Carl Veal, who chairs the Disability Inclusion and Action Group for the Diocese of Derby, reflects on how his journey of hearing and sight loss has led him to a deeper faith and to new opportunities to serve Christ and the church.
Though born with profound hearing loss, I was lucky enough to have tremendous support from kind and inclusive parents. My mother in particular encouraged reading and one of my first books was a children’s Old Testament. Its many stories taught me much of the values of life that have carried me through.
My primary education was in a convent school, chosen as best for my hearing loss. There I had good friends who remain so to this day, and I learned the stories of the New Testament, but religion was taught more by rote than as a voyage of discovery alongside which my mother cautioned against taking everything at face value.
Consequently, I spent many years as an agnostic. For years I questioned the existence of God. I still (occasionally) went to church, talking with Jesus and God, even after receiving the devastating news in my early twenties, that not only was I profoundly deaf but also that I would lose my sight. A consequence of coping with deafness was that sight was even more precious. I was diagnosed with a genetic disorder, retinitis pigmentosa, which causes a gradual loss of sight. Today, in my early sixties, I have very little sight remaining.
The news and the struggles it came with, challenged my belief in God and Jesus’ teachings, but still, I constantly talked with them, prayed and somehow, kept a sort of faith which would eventually be strengthened and solidified…
…During my fifties, I joined a course to study psychotherapy for no other reason than a desire to help people overcome obstacles in life. One of the little foreseen consequences was the change in my approach to faith and the wonderful impact on my life and my relationship with Jesus.
My mentor and course leader was an 80 year old French Catholic Nun, Sister Chris, who never pushed her religion but exuded a wonderful relationship with her belief. She was like no nun I had ever met before, funny, with a mischievous sense of humour, a wonderful love and desire to help people and oh, so, so wise to the foibles of life.
As I progressed through the course, I learnt to accept my faith and the faith and cultures of the many people I met and hopefully, helped. My own faith started to strengthen and solidify as I felt closer to Jesus than ever before. I credit Sister Chris with this new phase in my spiritual journey – she never knew at the time, but she was the catalyst for a stronger, deeper faith.
I gained further strength when, during a particularly difficult period in my life, my local vicar took me under her wing and with the help of Jesus offered me healing through counsel and prayer. My local church community was also an invaluable support.
Through both periods I came to realise the influence and interaction of people, friends and strangers alike, no matter how long or brief, gave me an insight to the workings of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. This has continued as my physical and spiritual journey has unfolded.
It was these interactions that eventually led towards meeting with my wife Cecilia, a soul partner with shared values and beliefs. We met through a Christian dating site, realised we wanted to share our life together in the eyes and presence of Jesus, and moved forwards on our spiritual and physical journey together.
In recent years I became involved with projects to help others to cope with visual impairment and multiple disorders through setting up a self-help group where individuals could share experiences and help each other. The group went from strength to strength and has evolved, still functioning to this day.
I was also invited to chair a disability access group for the Diocese of Derby. The group DIAG (The Disability Inclusion Action Group) was formed by the Diocese in late 2021 as a direct result of a commissioned discussion paper, ‘The Disabling Church’ (author Tim Rourke). This group is run by a small team of dedicated volunteers and delivers projects and advice across Derbyshire. Its 3 central tenets are Access, Attitude and Agency. They are aimed at encouraging and improving the experiences of people of all abilities, whatever their challenges, to come and join our churches and learn about Jesus in safe, friendly and enjoyable environments. We are helping to challenge attitudes, improve access and ensure the church is an agency for all. I continue this role and could not follow this through without the warm and enthusiastic support of my colleagues within the group, championed by our Bishop of Repton. This work has enabled me to feel I am following the teachings of Jesus and his disciples in a way I never thought I could, it has heightened my spiritual journey, given me a meaning to my disabilities and life’s challenges, a role I am honoured to serve in.
My hearing and visual challenges have provided me with insight to the person I have grown into and continue to grow – I have learned to be proud of who I am and would attribute the hearing and eyesight challenges to have made me who I am. Do not get me wrong, it has felt a hard and sometimes heartless-feeling journey at times, but I recognise that the many people I have met in life have come to me through Jesus, giving me courage, inspiration and learning, not only to cope with challenges but to offer myself to helping others, something I thank Jesus for, for being by my side.
Carl Veal May 2024
Disability Matters 
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