Thank you for letting me be in this panel. The subject is what I have dedicated my professional life to: Giving hard of hearing persons equal opportunities to benefit from whatever religious institutions offer.

Since 1986 the State Church of Denmark, a Lutheran Church with about 92% of the population as members, has made a serious effort to meet the needs of its HOH members. I am in charge of that effort in the western half of the country. That is, for around 1000 congregations with a membership of app. 2.5 million people.

Working with me is a network of 45 local ministers, so-called contact ministers for HOH. Only I work full-time as the head minister. The other 45 are congregation ministers with HOH as an extra assignment.

Since 1986 it has been mandatory for Church buildings in DK to have up to date technology to meet the needs of HOH. That means first class induction loop systems.

The national Church leadership has made strict specification demands for induction systems to be used in Church buildings. Very important is that we succeeded in eliminating all unqualified companies from delivering to churches. We want the best, which only the best can deliver.

Our contact ministers are the local consultants helping churches to provide the best service for HOH members. My task is to educate them and support them.

So now, in most Danish towns, the best loop systems will be in the Church buildings. We are proud of that.

But the ones to be honored are really not Church people. It is our national organization of HOH and LD persons, LBH, and its 12.000 members. That organization knocked on the doors of our Church leadership through 30 years, and it is their stubbornness and good arguments that has forced us to the present level.

They kept arguing that when the Church spends millions and millions to enable people in Africa and Asia to hear the Gospel, we ought to do the same for those of our own who wish to hear, but need special technical equipment. "Is this Gospel for all?" they asked. And they kept asking till they got an answer.

I know that in the US you are not so happy about the induction loop system as we are in DK. So you will probably go other ways. You will probably lead the world of hard of hearing into the world of FM, with FM receivers integrated in your future hearing aids. That will be an exciting development.

BUT – accessibility is a lot more than technical solutions! The technical equipment must be an expression of a sincere respect for HOH persons. A respect that must show also in personal communication. And in the acknowledgement of the human – or psychological – aspects of hearing loss.

In Sweden, Finland and Norway the Church leadership made rules for induction systems like ours. But it did not work. They got the technology, but recent tests prove that in eight out of ten Church buildings it does not work or works very badly.

What we did differently in Denmark is that we established our network of minister with a special responsibility to be the ambassadors of HOH people within the Church. That makes a tremendous difference. Most visible is the fact that in Danish Church buildings our technical equipment is used – and works. Our rules are not much different. But we realized that assistive technology is not enough! And I believe that is why our assistive technology works so well.

We need ministers and other Church staff to be aware of what happens to a person when hearing deteriorates. Why is it not enough to speak louder, e.g.? And – how does a hearing loss affect a person’s self esteem? What is life like for a person who has come of age – and accordingly lost value in our youth-centered culture – and who does not hear well, meaning that he is under constant suspicion of being dement? How does it affect a person to be intellectually underestimated everywhere – which is normal for HOH persons?

These questions must be dealt with by those who offer pastoral care in any religion. Otherwise the pastoral care may fail. You must communicate in a narrow sense of the term. You also must communicate in a deeper sense of the term: Understand the life situation of the one you are speaking with.

The religious HOH person may very well have a problem with his identity in relationship to the God he learned about as a child. When your hearing fails, you may gradually get to view yourself differently. Your hopes, your self esteem, your importance to others – and to God!

This must be understood by those who offer pastoral care.

So when I educate our local contact ministers, I emphasize the human aspects more and more. The technical aspects are important, yes. But once a minister understands the life condition of a HOH person, he himself will ask all the good questions about assistive technology. And we shall fill him up with all the knowledge he needs.

Making religious fellowships accessible for HOH is a process that works best if it begins in the heart.

One obstacle is that HOH persons very often are shy. Often they are ashamed of their handicap. So they call as little attention to themselves and their needs as possible.

And if they do raise their voices, they only talk about the narrowest sense of communication. The need for technical equipment, and perhaps the need for clear speaking in a moderate speed.

Rarely they will speak loudly about how life feels when you are put into a marginal position in every human fellowship. Rarely they speak of the humiliations in families, in social life, - in religious communities. Rarely they speak of how it is to suppress irritation, to accept being an outsider, - to get to view oneself as a – loser.

So we make a permanent effort to inform the relevant persons in our churches about being hard of hearing. We are available, too, for severely hard of hearing persons who feel abandoned by their local congregation. We come to them for pastoral care. And we try to reestablish the good connection with their local minister.

Besides, we do have captioned worship services on a regular basis in certain Churches. And retreats and summer courses for severely hard of hearing persons. Not with the purpose of establishing congregations for HOH. But as an oasis, and as an inspiration for them to raise their voice in their local congregations.

In Denmark, as I told you, almost all are members of the Lutheran Church. That makes it easy to implement decisions. But here you have something that we miss: You have – may I say competition?

You can benefit from that fact. Why don’t you set up as a goal that in each town or city there should be one congregation of each faith with optimal accessibility for – and understanding of – hard of hearing persons. Challenge the religious communities: Who will be first and best to attract this large population?

Offer yourselves as a consulting group, helping them to reach that goal. Providing information, courses for staff members, finding sponsors etc. – And let that be a challenge to the other religious communities in your town. No Church likes to lose members to its competitors!!!

Go for it. The hard of hearing population is large. And the pilot congregation that can boast of the best conditions for persons with a hearing loss – maybe even regular captioned worship services like in Denmark – will benefit, with your help.

We have an international federation that is willing to support you. Called the IVSS – International Federation for Pastoral Care of Hearing Impaired Persons. Until now the IVSS is mainly European based, and I have the honor of being  president. In several European countries there is a permanent effort like in Denmark. And we are very willing to share our experiences with Americans. My time has run out, but you may ask me later, in which ways you may benefit from international cooperation in this field.