During
the historic meeting of the United Methodist Committee on Deaf and Hard
of Hearing Ministries, officers of the United Methodist Congress of the
Deaf, who met with the Evangelical Lutheran Deaf Association and
Episcopal Deaf Church, the first award for excellence in United
Methodist Deaf mission and evangelism was given to Bishop Peggy A.
Johnson. Her work of 18 years ministry at Christ Church of the Deaf,
UMC and present work as Bishop of the Eastern Pennsylvania-Delaware
Conference demonstrated growth in both evangelism and mission. Her work
in Kenya and Zimbabwe resulted in not only sending Deaf mission teams
for the first time to those countries, but also identified and mentored a
Deaf woman who later became the first ordained Deaf woman in the
Methodist Church in Kenya. As Bishop she has advocated tirelessly for
the Deaf, and has written a denomination-wide curriculum for the United
Methodist Women, called The Church and People with Disabilities. Her
other published work is Deaf Ministry: Make a Joyful Silence.
In appreciation of her work, the officers of the
United Methodist Congress of the Deaf and the United Methodist Committee
on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Ministries created the first ever award to
recognize a person for excellence in Deaf mission and evangelism. The
award is named in memory of Rev. Philip Hasenstab who led the Chicago
Mission for the Deaf at Chicago (Methodist Episcopal) Temple, the
largest Deaf church in the United States during the early 20th century.
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