Chaplain helps make Open Table more inclusive for members who are deaf or have hearing loss

Rev Cathy Nightingale, Deaf Chaplain in the Church of England Diocese of Manchester & co-leader of the Open Table North Manchester community. WATCH Cathy sign The Lord's Prayer in British Sign Language (1 min).

AS IT’S Deaf Awareness Week (3rd-9th May 2021) we’ve invited Rev Cathy Nightingale, Deaf Chaplain in the Church of England Diocese of Manchester, and co-founder of Open Table North Manchester, to step into the spotlight.

SIGN language was a new skill for vicar Cathy Nightingale to learn when she decided her career lay in helping other deaf people.

For although Cathy was born profoundly deaf herself, she had only ever learned to lip read.

Now part of the team of churches of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew serving the community of Blackley in North Manchester. Cathy is the Church of England Diocese of Manchester’s first chaplain among the deaf community who is deaf herself.

As well as her parish work, Cathy usually travels around the Greater Manchester area visiting schools, colleges and other groups, and organising services designed for deaf people.

Born in Surrey, Cathy was brought up as a Christian and attended church. She said:

‘There was a bit of frustration and a bit of naughtiness because I didn't understand what was going on’.

It was only after going to Birmingham University to study biochemistry that she rediscovered her faith.

She went to Tanzania working for Mission Aviation Fellowship, and came home and wanted to continue working with the deaf.

Cathy learned sign language so she could talk with others like herself.

She worked in India, and spent four years teaching literacy skills to deaf people in further education colleges.

In one group she had four deaf students of different faiths. Cathy explained:

‘Because I was deaf too they started to ask me faith questions’.

It was then she chose to become a priest. She was ordained at Wakefield Cathedral in 2001, with an interpreter standing behind the Bishop as he conducted the service.

Since 2017, Cathy has been working with the Open Table community in north Manchester, to make their monthly services more accessible for, and inclusive of, LGBTQIA+ people who are deaf or have hearing loss. They usually meet on the second Sunday of the month at St Paul's Church, Blackley. When Covid prevented the community from gathering since March 2021, she and the team began publishing service videos with British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation and captions so the whole community could still take part in worship. These videos are still available on the Open Table North Manchester YouTube channel and Facebook group.

Their example enabled the Open Table Network to make its online content more inclusive too - most of our online worship videos have also included BSL and captions, and our Q&A webinar with our Patron John Bell too.

Thanks Cathy for helping us all to #BeDeafAware.

Adapted from Bolton News interview 6th December 2005.