Repairers of the Breach

Our country is at a hinge moment that calls for people of faith to stand up against all sinful systems of oppression and violence. Many members of St. Peter’s are deeply engaged in this work. St. Peter’s Repairers of the Breach Workshops will feature lay ministers who will share what they are doing to confront the political  powers that diminish, violate, and threaten the lives of our neighbors.

This two-part workshop will feature parishioner Matt Hall, a tenure-track professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders at Temple University, where he directs the First Language Foundations Lab: dedicated to maximizing the developmental potential of all deaf and hard-of-hearing children through theoretical and applied research, with a primary focus on preventing language deprivation. Matt’s approach to this work is informed by his understanding that no one who bears God’s image is broken, and that God’s kingdom values diversity over hegemony. These beliefs also reflect Matt’s spiritual journey: having grown up gay & closeted in conservative evangelical spaces, he sees clear parallels between the ways that many parents treat deaf children and LGBTQ children, and works to create a world in which all children can grow into who God made them to be.

Clergy will provide Biblical and theological context, giving participants the opportunity to discuss how the work being done is discipleship in practice.