Holy Spirit Mission Church for the Deaf. Records

The Holy Spirit Mission Church for the Deaf was founded as a parochial mission in 1960 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley, California and would later become a Diocesan mission. A profile of the church written in 1988 states that their mission is “to proclaim to Gospel among hearing impaired and deaf people and their families and to enable Christian ministry and community among hearing impaired and deaf individuals in a language understood by them”.

Roger Pickering, a deaf seminarian, became the first Vicar after his ordination in 1963. During his six-year tenure, he offered services in several different locations in the Bay area, provided pastoral care for hearing impaired persons all over California, and established a religious education program at the California School for the Deaf. After Pickering’s departure, services were reduced from once a week to once a month until 1983 when a full-time Vicar was hired. By 1987, lack of grant money for deaf ministry in the diocese forced the Mission into part-time status once again.

Little information is available regarding the status of the Mission past 1988, however records indicate that it was in operation until the early 2000's.