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Hi, Karen —
I can't really speak for the individual
priests involved, perhaps you can
ask them to elaborate.
I suspect it's because they simply
don't see it as anything other than
a ministry to those who communicate
by sign language and, lacking knowledge
of any such persons in their congregation,
they don't want to go through the
effort of bringing someone on board
to do something they feel no one
will understand and may, in fact,
be a distraction to those who don't
need or understand it.
(To be honest I personally find signing
quite distracting during a Mass.) Perhaps, too, he is afraid you
are someone who is trying to fulfill
your own needs rather than fulfilling
a genuine need in the congregation,
especially when he's unaware of anyone
who understands signing.
Your point about the Polish song
is a legitimate one, but singing
one Polish song — and we're
assuming here it's not a song everyone
knows in English, just sung in Polish — on
one Sunday is different from signing
every song every week, or whatever
you may be proposing. Usually when
foreign songs are sung, there is
a connection somewhere — maybe:
- only one person spoke Polish, or
- perhaps it's a Polish parish, or
- it's a Polish saint's feast day, or something
like that.
In other words, perhaps
there was a cultural reason for it
that would be lacking for sign singing.
As for people being moved by sign
singing, that's another good point.
- Does the priest know this?
Another consideration is that the
Mass is not the place for performance.
Those who sing should be in the background,
and not the focus of attention. If
your desire is to be in front of
the congregation having every eye
fixed on you while you perform, this
is frankly not in keeping with the
spirit of prayer in the liturgy. The
focus should be on the Eucharistic
action, not on the musicians. This
is why, traditionally, the choir, cantor,
and organist are completely out of
sight in the upper rear of the church.
That said, between signing being,
for some, (a distraction), and sign
singing possibly being perceived
as a self-focused action, rather than
one serving a legitimate need of
the congregation, priests may not
be open to it.
Eric
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