Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle

Diocese of Bethlehem Connection ... On Saturday, the Episcopal Church commemorates Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle. "Ministry to the deaf in the Episcopal Church begins with Thomas Gallaudet," according to Holy Women Holy Men. "Without his genius and zeal for the spiritual well-being of deaf persons, it is improbable that a history of ministry to the deaf in the Episcopal Church could be written. He has been called “The Apostle to the Deaf.” He died in 1902. ... One fruit of Gallaudet’s ministry was Henry Winter Syle, who had lost his hearing as the result of scarlet fever. Educated at Trinity; St. John’s, Cambridge; and Yale (B.A. and M.A.); Syle was a brilliant student, who persisted in his determination to obtain an education, despite his handicap and fragile health. He was encouraged by Gallaudet to seek Holy Orders, and, having moved to Philadelphia, was supported by Bishop Stevens, against the opposition of many who believed that the impairment of one of the senses was an impediment to ordination. Syle was ordained in 1876, the first deaf person to receive Holy Orders in this Church. In 1888, he built the first Episcopal church constructed especially for deaf persons. He died in 1890.    Henry Winter Syle is the great-grandfather of Herbert D. (Hap) Syle, III. Hap and his wife, Mary Jane Syle, have served the diocese and their home parish (St. Paul's Church, Montrose) in many ways over the years. The Gallaudet connection is through Mt. Pocono where the late Dorothy Jordan and Betty Speicher were parishioners at Trinity Church. I. King Jordan, Ph.D., Dorothy's son and Betty's brother, became the first deaf president of Gallaudet University in 1988.