Watching Suzanne Lange use sign language to interpret the Lord’s Prayer or the Hail Mary is a beautiful thing to see.

Though you might not know for sure what hand gesture represents which word in these prayers, it’s still fascinating. Her work serving those who are deaf or hearing disabled brings new richness and depth to statements of faith that many people have heard repeated hundreds, if not thousands, of times before.

“One lady at Corpus Christi said it looks like a liturgical dance of some kind. I’ve had several (hearing) people from St. John and Corpus Christi say, ‘I didn’t understand what you were signing, but I felt it.’ That reaffirms what I’m doing,” says Lange, 57.

Lange teaches what is thought to be the only ongoing parish sign language class in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, which includes Douglas County.

She teaches an hour-long class in American Sign Language and religious interpreting for the deaf to a group of eight to 12 students at 7 p.m. Thursdays in the education building of Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 6001 W. 15th St.

“The purpose, really, is to teach people sign language, how to communicate with the deaf. You have to teach sign language before you can teach religious interpreting. We have people of different faiths who come in to learn: Lutherans, a Presbyterian, Catholics and Muslims,” Lange says.

Suzanne Lange teaches the lord's prayer during an American Sign Language class at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 6001 W. 15th St. Lange teaches what is thought to be the only ongoing sign language class in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

The class is a religious education course offered by Corpus Christi, and the students primarily learn how to interpret Catholic liturgy and sacred music.

“I make it clear to anyone who comes in that this class is being taught by a Catholic instructor in a Catholic church, and we will learn to sign prayers,” says Lange, a Corpus Christi parishioner.

But she hopes her students will learn enough about sign language to be able to potentially interpret worship services for deaf people of many religious traditions, not just Catholicism.

Sandra Meyer works with a classmate during one of Suzanne Lange's sign language classes at Corpus Christi Catholic Church.

“I want to bring God’s word to all deaf people, to make it available to as many faiths as possible. I feel drawn to this; it’s what I really want to do,” she says. “I never wanted to be a professional interpreter. I wanted to work in a religious setting. I believe any gift I have, I should return to God’s service.”

In addition to teaching the class at Corpus Christi, starting this weekend, Lange will interpret the 5 p.m. Mass on the first and third Sunday of each month at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 1234 Ky.

Recruited for archdiocese

Lange, who works as a clinical psychologist at the Haskell Health Center, 2415 Mass., took her first class in sign language in 1986 at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo.

At the time, she was serving as dean