Members of Pittsburgh’s deaf community are digging into a spiritual resource most hearing people take for granted. More than 15 years in the making, the first complete translation of the Bible into American Sign Language (ASL), complete with interactive study tools, represents an accessibility milestone for the deaf community. “The deaf are so happy to have a Bible in ASL,” said Diane Souder, who was born and raised in Pittsburgh, where she attended the DePaul School for Hearing and Speech. “It gives us independence, so we don’t have to keep saying, ‘What does this mean? What is this saying?’ We are able to actually do our own study. We have the personal benefit of studying for ourselves.” On Feb. 15, 2020, Geoffrey Jackson, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, announced the publication of the first complete Bible in American Sign Language. Speaking at the release event in Florida, Jackson said: “As far as we know, Jehovah’s Witnesses are the first organization or group of persons to release the complete Bible in ASL. And probably that means it’s the first complete Bible in sign language in the world (and) in the history of mankind.” Souder, who attends the Pittsburgh ASL Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, says people often assume the deaf know English to the same degree as ASL. “So many people mistakenly thought that the deaf could just read the Bible and understand it. But ASL and English are very, very different languages,” she said. Not only has it enriched Souder’s own personal Bible study, but she said her congregation is delighted to share it with others in the deaf community. “We can share it with people who are able to see it in their own language,” Souder said. “That has had such an impact.” The Pittsburgh ASL Congregation was established in 2006. The congregation currently includes more than 20 hearing individuals who have learned ASL to help support the spiritual needs of the deaf community in the greater Pittsburgh region. Souder was in attendance in 2005 when Jehovah’s Witnesses released the single book of Matthew in ASL at their Jersey City Assembly Hall. “I remember the tears because we were just taken aback by it so much. Everyone stood and applauded. I thought, ‘Oh, our language finally!’ And my mind started turning, and I'm thinking, ‘Wow, imagine having all of the Bible!’” she said. The text-to-video translation project took more than 15 years to complete, but Souder was also in attendance when it was announced that the ASL Bible was finally complete. “I cried again. I just cried. I had somebody next to me bawling, and I had to comfort her on my shoulder. We were just so moved by it,” Souder said. Attending the ASL Congregation and Jehovah’s Witnesses Annual Convention programs has allowed Souder the chance to build special connections with people. For example, she formed a 20-year friendship with Amanda Bords, who now lives in Fort Lauderdale and attends the Fort Lauderdale Sign Language Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Bords now works as a volunteer on the ASL translation team for the Jehovah’s Witness organization. She learned sign language as a young child because her mother was a teacher of the deaf. “Before, I have been able to support the deaf community in a specific congregation,” said Bords. “But working with translation takes it to a whole other level. I am able to support the deaf community in the entire United States and even other countries that use ASL.” Souder encourages deaf people she meets to explore resources like jw.org and the JW Library Sign Language app. “The best way to get them to understand how valuable it is, is to get them to use it—to put their hands on it as it were—to use the tools,” she said. (To view the ASL Bible and other free resources for the deaf. visit https://www.jw.org/ase/.)

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