The Diocese of Rochester has secured two grants worth $217,000 to launch a ministry at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf:
- A $187,006, five-year grant by the Episcopal Conference of the Deaf
- A one-time $30,000 grant by the Episcopal Church’s Young Adult and Campus Ministry
Both grants will assist in funding a deaf campus ministry initiative that will include Christian worship through Episcopal formation for students at the institute and the wider Rochester community.
“We are grateful to launch this vision in the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, which has a history of engaging ministry with the deaf and hard of hearing folks since 1972,” said the Rt. Rev. Prince Singh, Bishop of Rochester. “We pray that, with the funding from the Episcopal Conference of the Deaf and the ECYA, the Episcopal Church’s ministry will thrive.”
The diocese has called the Rev. Laurence Wainwright-Maks to serve as a full-time priest who is experienced as an advocate and educator, is proficient in American Sign Language, and has experience in starting a new congregation within the diocesan and community structure.
Adapted from the Diocese of Rochester
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
