History

The Hard of Hearing Christian Fellowship (HHCF), as it was then known, began in 1973 with Bert Barritt who was Pastor of the Deaf Christian Fellowship (DCF). A trustee of the DCF, Sid Humphreys, never ceased asking the question: “What about people who are hard of hearing”? A number of hard of hearing people had written to Bert as they were desperately looking for Christian fellowship and opportunities of service. Richard Livermore, who is now our pastoral and overseas worker, was one of the first who was eager to have fellowship with other hard of hearing people. Liz Heike, a social worker with the blind, and Dorothy Perkins, both with hearing problems, also were concerned for the hard of hearing. So a meeting was arranged with these people and the possibility of arranging a day conference in London was discussed. This was planned for 4th May, 1974, and was held in the Rotherhithe Free Church, East London. 35 people attended travelling from Cardiff, St. Helens, Bedford, Birmingham, Reading, Northants, Aldershot, and other places. All who attended were enthusiastic and enjoyed Christian fellowship in a meaningful way.

A second day conference was arranged at the same venue for 5th October, 1974. This again was a success and from the response at this conference it was decided to go forward and establish the HHCF and a committee was formed. In the winter of 1974 a conference was arranged at Reading and this was the beginning of the Reading group which remained a strong group for many years.

In March 1975 a one day conference was held at the London Bible College, arranged by Liz Heike. This was a very practical conference aimed at helping hearing impaired people to cope in church prayer meetings with ‘do’s and don'ts’ to help them, and some deaf awareness for hearing people. A further conference was held on 23rd October in London.

In May 1977 about 30 hearing impaired people gathered for the first weekend conference to be held in Bedford. The theme of the conference was ‘Listening to God the Father, to Jesus the Son, and to the Holy Spirit’. The amplifying equipment and overhead projector were very much in use and proved very useful in helping with communication. The Lord blessed his word and the fellowship enriched and encouraged those present.

In 1978 the first full-time pastoral worker was appointed, Don Mason, who was an experienced missionary with service in Nigeria. Led by Don a number of local groups were formed around the country, and holidays were run at different venues in Devon and the Midlands. Around 1991 Don left to work in Kenya and about 18 months later Richard Livermore, a founding member, became the pastoral worker, visiting any who request visits, encouraging the local groups, and in the last few years developing the overseas work (see Open Ears Worldwide).

In 2004, after much discussion, it was decided to change the name of HHCF to ‘Open Ears’ in response to requests for a more catchy up-to-date name which would sound more attractive and friendly. The choice of the name ‘Open Ears’ was influenced by the story of Jesus healing the deaf man in Mark 7: 33-35 Jesus said to the deaf man: “Ephphatha” which means “Be Opened” and immediately his ears were opened and he began to speak plainly. Our aim at Open Ears is to help people be open to hearing Jesus.