille; they must learn independently.
There is also a new parish priest at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, as Bekomson has been transferred to another parish. However, the sign language unit is still active at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, as the new priest is very supportive of the unit.
Bekomson is also planning to begin the sign language initiative at Saint Charles Lwanga Catholic Church, where he was transferred to in August this year.
“World disability day is on the third of December, and I’m already practicing the gospel in sign language, so I can [preach] the gospel in sign language,” Bekomson said. “The first reading will be read from the braille, and I will take the gospel in sign language. It's going to be an introduction to the church to let the church [know] we can also do this.”
Chinonso Kenneth is a writer based in Lagos, Nigeria.