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Inspired
Inspired is the nation's leading public radio show about faith, ethics and spirituality. Each week we offer you analyses of the big headlines alongside lesser-told stories – those of Orthodox Jewish artists and African-American atheists, Muslim feminists and spiritual seekers. Through these stories, a rough sketch of our country’s religious landscape begins to emerge. It’s a marketplace of beliefs and ideas too complex for sound bites, and too important to ignore.
Kirk VanGilder: The Language of Worship
Kirk VanGilder was born with hearing loss, and slowly lost his ability to hear into adulthood. Today, his deaf identity is at the core of who he is as an educator. He joins producer Joanna Broder to talk about being the only hard of hearing kid in his school and church, and his path to becoming a minister for a deaf congregation. Read the transcript of the interview here. Rev. Dr. Kirk VanGilder is the minister in the United Methodist Church, and Associate Professor at Gallaudet University.
Father Lapsley: From Victim to Victor
Father Michael Laplsey’s life changed on April 28th, 1990, when he received a letter bomb for his work as a freedom fighter against Apartheid. He lost both hands, an eye, and part of his hearing. And then a new chapter began. He started on a long path of both physical and spiritual healing, eventually helping others do the same. He tells us: “Perfection is not the human experience: imperfection, incompleteness, is the story of all of us.” Read the transcript of the interview here. Fr. Michael Lapsley is the author of Redeeming the Past and the director of the Institute for Healing of Memories.
Laura Lee Wright: Becoming Visible
If you are among the 1 in 5 Americans with a disability, you might have a problem going to your church, mosque or temple. Let’s face it, from old buildings with non-existent wheelchair ramps, to prayer books with impossibly tiny print, it’s no wonder that, according to research,people with disabilities are less likely to show up in the pews. Laura Lee Wright is trying to change that. Read the transcript of the interview here. Laura Lee Wright is a disabilities advocate and missionary at Camp Daniel.
