Braille, Audio, and Large Print Hymnals and Materials for Worship
A resource guide identifying where to find (and how to afford) Braille, audio, and large-print worship materials — hymnals, bibles, devotionals, and transcription services — for congregations serving members who are blind or have low vision.
Background
The majority of people with visual impairments do not read Braille and rely on large print or audio versions of the materials. Persons with technological skills may have devices that they can use if provided access to the digital files ahead of time, for instance by sending the bulletin and song lyrics by email. These devices include refreshable Braille displays and audio players.
Hymns and Songs
Cokesbury publishes The United Methodist Hymnal and The Faith We Sing which contain the words to the hymns and songs in Braille. Unfortunately due to the large size of these books – the Hymnal consists of seven volumes and The Faith We Sing three volumes- they are expensive to purchase, retailing for over $500 for both sets.
Each user needs to have his or her individual hymnal. The volumes come in loose-leaf binders so that the appropriate pages can be removed and transferred to a smaller loose-leaf notebook for each worship service. If you cannot afford to purchase these materials, consider querying your annual conference to see if any congregation has a no-longer-used set available.
Bulletins and Devotional materials
Many communities have service centers for persons who are blind that are able to convert text into Braille for a low fee or donation. The National Federation of the Blind maintains a list of Braille Transcription Resources. Sending the order of worship (bulletin) and words for the hymns to the transcription service in a timely manner is a lower cost way of providing the materials.
With the advent of books on CD and downloadable audio files, many materials can be accessed in a variety of media. For instance, Cokesbury offers The Listener's Bible, the Upper Room comes in an audio format, and some audio books are available through both publishers.
Resources and Information:
United Methodist Hymnals in Braille
● Cokesbury, 7 volume loose-leaf Braille version of the United Methodist Hymnal [https://www.cokesbury.com/product/9780687431601/united-methodist-hymnal-braille-edition-loose-leaf-binders/]
● Cokesbury, 3 volume Braille version of The Faith We Sing [https://www.cokesbury.com/product/9780687052769/the-faith-we-sing-braille-edition-three-volume-set/]
Cokesbury Audio Bible - New International Version
https://www.cokesbury.com/9780310444343-Listeners-Audio-Bible-NIV
Bibles for the Blind has Braille-ready files to download. https://www.biblesfortheblind.org/
Blind in Mind Braille Superstore sells Braille Bibles in many versions, including New Revised Standard, Common English Bible, and the Message versions. [http://www.braillebookstore.com/Bibles]
Braille Bibles International offers Free King James Version Bibles in Braille, Audio, and Large Print to qualified recipients [http://www.braillebibles.org/]
Devotionals in audio format
● The Upper Room Devotional magazine, audio version https://store.upperroom.org/format/audio?Format=22422
● Christian Record Services for the Blind has a digital lending library with audio magazines and books available
Braille Transcription Resources - National Federation of the Blind [https://nfb.org/braille-transcription-resource-list]
Sources for Braille label makers and other products (be sure to have someone who reads Braille do any labeling), talking Bibles, Braille speaker phones, tactile labels, etc:
● Independent Living Aids https://www.independentliving.com/category/VISION
● MaxiAids https://www.maxiaids.com/category/vision-and-blind
Deaconess Lynn Swedberg, updated 4/5/24