On Sunday we heard the story of Jesus healing a blind beggar. It is one of the few stories where Jesus asks the person, “What do you want me to do for you?" When we talked about this story last Tuesday there was consensus that we would be very careful in what we ask for… As I thought about that story over the rest of the week, despite living with a severe hearing impairment all of my life, I don’t think I would ask to have my hearing restored… especially in this day and age with all of the technology that assists me in overcoming my disability.
I use a hearing aid. I’ve used a hearing aid since I was six years old and over the past 53 years, hearing aids have gotten progressively smaller, more powerful and feature rich! One of the greatest additions to my hearing experience was the advent of Bluetooth technology that connects my iPhone directly to my hearing aid. And then, a couple of years ago they came out with a dongle that allowed me to connect my hearing aid to a tablet and a computer. Now I don’t even need a dongle! My MacBook, iPad, televisions and iPhone all connect directly to my hearing aid via Bluetooth and in some ways I am able to hear better than others because the aid amplifies and enhances speech frequencies and diminishes background noise!
And then, there is the advance of closed captions and their rise in popularity. Most all popular television programs are now Closed Captioned, as are most on demand streaming services like Netflix and YouTube. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult to find the switch to toggle them on – but when you do – it is worth it!
We had understood that our streaming service (Vimeo) provided live Closed Captions and that you could turn them on when viewing the Sunday / Spirit Gathering each Sunday morning. We have recently discovered that we have exceeded our ‘free’ usage for that feature and to add it to our account would be prohibitively expensive. But there is a work around – Accessibility Features in Google Chrome! We will be implementing this work around in each of the congregations over the coming weeks, and if you might benefit from closed captions on your personal device, home you can do it too!
First, you need to be using Google Chrome as your internet browser. Once you have Chrome installed, click on the three vertical dots in the upper right-hand corner of the browser window, scroll down and click on Settings. A menu should appear on the left side of the screen. Click on Accessibility. Toggle on Live Caption. You can change the appearance of the captions in Caption preferences, but the default works just fine. That’s it. Close the Settings tab and the next time you are watching a movie, a YouTube clip, or the Sunday/Spirit Gathering from the Church website, the words that are spoken will be captioned at the bottom of your screen.
In addition to implementing the use of captions we will be asking those who manage the camera (along with all the other technology) on Sunday morning (Thank you, each of you, for all you do!), to try use closeup shots when the Minister is speaking at length (maybe that is all the time?!?!?). We all read lips to a greater or lesser degree, and we know that being able to see a speaker’s lips move will assist in you in your hearing and comprehension.
And so, in true Clint Eastwood stye, ‘Read my lips…’ and give the Commission your feedback by following this link to a survey/feedback form. Below my Looking Ahead is the full text of an announcement from the Commission.
Faithfully,
Lloyd
Looking Ahead
On Monday I will be in the office in Sackville in morning and over the noon hour I will gather with a smattering of the United Church ministry personnel who are a part of Sackville United Church. There are nine of us. Some are active in congregational or institutional ministry, others are retired, and still others are engaged in other ministries, but all of us enjoy each other’s company and the opportunity to connect and support one another. After lunch I have two meetings scheduled.
Tuesday will have me working from home. In the morning, I will participate in the Lectionary Study Group and in the evening I will meet with the Commission for their regular meeting. In between those who events I will be preparing for the AST Senate meeting, reading reports and other supporting documents.
On Wednesday morning I will be up and on the road early in order to arrive in Halifax for the 9:30AM meeting of the AST Senate. Following that meeting I will be taking the rest of the day and part of Thursday to go down to the valley and visit with two of my children.
I’ll back in time for a pastoral visit on Thursday afternoon and then gather some treats together for the spookfest that is Halloween!
Friday and Saturday will be days off and on Sunday I look forward to presiding at the liturgy from Visions United Church and sharing in the experience of faithful community with all of you as we gather in a variety of ways from a variety of places – with a common purpose: celebrating and being light and love in the world!
Announcement from the Commission: Seeking Feedback
The Collaborative Ministry Pilot Project Commission is seeking your feedback in respect to your experience of the Sunday/Spirit Gatherings offered since September 1st 2024. You may follow this link to the confidential, anonymous, online survey, or you may complete one of the paper surveys available at the Church on Sunday mornings, and see that it is returned to one of the representatives to the Commission from your congregation. Commission members will ensure that the data is included with other submissions. This survey will open on October 28 and close at 5PM on November 10th. The Commission will provide a summary of the data to the Collaborative prior to the Town Hall Gathering that is planned for December 1st.
The afternoon group is filling up! Presently there are three spaces available for the Thursday afternoon group and six spaces for the Thursday evening group. If you are interested in participating in one of these support groups please register soon by sending an email to lloyd@csv-united.org indicating whether you’d like the afternoon or evening group.
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