|
|
|
1. Jo Bolstad: The Church and the Hard of Hearing in
Norway - a Short Review
Jo Bolstad: Engagement for the hard of hearing in the Norwegian church is of comparatively recent date and is mainly due to the initiative of a parson of our church, Per Bogerud, whose own hearing was very bad. About 40 years ago, he found it necessary to draw the church leaders’ attention and sense of responsibility to the definitely biggest group of handicapped people (calculated today at 350 - 400 000 persons). Whilst the care for this group only started fairly recently in our church, such organised work for the deaf goes as far back as 1893. Today 7 special parsons, 1 catechist and 1 deacon are in charge of the 3500 deaf of the country, divided into 4 - 5 regions, each with its special church, and special parochial church councils in Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim. The deaf congregations use sign language, as they want to be a church for the deaf and hard of hearing for whom sign language is the most natural form of communication. Compared with this 100-years-old well-organized ecclesiastical work for the deaf, we must admit that the efforts for the hard of hearing by our church lay far behind, even though - thanks to Per Bogerud’s pioneer work - there has been some important, necessary progress in the last 30 - 40 years also in this sector of our church. Having myself been hard of hearing and entirely dependent on hearing aid for 30 years, and familiar with hearing problems both from my own experience and trough my parish work, I am most grateful to pastor Bogerud for drawing me into this ecclesiastical field of work. Both in a national and international sense, it has been a growing challenge and need, not least because the hard of hearing are a steadily increasing part of modern society, also in Norway. Following Pastor Per Bogerud’s pioneer work the National Meeting of Bishops appointed a working committee to prepare a collective plan for the work by our church for the hard of hearing. Among the members of the committee were the president of the national humanitarian head organization for the hard of hearing, Hørselshemmedes Landsforbund, Mr. Reidar Klingberg, and an audio-acoustician of international reputation Mr. Gordon Flottorp, our leading expert on the problems of this group. The committee, reorganized and enlarged in 1968, endeavoured above all to collect an spread all necessary information on the situation and the needs of the hard of hearing. Thus, they arranged i. a. in the seventies, throughout the country, information seminars for welfare and health personnel, social workers, parsons, deacons and other church workers, in addition to informative lectures at educational institutions for theologians and deacons. The main purpose of these activities was to promote the unterstanding for and engagement in a field so fare neglected by the Norwegian church. The committee submitted its report to the National Meeting of Bishops in the autumn of 1971 as a proposed plan for the work by the church among the hard of hearing in Norway. They point out that the responsibility for these people first and foremost rests with the local parish. Its task consists of active information and briefing, not least on available technical aids, which should make it possible to integrate the hard of hearing as far as possible in the local congregations. Also the possibilities of forming special groups and of social meetings are pointed out as another important task. - On a national scale the committee stresses the necessity of informing and describing to parsons, deacons, nurses and parish workers the situation of the hard of hearing, and concludes with the proposal that a special post for a parson or deacon to head this work should be established. In its conclusion the committee says i. a.: A sober assessment of the requirements and tasks for this service has, in the committee’s opinion, clearly shown that the creation of a central ecclesiastical post for this work must be regarded as a minimum demand in the present situation, if the hard of hearing in our church are to receive adequate care. The committee feels strongly that the position of a parson will be best suited to carry out the required tasks. Therefore, the committee will conclude its report with a proposal that the central post of special parson for the hard of hearing in Norway be established as soon as possible. On the basis of this report the proposal of a special leading post for the care of the hard of hearing by the church was submitted to the public authorities, but so far such a post has not been established in Norway. It is, however, gratifying to find a growing awareness - locally as well as in central circles - of the necessity to alleviate the lot of the hard of hearing in the Norwegian church. - As an important contribution to the task of continous information, the working committee in 1972 published a brochure, „Kirken og de hørselessvekkede" („The church and the hard of hearing"), an abridged and revised edition of the booklet „Über die Seelennot der Schwerhörigen" („About the mental need of the hard of hearing") by a German clergyman of great experience, Ferdinand Thiebes. In 1983 and 1988 the national church council, „Kirkerådet" - our highest church authority - published the brochures „Hører du hva jeg sier" („Do you hear what I am saying") and „Kan du høre hva jeg sier" („Can you hear what I am saying"), which are guidebooks for congregations with brief, useful advice as a practical aid in the work for the hard of hearing. - In recent years, thanks to the collected information, a great number of our church buildings have been fitted with hearing aid installations with inductive loops and loudspeakers. In this connection the very useful information circular No. 1/1993, must be mentioned - „Teleslynganlegg i kirkebygg" („Inductive loop installations in church buildings") - published by the Ministry of Church and Education, which without doubt, has helped considerably to improve the quality of these installations. It is also encouraging that leading church bodies have become more and more aware of the problems of the hard of hearing and are giving them greater attention. I personally am very glad that my own diocese, Tunsberg, in 1993 joined the IVSS as a corporate member. I had hoped that our entire church would do the same, but for the moment I am glad to see that the Church Council’s welfare consultant is in a position to take a more active part in matters regarding the church’s responsibilities for the hard of hearing. This bodes well for the future. My two Norwegian colleague can tell you more about this. _____________________________________________________ Kristin Faehn: Introduction My two colleagues have presented for you how our work with the hard of hearing has developed in Norway, both in a local diocese and in the country as a whole. My presentation will be concentrating on what has happend in the last few years at the central administration level within the Norwegian Church, and on our vision and strategy for the future. Briefly to better understand our church structure: The church of Norway has about 1350 parishes and 11 dioceses on a regional level. In every diocese there is a bishop and an elected diocesan council, „bispedømmerådet". The General Synod is on a national level, meeting one week once a year. It is mainly a meeting for all the diocesan councils. This General Synod has also an elected council, Church of Norway’s National Council, that is meeting three times a year and has a central administration in Oslo. Here are advisors working with different church matters, f.ex.diacony.
Daily Life and Realities in the Church First a few words about my work and position. My name is Kristin Faehn and I work in the Church of Norway’s National Council, Kirkerådet, which has central administration responsibilities for the Norwegian Church. My professional area is the diaconate, that is, Christian social services. This work includes more than services to the hard of hearing, which is only one part of my responsibilities. The annual General Synod of the Norwegian Church establishes the priorities for our office, although as employees we also have a certain degree of autonomy in the prioritization of our work, and we do have influence on the work of the church. Still, the National Church Council cannot directly instruct the dioceses in specific cases, we can only try to motivate their involvement in important issuses. The exceptions to this are the regulations passed by the General Synod. My aim describing this is to provide a picture of what kind of possibilities and limits we have in our church. Another part of this picture is that the Church of Norway, despite Norway’s oil wealth, is not economically well off, when compared to our Nordic neighbours.
Up to the National Level We must now return to the Tunsberg diocese. My involvement in working with the hard of hearing also started there, when one of the staff there, Stein Unneberg, contacted me so that this work might be brought up to a national level. It was in 1992 that we began work with the quality assurance of inductive loop systems. A central project group was formed, which was able to work non-bureaucratically and quickly (1992 - 1993). The main aim of the project’s work was to establish standards for the inductive loop systems, in line with the Nordic quality standards set by NHH (Nordiska Nämnden för Handikappfrågor). The results included: *The Church, Education and Research Ministry’s advisor on church buildings created an orientation package regarding the amplification boards and the related standards. These were sent to every parochial church in the country, parish pastors, and municipal boards. (I/1993) - also discussed by Jo Bolstad. *The Council for Technical Initiatives at Hognestad made the Nordic specification standards available in a 1993 pamphlet. *We informed producers, importers and installation companies. And we expressed our wish for at good system for inspection and follow-up, based in our public aid centres.
Central Co-ordination of the Work for the Hard of Hearing In the fall of 1996, a national group for disabled was established. While a similar group had existed earlier, hard of hearing persons had not participated at that time. It was still an important matter to follow up on the challenges that had been set by the Nordic and international conferences for the hard of hearing, but at the same time, to see these activities in a larger perspective, together with people with other kinds of disabilities. The group focuses on both facilitation of practical matters, and work with attitudes. This group consisted of representatives for the hard of hearing, the deaf, blind and weaksighted, and the handicapped. The group has sponsored the creation of the pamphlet „Gjør døren høy, gjør porten vid" „Make wide the door" (see book table), a guidance document for local congregations. This pamphlet is seen as a foundational document for making congregations accessible for the handicapped, and has been sent to all parochial and church cooperative councils. Within this broad perspective, we also have some hopes and concrete plans for the hard of hearing in particular. These have been drawn up based on, among other things, the Norwegian delegation’s meeting in IVSS at Løgum Monastery in 1996.
The National Church Council (Kirkerådet) *Creates, updates and distributes relevant material (Revised pamphlet „Can You Hear What I’m Saying" 1996) *Contact with the church-affiliated educational institutions *Works to establish its position at the national level within the Norwegian church *Arranges conferences
Dioceses Must be aware of the guidelines and standards for inductive loop systems and who is responsible for inspections *Responsible for making parochial church councils aware of these guidelines *Is considering establishing a committee at the diocesan level to follow the issue *Appoints contact persons for suitable intra-diocesan districts Cooperates with The national assosiation of hard of hearing, provincial parent associations for the hard of hearing, the Deaf Association (for subtitled worship services), and Senior Citizens councils.
Conference Contact Persons in the fall of 1997 In September of 1997 a conference was held for contact persons from 9 of the country’s 11 dioceses. The goal was to give selected people in all dioceses inspiration and knowledge to be leaders and advisors in the dioceses and parishes on issues regarding the hard of hearing. The seminar was a follow-up of a conference for the hard of hearing in Denmark in 1996. Also at the conclusion of this seminar, a number of specific challenges and proposals were put forward for national and regional attention in the church.
The Way Ahead Our visions: *That all who wish can hear the gospel of Jesus Christ *That all who so desire can take part in church activities an tasks, without regard to reduced physical function or impaired hearing. In these times, the technical advances are so great, that this vision ought to be possible. But attitudes and finances are often the limiting factors. Thus our strategy must: 1) Create understanding -through information available in all available media -through aid material -through church affiliated educational institutions -through leading by example 2)Obtain economic means -for the purchase and improvement of equipment 3)Have positions/people who are given special responsibility -a central coordinator -an advisor on diaconal matters at the dioacesan level -vergers who are given the responsibility for technical follow-up -one in the congregation, either paid or volunteer It it is possible to establish special positions within our church for the follow-up on this work, then it is especially important that the diaconal positions in this area are given high priority. The future will regardless require that accessibility for the hard of hearing not remain a matter of special initiatives, but become a natural part of the church’s life.
Translation: Robert Marsalis
Terje M. Lund: Introduction Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Terje Marvin Lund. I am an ordained deacon of the Church of Norway, now working as advisor for diaconical matters at the administration centre of Tunsberg Diocese. Responsible for all diaconical affairs within the diocese, question about hard of hearing is one of my work areas. The main task of the Church is to communicate the message of Jesus Christ, Saviour and Lord, to all those who visit our churches, chapels and parish houses. Immense work is being carried to improve the audibility of sermons and during other times when claer communication is of the first importance - from pulpits, altars, lecterns, and at baptisms and funerals. Unfortunately it quite often happens that the message does not reach the whole audience because of poor facilities for the hard of hearing. Loudspeakers, induction loop systems and microphone positions are far from satisfactory.
Looking back During the latest seven or eight years intensive works on improving the hearing situation in churches, chapels and parish houses within our diocese has been carried out. In our diocese we heave had, in every respect, a great dean, Jo Bolstad, known to most of you. Hard of hearing himself, he has undertaken an immense work of improving the hearing situation throughout the diocese, as well as in the country as a whole. But only when this problem struck „the peak of the church", as our own bishop became hard of hearing and got personal insight into the problem, did this work get priority. Then, however, a good deal of money was granted for investigating, and thereafter improving, the situation. A thorough check on twelve churches, randomly chosen, was launched, and a wellrecognized Danish company was hired to do the job. The check results were most disappointing, though giving an important picture of the hearing situation in our churches. Most probably the hearing equipment in the other churches was in the same sorry state. The diocesan administration made specific recommandations to those parishes where the situation was at its worst, and gave more general guidelines to the other parishes of the diocese. During the next four or five years we encouraged these local parishes to give priority to remedying the situation. We also gave grants for improvements where they were needed. And some parishes actually did give it their attention,taking far-sighted account of the need in long-term planning and in their budgets. Yours truly, being responsible for this area within the diocese, was still not satisfied with the large number of churches and parish houses where the hearing situation was in a very poor state.
A new deal The matter was put on the agenda of the Diaconal Committee of the diocese, and it was decided to run another check, this time full scale in all churches, chapels and parish houses in the diocese. A special committee was established with Sigrun Volden, Britt Dahl and myself as members. We turned to „Hørselshemmedes Landsforbund" (The national assosiation of hard of hearing), represented county level and by local groups. They more than willingly entered into a joint venture, and we decided to run a user-based check on all the churches, chapels and parish houses within the diocese. The check was run at a „grass-roots" level, as representatives from each parish (pastor, deacon or verger) together with hard of hearing persons checked each individual building. So far, we had not called for any particular expertise, other than that of those personally affected by the problem, assisted by a survey device. This was actually sufficient to reveal the extent of the faults and defects. A form was sent to every parish office, where it was filled in with the results of the check and returned to the diocesan administration. By running this check we, naturally, wanted to implement an improvement of the hearing situation, bringing it up to an acceptable level. The results of the check were somewhat better than anticipated, which meant that many parishes had given priority to bying new equipment. However, the check unfortunately also revealed a considerable lack of maintenance and, in addition, deficient instruction of those who are to operate the equipment. And where the situation was less than acceptable, we most strongly recommended the church wardens to bring this up in their local councils The improvements should be made within a one-year limit. I feel it right to point out that, troughout this process, we have had a good dialogue with the church wardens, both in written and oral communication. Thereby we also gave our co-operators the opportunity to make responses, both positive and negative. The Church of Norway is a so-called established church, which means that it is most closly connected which the governement and submitted to state legislation. Thanks to a new law on church organisation and affairs, the church wardens have become essential in the prioritising, planning and budgeting. And as I have said, the parish councils, represented by the church wardens, have been strongly recommended to buy new equipment where the situation demands it, and upgrading or maintenance wherever this will be sufficient.
Training church personal All vergers and graveyard workers throughout the diocese where summoned to a one-day briefing. This training day had a multiple purpose: * The first concentrated on meeting with mourners, on the background experience of those normally meet mourners in their everyday work, both in the churches and at the graveyards. Many relatives visit cemeteries to see to the graves of their loved ones. Vergers and graveyard workers are therefore persons available and contact is naturally made with them. We therefore wanted to provide them with security and the skills necessary for performing the demanding task of meeting people who are in mourning. *Thereafter we gave a wide training on how to use loudspeaker and induction loop systems, including practical training and the demonstration of equipment. *We also had a session on accessibility arrangements, so that our churches can become as available and used by all.
Evaluation and follow-up Within a year we shall require a written report on the actual situation from all local church councils. Our intention is to bring the hearing situation in every church, chapel and parish house up to an acceptable standard by the year 2000.
Dialogue amplifiers However, permanent installations can not cover all situations. From the diocese office for diaconal work we therefore have urged every parish office to buy a dialogue amplifier which will be available for pastors and other parish workers when meeting hearing-impaired people. The amplifiers hall also be available for rent during funerals and other occasions where such equipment may be needed.
Information booklet to the periodicals If we want results, it is compulsory that people know. The diocese administration has therefore issued an information booklet for all who want to learn about hearing impairment, induction loops hearing devices, or about the use of microphones etc. . The information booklet contains twelve different sections and is distributed to all editors of parish periodicals, requesting them to print the sections separatly, in consecutive editions of the periodical. The information booklet has also been translated into German and English.
Text telephone The last effort made for improving the communication between the Church and its hearing-impaired members, has quite recently been made in Larvik by the rev. Eyolf Berg, who is also present at this conference. Apart from the special pastoral care for the deaf, Larvik is the first church office in Norway offering this telephone service. English translation: Rev. Eyolf Berg |