Cape church, neighbors silent about day care

Residents of a Cape Girardeau neighborhood and the pastor of Christ Church of the Heartland have yet to speak about a proposed day care that caused a dustup between them.

Four weeks ago, the church formally withdrew a request for a permit to start the day care. Neighbors had complained about the effects of construction and a day-care center's potential for noise and traffic problems.

The Rev. Zachary Strong later said the church would resume pursuing a day-care center after talks with residents.

On Saturday, Strong said he's talked with his congregation's leaders about ways to reach out to residents. An open house was one of the suggestions, but "nothing is written in stone," he said, adding that, for now, he's concentrating on finishing construction on the church's expansion.

"It's not in my heart to disrupt anybody," he said. "I can't think of anything better to come in a neighborhood than a church and all it represents."

Don Jung lives on the corner of Bertling Street and Sylvan Lane. His home's driveway faces a driveway to one of Christ Church of the Heartland's parking lots. He said he's still unhappy with the noise and mess of ongoing construction and the potential day care but has no desire to talk with church members about it. Starting any kind of dialogue, he said, "is not my responsibility."

That said, Jung, a mass communications professor at Southeast Missouri State University, is not complaining about living close to a church.

"Having a church across the street is not a bad thing. It never has been an issue," he said.

Some Cape Girardeau residents say living next to a house of God can be a good experience.

Elizabeth Sparks, 24, said she chose to rent a South Spanish Street apartment partly because it's across the street from Old St. Vincent's Church in downtown Cape Girardeau.

"I figured it's a good part of town," said Sparks, a Southeast Missouri State University student. She likes living near that church because it's quiet and she can use the church lawn to exercise her dog.

"The only time I heard anything was when a bunch of little kids were playing violins on the lawn," she said. "But I like that kind of stuff."

Despite an overflow of worshippers' cars each weekend, her driveway has never been blocked by the cars, she said.

D.J. Henderson said his decision to rent a North Street apartment four months ago had nothing to do with St. James AME Church being right across the street. He says his church neighbors have never blocked his driveway and he can't recall hearing any sound from across the street.

"It doesn't bother us," he said.

Jeremy Walling left a downtown apartment to move into a rented home a year ago on Cordelia Avenue, across from Grace United Methodist Church, after living in a downtown apartment.

"My wife and I knew we were having a baby, so we started looking for a house," he said. The church owns the home they rented and is a good landlord, he said.

The Wallings belong to another Methodist congregation, Centenary United Methodist Church at 300 N. Ellis St.

Denny and Paula Reeves and their two teenage boys live in a former parsonage across the street from Centenary. Renting that home was part of a deal when Denny Reeves agreed to be the church's music director.

Paula Reeves said it's the first time her family has lived so close to a church.

"We always tease my husband that his commute is very short," she said. "He has no time for books on tape."

The Reeveses invite friends to park behind their cars for church services.

She said the only disruption her family has experienced as the result of living near a church is an occasional knock on the door from someone looking for food or a bit of cash.

"We do have a program at the church to help, and we refer them there," she said.

Walling said a bigger distraction in his neighborhood comes from parents of students at Central Middle School on Thilenius Street near Cordelia Avenue.

"People don't hesitate to block the driveway when they're waiting to pick up their kids," he said. "I've had to walk up and knock on the window and ask them to move."

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127