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May 06, 2011

Large-Print Ministry Offers New Materials

The Large-Print Ministry is offering three CDs that can help the blind, visually-challenged and others with special needs be able to more fully participate in worship.

 

Blind individuals with electronic note takers and special software and visually-impaired people with access to computers can use the CDs. The material can be loaded into a note taker and re-edited into a form of Braille. The CDs should also be useable in optical-character readers that can read material formatted in Microsoft Word™.

 

“Thank you, and God bless you, for your ministry of creating and making available a CD of large-print copies of the Prayer Book,” said the Rev. George Berlin, Rector at St. Philip & St. James Church, Denver, Colo. “We now use it every Sunday, printing and setting out about a dozen copies a week.”

 

“The Large-Print Ministry is a real blessing to the Church nationally,” said the Very Rev. F. Michael Perko, Dean, School for Ministry of the Diocese of the Rio Grande, Albuquerque, N.M. “Several years ago, having experienced retinal detachments and surgery in both eyes, I urgently needed large-print Prayer Book texts to continue my ministry,” said Canon Perko. “As a result of the Large-Print Book of Common Prayer (CD), I was able to ‘self publish’ an Altar Book that allowed me to celebrate the Eucharist while my good eye was healing.”

 

Large-Print Ministry CDs have been distributed to dioceses; bishops; clergy; churches; seminaries; colleges; bookstores; libraries; prisons; eye-care professionals; military/VA chaplains; Parish Nurses; hospitals; mental-health chaplains; substance-abuse-treatment programs; hospices; AIDS programs; deafblind and deaf-visually-impaired ministries; special needs ministries; diabetes programs; senior ministries; blind/visually-impaired organizations; as well as individuals.       

 

“Your work saves us hours of work of typing the Psalms and liturgies into our computer,“ said the Rev. Tom Rutherford, Rector of the Church of the Messiah, Winter Garden, Fla. “Over the course of the year, we use all the forms of the Prayers of the People and the Great Thanksgiving, so that adds up to a sizable amount of time saved.”

 

See CD information below:

 

The Large Print Book of Common Prayer CD includes the entire Book of Common Prayer (1979) of The Episcopal Church USA. The Revised Common Lectionary is included. The CD material is formatted in Microsoft Word™ and is mainly in 18-point Times New Roman type.  It is laid out for 8.5 x 11-inch pages and can be used to help prepare Large-Print worship materials. The material can be adapted and used to help those who are learning to read. Books for beginning readers are usually in large print. Grown-ups can help children learn to follow along and take part in worship.

 

Sing Praise to Our God is a CD that includes large-print lyrics to the 338 hymns from The Hymnal 1982 of the Episcopal Church, USA that are in the public domain (are not copyrighted). They are in Microsoft Word™ and 20-point Arial type. The hymns are laid out for use on 8.5 x11-inch pages and can be printed out as part of Large-Print service materials.

 

Prayers and Psalms for Today can help those who are hurting in body, mind and/or spirit. It includes selections from Prayers and Thanksgivings, Prayers for the Sick, Prayers for Use by a Sick Person, Ministration at the Time of Death, and the Book of Psalms from The Book of Common Prayer (1979). While the prayers are from an Episcopal book, they may be helpful to people of other faiths as well.

 

Prayers & Psalms is in Microsoft Word™ and is mostly in 20-point Arial type. It is laid out for use on 8.5 x 11-inch pages.

 

To order one CD, please send a self-addressed, stamped 6x9-inch envelope with four first-class stamps attached (five on a padded envelope) to Ann Dahlen, 1900 6th Ave., Apt. 513, Rock Island, IL 61201. Please add more postage when ordering more than one CD. Please indicate which CD(s) you want. Two CDs can be sent in one unpadded 6x9-inch envelope. 

 

A donation of any amount to help cover costs is always appreciated as the Large-Print Ministry is a Lay Ministry that is not a part of any diocese, church or organization. Please make checks out to Ann Dahlen.