Christ United Methodist Church for the Deaf

The church had humble beginnings. In 1895 a series of bible study classes were held at the Eutaw Street Methodist Episcopal Mission in Baltimore, Maryland. Rev. W. M. Ferguson, the Presiding Elder of the Baltimore District asked Daniel Moylan to serve as the preacher for these classes. He had been ordained a layreader in the Episcopal church in 1890, however his efforts to be ordained a minister in that faith failed.1 The mission began following an initial Sunday school meeting and a revival meeting. Steadily, the number of participants grew.

Christ Church Congregation.
Fig 1: Christ Church Congregation in the 1940s or 1950s.

After a year, the group decided to form a formal congregation and on April 26, 1896 the Methodist Episcopal Mission for the Deaf was formally established at Eutaw Street.2 Moylan regularly conducted services in the Lecture room of the Eutaw St. Church for over fifteen years. During this time, the church grew in size over the next few years and Moylan’s ministry expanded as he was ordained a deacon and an elder in 1900 and 1908, respectively.

After the congregation moved to the Schroeder Street Church and changed its name to the Christ Methodist Church for the Deaf, it would remain at this location until 1926. In the new buildings a number of deaf organizations and clubs thrived. The congregation held regular social entertainments within the church building and members joined clubs like the Youth Silent Basketball Team, Silent Methodist Basketball team and the Ladies Aid Society. These social activities were instrumental in creating cultural and linguistic links between older and younger members of the community, providing leadership roles and mentors, and providing the space for continued celebration of deaf ways of being.4

"There was no other religious work for the Deaf of Baltimore at that time and the services of Grace Mission were attended by many who were, by birth and baptism, members of other bodies."3

In 1920, ownership of the church building, which was formerly the Baltimore Central Y.M.C.A., changed hands and was renovated. There appears to have been some dispute over the holdings and it was turned into community center for use by multiple groups.5 The church continued to grow and soon the congregation removed to North Calhoun Street where it remained until after the Missions were integrated. As with the Schroeder Street location, the Calhoun Street Church building was used by a number of deaf organizations and the "Church was always busy with social activities."6 Along with traditional religious events - christmas parties, weddings, baptisms and funerals - the building housed evening entertainments, festivals, plays, sports clubs, sock socials, lectures.7

Calhoun Street
Fig 2: Calhoun Street Church (undated)

In the 1940s, after the Christ Methodist congregation purchased a building on Calhoun Street, the separate congregations began to share a building. However, separate services were held for the congregations and social organizations seem to have continued to operate separately. Rev. Moylan served as minister to the church until his death in 1943. After a period of transition, during which many members of the church left, Rev. Louis Foxwell Sr. resumed regular signed services. Foxwell, a longtime member of the church had served as an interpreter at the church and was involved in the formation of athletic teams in conjunction with the church in his youth.8

Through the next decade, Foxwell played an instrumental role in desegregating the divided congregation and encouraging the two groups to interact and form the first integrated deaf church in the Baltimore area.9

Sources:

Figure 1: "Christ United Methodist Congregation" (undated photo) green binder, Christ United Methodist Church for the Deaf Archives.

Figure 2: "Christ M.E. Church for the Deaf, N. Calhoun St. near Lexington St., Baltimore, MD" (undated photo) green binder, Christ United Methodist Church for the Deaf Archives.

1. Foxwell, Ruth. “80th Anniversary Christ United Methodist Church for the Deaf, 1895-1975.” Christ United Methodist Church for the Deaf, April 1975. Folder: Fulton Siemers Memorial/ Christ Church of the Deaf - Folder 8/8. Lovely Lanes Archives.

2. Ibid.

3. Otto Benjamin Berg and Henry L. Buzzard, A Missionary Chronicle: Being a History of the Ministry to the Deaf in the Episcopal Church, 1850-1980 (Hollywood, Maryland: St. Mary’s Press, 1984), 46.;Johnson, Peggy A., and Leo Yates. The History of Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf. (Baltimore, Maryland: Christ Church of the Deaf, 2009) 5.

4. Bjorlee, Ignatius, ed. “Reunion Number.” Maryland Bulletin Worker47, no. 1 (October 1926): 1–38.; Berg and Buzzard, A Missionary Chronicle , xxvi.; “Fiftieth Anniversary; Christ Methodist Church for the Deaf.” Christ Methodist Church for the Deaf, April 21, 1946. Fulton Siemers Memorial/ Christ Church of the Deaf - Folder 2/8. Lovely Lanes Archives.

5. Johnson, Peggy A., and Leo Yates. The History of Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf. (Baltimore, Maryland: Christ Church of the Deaf, 2009) 5.; Letters and documents. Fulton Siemers Memorial/Christ Church of the Deaf - Folder 2/8, 8/8. Lovely Lanes Archives.

6. Johnson and Yates, The History of Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf, 41.

7. Ibid, 27, 41; Charles E. Moylan, “The History of Christ Methodist Church for the Deaf of Baltimore,” Maryland Bulletin 63, no. 8 and 9 (6 1943): 2.

8. Bjorlee, Ignatius. “Tribute to Rev. Daniel Edward Moylan.” Maryland Bulletin 63, no. 4 (January 1943): 61.; Johnson, Peggy A., and Leo Yates. The History of Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf. (Baltimore, Maryland: Christ Church of the Deaf, 2009) 33.

9. Louis Foxwell, “Letter: Foxwell to Dr. Trett and Members of the Quarterly Conference,” Correspondence, February 6, 1955, Red Binder, unlabeled, Christ United Methodist Church for the Deaf Archives.