One of the joys of the ministry at Clear and Simple Media is working on projects that come to us unexpectedly. These projects are not always things that were part of our original plan for the year, but they provide us with an occasion to be involved in initiatives that have the potential to make an impact in ways that we had not considered.

 In May of this year, we received an unusual request from one of our acquaintances in Saskatchewan. She had heard our presentation in her church in Regina. Arlene not only attends one of our partner churches, but she is a graduate student at Briercrest Seminary in the Master of Arts in Biblical Languages and Exegesis program. 

Arlene is approaching graduation. One of her final assignments is to engage in a project that integrates what she has learned in a local church context. We talked about what we do at Clear and Simple Media. We chatted about linguistics in general and what it means to write in English for a global audience. Correspondence followed. We sent our style manuals and advised on several other resources that would be helpful to her. 

We received her proposal via email this week. Arlene will be building a set of stories based on the book of Ruth. After Arlene completes the stories, she will “translate” those stories into EasyEnglish, and then develop a curriculum to accompany the translation work. 

After the work is to that stage, field-testing will begin. The material will first be used in the women’s ministry in Arlene’s church, then in a pre-teen Sunday School class, and ultimately, in an English Learner’s class for New Canadians. Once the material has been adequately vetted, it will also be used in the church’s Friendship Club, a ministry for adults with developmental disabilities.

We are very excited to help Arlene as she moves through the project. We believe that what she produces will be a great help to her church. It will also become a helpful tool for many other churches and missionaries who are using English to reach the immigrant and refugees who are becoming their neighbors.