Baptist minister's Park Run challenge for the BSL Bible Translation Project
Baptist minister the Revd Susan Myatt aims to raise £1500 for the BSL Bible Translation Project, which will provide 'an invaluable, long-awaited resource' to the Deaf Community and the wider church
Susan is minister for the Deaf Community at Open Hands Signing Church, Rising Brook, Stafford; Heart of England Baptist Association National Advisor and Lichfield Diocese Advisor to Deaf Church.
The BSL Bible Translation Project is a small charity with 'a huge aim': to translate the whole of the Christian Bible into British Sign Language and publish it via its website.
At the moment, the charity has two teams working in Manchester and Bristol to finish the Gospel of Mark, and a team meeting in Birmingham to translate the book of Genesis. The project is an ecumenical one that works with translators from several different Christian denominations.
To support the work, Susan is running a total distance of 20k alongside Steve Bostock and Nicki Large, two members of Open Hands.
Beginning on Saturday 11 February, and continuing the following three Saturdays, Susan, Steve and Nicki are running at the Trentham Gardens 5k Park Run in North Staffordshire.
'Having the Bible available in British Sign Language (BSL) will be an invaluable, long-awaited resource to the Deaf Community,' explained Susan, 'as well as a valuable resource to any church that wanted to use translated passages for the Deaf members of their congregation.
'The inclusion of BSL as a language for the Bible will be a major step forward in affirming the Deaf Community and recognising their right to access the same spiritual guidance.
'For churches, having access to the Bible in BSL could open up a whole new world of ministry and connection, allowing them to provide spiritual guidance and comfort to those who may otherwise have been excluded from their services.
'This is an exciting development and will no doubt be an incredible resource for both the Deaf Community and the church for years to come.'
'If you would like to give towards this hugely worthwhile cause, please go to the JustGiving page below,' Susan continued.
Baptist Times, 14/02/2023