BOLD (Bread of Life Deaf) Lutheran Church

Hi!

We are Bread of Life Deaf Lutheran (BOLD). We have a 67+ year history in the Seward and Longfellow area of Minneapolis. We were founded in a time when American Sign Language (ASL) was not officially recognized as a language, and Deaf people were actively discouraged - even physically assaulted - for speaking with their hands. Yet there was a group of Deaf people in the Twin Cities who desired to be in Christian community with each other, to study the Bible, and reflect on their life and relationship with God, in a way that was culturally relevant and understandable. Thankfully a group of hearing Lutherans at Bethany on Franklin Ave understood the importance of that desire, and supported the launch of our church in 1956.

We are grateful for the extraordinary vision and boldness of our founders.

In Deaf Culture, we use stories to understand our world, ourselves, and others. We love that about Jesus! At BOLD, we are committed to sharing this Good News: God loves Deaf people and their families. And we love Deaf people and their families too!

We are in a season of transition as a community. We have spent the past year in a lot of hard and holy conversations about our present and our future. We have a hunger to grow in our own spiritual practices and in our loving service to the Deaf, DeafBlind, Hard of Hearing, CODA, and Interpreting community. As we walk this path into the unknown, we are excited for the vision and possibilities that are emerging.

We are proud to be Deaf, and proud to invest in and support the development of Deaf leadership. We have big dreams for next year, and a person who is crucial to helping us realize them is our awesome Communications Coordinator, Janie. All of the funds we raise for Give to the Max this year will go directly to supporting the Communications Coordinator position. We have a generous donor who will match your generous gift, dollar for dollar, up to the first $3,500 we raise. 

Will you join us in investing in the development of this bright young Deaf leader?

Read below to learn about some of the ways BOLD has impacted our community, near and far. We would love your partnership in helping us continue to impact others' lives!

STORY 1: 

Growing up, my faith journey was always flexible and not strong. I attended hearing churches through my aunt or my mother’s guidance. Did I enjoy them? Sometimes. But, never the worship experiences since I couldn’t understand most of it. When I met my now-husband in high school and our relationship became serious, he brought me to BOLD. I got a taste of BOLD before graduation and came back after college when we were engaged. Because of the generosity and deaf culture of BOLD’s members and their welcoming environment along with the use of ASL, I felt pulled and connected to BOLD. BOLD has impacted me to grow in my faith journey. I continue to grow as a person individually as well as within the community. Without BOLD in the last twelve years, I am not so sure that my faith would be as developed as it is now.

STORY 2:

I have always known about BOLD over the years - I went to a couple of services back when I lived here in 2001-2002 and then moved away. I did see BOLD at Deaf Awareness Day, before COVID I think it was, and then forgot about it until I saw it on the Giving to the Max Day page last year and I was surprised to see it there (and a best kept secret!). I went and met the Pastor at the time at the worship service and then started attending.

STORY 3: 

I was living in Washington State and found BOLD via YouTube, and joined the BOLD Zoom bible study. Later, I moved to MN to be closer to family but also felt grateful to have a Deaf community place to start connecting with and finding support through during my personal journey. I was baptized as an adult at BOLD. I am still learning and want to be more involved at BOLD at a slower pace. BOLD is inspiring and comforting to me because BOLD is not as strict as the church experiences I have had in the past. I also enjoy and appreciate learning God’s Word in full ASL from BOLD. Seeing our Deacon dance, act out the stories or songs in ASL helps me learn and feel connected, I feel happy! It calms me from my anxiety and I learn so much.