Founded in 2016, The Hill is a second campus of The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd with a mission to be a "beacon of God's love in southeast Austin."

The Hill is located less than two miles from the Texas School for the Deaf. As the center of public Deaf education in Texas, Austin is home to the second largest Deaf community in the country. Aside from being generally underserved, Deaf Texans are often spiritually underserved. Deaf people generally have a limited number of options when it comes to attending church and accessing religious education due to the language and cultural barriers that they face. Additionally, few churches expand Deaf access beyond Sunday morning worship.

Long before The Hill pursued Deaf ministry in earnest, we already had a Deaf member. Her courage to worship with limited access paved the way for more Deaf people to attend The Hill. By 2024, we began to provide ASL interpretation for Sunday worship services. However, our Deaf and hard-of-hearing members were hungry for more.

With support from the Strategic Mission Grant, we have been able to expand ASL interpretation to all worship services and launch an interpreted Bible study built around the needs and preferences of Deaf people. In addition to expanded formation, Deaf members attend discernment retreats, serve as liturgical ministers, and work alongside the Episcopal Conference of the Deaf to advance national programs.

Importantly, Deaf ministry at The Hill is not a benevolence program by which hearing people provide a service to Deaf people, but a collaborative process in which the Holy Spirit intervenes to make a way for all of us to worship, learn, and serve together. Our goal goes beyond accessibility - we strive for the full inclusion of Deaf people in the life of the church.