Lorraine Williams PhD Scholarship

Lorraine Williams has been pursuing a call to minister to the Deaf community for decades. She is a Pastor, with a thriving community, to the Deaf at  City of Refuge in Los Angeles. Now she has the opportunity to study at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland for a PhD in Theology & Disability with two of the leading scholars in Theology & Disability Studies (Prof. Brian Brock and Prof. John Swinton). This program's tuition fees will easily cost close to $70,000, roughly $23,000 a year for three years. So this girl needs our help.

There are very few Christians as passionate about the Gospel and the Deaf community as Lorraine. And there are not many people thinking deeply about the intersection of the Deaf community and the Church. More research and writing is absolutely necessary for the Church to understand the way it excludes those who live life differently than those who can hear.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent by churches on sound equipment every year, while almost no money is invested on reaching and equipping those in our broader community who communicate differently than the mainstream. Getting a PhD would help Lorraine address this and many other issues head on. It would also be an opportunity for her to think deeply and write insightfully about the theological significance of deafness in relation to the Gospel.

Lorraine has been a faithful servant of God to the Deaf and wants to continue in that call through pursuing a PhD. Let's see if we can raise the money for the first year (hopefully more). She would be starting this coming Fall (October, 2019).

As one of her former professors and friends, I would be greatly appreciative of you making a small contribution to a very lovely woman for the life of the church.