A MAN who said he had a vision of God telling him to carry out his work has been helping spread His word to the deaf community in Salisbury.

Neil Robinson was born deaf and is a British Sign Language (BSL) user.

After ascending through the ranks from deacon to priest, he was offered the role as chaplain to the deaf and hard of hearing community in the diocese of Salisbury.

This role allows him to connect with an often overlooked group of society as well as meeting the spiritual and emotional needs of the deaf community, with roles including baptisms, weddings and funerals in BSL.

He says it is a job he relishes.

“I love doing this vocation because I get to meet people in different situations or from different backgrounds,” he said.

“Every day is always different and interesting. The culture of the deaf community is unique from the majority of people because it has always been the case for hundreds of years.”

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His role sees him visit various groups each month – from coffee mornings at Bournemouth Deaf Centre, to meeting the deaf group at their coffee morning here at Salisbury Playhouse.

“I usually turn up anywhere where deaf people are and offer them a listening eye (deaf way of saying ‘listening ear’),” he said.

“Deaf people usually tell me about their personal issues, and I just listen to them. That is a regular thing I do as a chaplain. I love this bit. There are a few deaf clubs where I could go and say hello to members there.”

Watch a video of Neil explaining his role here: 

“I used to drink a lot”

Neil, who was born deaf, lives and works in the city, wasn’t always a religious man.

He said he used to drink heavily, but started visiting a church after accepting a friend’s invitation.

“Prior to becoming a Christian about 34 years ago, I used to be aggressive or angry about my past and blamed my parents for what had happened to me,” he said.

“I used to drink a lot and came home drunk. In 1991, I started to visit a charismatic church upon my hearing friend’s invitation.

“I used to make excuses not to going there for a while but at the end I accepted this invitation! On one Sunday, I realised that I was a sinner, and asked God to forgive me all my wrongdoings I have done.

“Jesus changed my life. I didn’t think that God would call me to become a Church of England priest some years after receiving Jesus into my life!”

Neil was born deaf into a hearing family and said he grew up in two worlds – one with his family, and another with a boarding school for deaf children.

The call to Christianity

He said he was called three times to become an Anglican priest.

“The first call was definitely no,” he said. “The second call was sort of strange for me, but I tried to chat with the local priest, but their attitude at the time was terrible. It put me off this idea!

“Finally, the third call was very clear to me through a vision I saw – my reflection in the mirror wearing a clerical shirt and I heard God saying to me, ‘Go! I have sent you to do My work.’ That was how I ended up being an ordained minister.”

Neil now runs a Visual Word Ministry online service every Sunday afternoon where he typically preaches from the bible and his wife leads worship in BSL.

He said: “We have been doing this for five years now. In 2020, there was COVID pandemic which made a huge impact on my role and I ended up setting the Zoom up to allow us to gather online.

“It is a huge blessing for everyone involved. There are roughly between 15 to 20 people attending.”