St. Patrick Church has been involved in the ministry to the Deaf and Deaf/Blind community since the early 1980’s when Sister Judith Desmarais was the leader of the ministry for the diocese. When Sister Judith left that job, it moved very briefly to Saint Margaret Church on Queen Anne. Since many members of the Deaf Community lived on or near Capitol Hill, getting to West Queen Anne by bus was a complicated trip. A Deaf family came to Saint Pat’s and asked the parish council to start providing interpreted masses and meetings. Despite knowing that this could be an expensive mission, the council approved the request and the ministry as it is now was formally established. The fact that St. Patrick Church was located near the interpreting program at Seattle Central Community College was helpful in finding interested interpreters to join the St. Patrick Deaf ministry. Over the years, the hearing members of St. Pat’s community have become involved in using ASL when saying responses during mass and it has been incorporated into the movement ministry as well.
For more information, contact Jennifer Huxtable
For more information on interpreting, contact John Dunn