Sherry’s Song: The Blessing of ASL
By Cyndi Kay Green
I am so blessed to be able meet and speak with a remarkable woman who made an impression, not only on me, but on many others who took the time to watch her video that went viral. It showed her signing to a very popular Contemporary Christian song. Her name is Sherry Hogenmiller and she is from Greenville, PA. Born and raised in Greenville, Sherry’s family attended a Pentecostal church. They were there on Sunday mornings, evenings and Wednesday evenings too. She says she is “blessed to have been raised in a Christian home.” She met and married her husband of 24 years and raised her family in the town she grew to love. She is every bit as passionate as she seems in the video and this is her story of inspiration.
While growing up in church, she always wanted to get up in front of the church and sing songs of worship like a lot of other people. So, when she was little, she would practice in her bedroom using a hairbrush and her Christian cassette tapes. Sherry says she “wanted to be a famous Christian singer and spread the gospel.” However, one day someone told her that she couldn’t sing because her singing was off-key. Her heart broke and she wept like most little girls do when they are told they won’t reach their dreams. But God had other plans for Sherry. Plans that she would discover as she grew older. Until then, she would just sit in the congregation and enjoy others singing – knowing they were doing what she wanted to do.
A new pastor came to the church when she was about 14 years old and he wanted to teach a small group of people sign-language. She recalls thinking “why not?” So, she, her mother, and oldest brother signed up for the class and that is when she became hooked. Eventually, her mother and brother dropped out of the class; although she continued. During the class, the teacher had informed Sherry that she had a gift. Meaning that the signs came naturally without any struggles. Sherry describes it as “like someone never taking a piano lesson, sitting down at a piano and just start playing.” She knew what the sign-language for a word was before she looked up the words. It just made sense. Sadly to her, the classes did not last long because some people couldn’t learn and others just did not have the same enthusiasm as Sherry. The teacher went on to ask a nervous 14-year-old girl to do a special for and upcoming, old-fashioned “singspiration” which is defined by Webster’s dictionary as is – a song service featuring the group singing of hymns conducted especially by revivalistic churches and often followed by a sermon. She still remembers getting in front of the church and doing her first “special”. The song she had chosen was “Amazing Grace”. She recalls that her knees were shaking because she was so nervous. But when she finished, the congregation loved it and the teacher encouraged her to continue with her gift. A short time after, the teacher moved away and Sherry was on her own to learn. Since there was no internet to look up the sign-language words, she would use her book and practice all the time. This was her way of praising the Lord. She so greatly hopes that a day will come when she can find Pastor Dan Morrell and thank him for encouraging her to continue with sign-language.
As she carried on through life, Sherry became the secretary to the Chief of Police in Greensville and worked full time. During her career, a call had come through and her help was greatly needed. This call would lead to an incredible experience of God using Sherry to help someone in a difficult situation. One evening a sergeant in the police department called her at home and asked if she knew sign-language. After letting him know it was a hobby, he stated that there was a 14-year-old deaf girl who had been raped and was in need of assistance from Sherry. Without hesitation, Sherry showed up at the station and walked the young girl through the crime scene and was a source of communication for weeks following the incident. The subject was arrested and sent to the correctional facility. Sherry felt that to be used in that manner was a blessing from God. As she continued to work and raise her children, there came a time that Sherry decided to present programs of the old hymns for the local nursing home. She always feels blessed to see them enjoy the programs. In their eyes, when Sherry signs the hymns, it brings them to life. Not only is she blessed, but the residents of the nursing home are so blessed they pass out the tissues when Sherry arrives. It has been a while since she has done sign-language and she hasn’t been able to do many “specials” at church. There isn’t a big demand for this and she does work full time as a legal assistant.
Sherry doesn’t do sign-language to just any song. She waits for the “stirring” in her spirit to bring it to her. She listens to what God is saying about the song and possibly its purpose. That being said, there is one time that Sherry recalls God pulling at her spirit to do a certain song. She had been asked by the pastor at her church to do a special. She set out finding a song because she did not want to do the song God was calling her to perform. She made a CD of both songs, the one she had chosen and the one God had placed in her spirit. She continued to struggle between the two songs. She pulled into the parking lot at church on that Sunday morning set to perform the song SHE had chosen. However, she soon realized that the CD was scratched and she would not be able to perform that song. She performed the song that God had sent to her spirit and after she performed, the reason became so apparent. When service was over, a lady who had been present approached Sherry with tears in her eyes. This lady explained to Sherry that the song was an answer from God that she had been waiting to hear.
One day she heard the song “Rescue” by Lauren Daigle and it just hit her. She stopped what she was doing and began to visualize the song in sign-language. She went to her computer and downloaded the song. Sherry made a recording of herself doing sign-language to the song and sent it to her oldest daughter. The response was “Mom, you have to post that on Facebook.” Sherry’s Facebook was very private, only family and friends could see her page; however, she thought about it for a day or two as she prayed for strength to post the video to her Facebook page. The feeling that someone somewhere needed to hear/see this message would not leave, so she took the step and posted the video. Her friends enjoyed it so much, that they wanted to share it with their friends. Her first thought was similar to how in the world does she make it sharable. She also knew that anyone, including complete strangers will be able to see her video. She was still nervous about this, but with the help of her daughter, it was made sharable. From there, it went viral. People have been reaching out to her and letting her know how blessed they were by the watching the video. People were telling her that God will rescue them. Sherry is completely blown away by the response of complete strangers explaining to her how much the video touched them. There have also been a few people that have wanted her to stop with the videos, but she just prays for them.
For Sherry, this song was an answer to a prayer she has been praying. See, she was beginning to feel discouraged about her gift. She had reached out to area churches and asked if she could come and do a “special” during their Sunday services. She became crushed when no one would accept the offer. It was then Sherry began to wonder why God would give her such a gift if there was no one to see it. But God! In His timing, proves all things to be wonderful. That timing was in this song and this video.
As we continued through questions, Sherry shared with me that one of the biggest challenges for women and women ministries today is trying to be a good wife, a good mother, work a full-time job and walk in the calling that God has placed on us as women. She said that she has learned to put down the “gadgets” referring to Facebook and the internet. She has learned to look at the people and see the things that are going on right in front of her. She knows the internet is a great tool, but sometimes people are so busy with their heads down that they do not see the life in front of them. She referred to an old hymn. Like the hymn says, “I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses, and HE walks with me and HE talks with me.” Sherry believes we “need to get back to finding time to walk with Him because His voice is so sweet that even the birds hush their singing.”
In closing, Sherry reveals that her mom is her inspiration. Her mother is a woman that has a close walk with God; consequently, it is this walk that leads Sherry to strive for the same love and compassion that is part of her mom’s character. She claims, “If I can only be half the woman she is, that would be an accomplishment.” Her mom is always there for the family and has taught Sherry so much throughout life. She is Sherry’s role-model and biggest fan, and that is such a blessing to Sherry.
I asked Sherry what she does to unwind when life feels overwhelming and her response was “I turn up the music and do sign-language.” She then remembered a time when she was so caught up in a song at a red light and when she looked around, people were looking at her. Sherry shared with me the best piece of advice that she has ever received was, “You only have with you take care of”. She was told this many times as she was growing up. From her perspective, this pertains to a lot; your health, your marriage, your family, your personal belongings and your relationship with God.
The passion that Sherry displays in her videos is so compelling. Once you watch one you can see how easy the sign-language comes to her as she progresses through the song. I, for one, was so touched by every aspect that I could feel the love of Jesus surround me as Sherry continued to sign to a song that already has a deep impact on the Christian community. What a blessing to share such a wonderful story.
Visit Sherry Hogenmiller on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sher.hogen
