New outreach program in Cape to help visually impaired

A new outreach program is offering resources, friendship and faith to the visually impaired in Cape Girardeau.

Good Shepherd Outreach Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired held its first monthly support group meeting Wednesday at Good Shepherd Lutheran Chapel. Along with their family members and volunteers, 13 visually impaired people attended to learn more about the program. Meetings will be held at 11:30 a.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month.

The program is open to people of all faiths as well as those who don't attend church, said Carolyn Fiedler, coordinator of the outreach project.

At each meeting, attendees enjoy a free lunch and an educational program, she said. Transportation to the meetings is provided by church volunteers.

"What we're doing is planting seeds and starting relationships," said Lisa Watts, Missouri coordinator for the Lutheran Blind Mission, a national program of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. She spoke to the group via conference call Wednesday.

Cliff Bangert spends time Wednesday with his daughters, Courtney, left, and Stacie at the piano.

Cape Girardeau's blind outreach program is the eighth in the state, she said.

"We want to catch people who are falling through the cracks. Government agencies can't meet all the needs," said Watts, who is blind.

There are an estimated 12 million visually impaired people in the United States, she said, and that number is expected to double over the next 10 years as baby boomers age.

The Lutheran Blind Mission, through outreach groups like the one in Cape Girardeau, provides Braille and large-print books and magazines as well as cassette tapes and CDs of Christian reading materials.

During Wednesday's meeting, group leader Cliff Bangert, of Jackson, who has been legally blind all his life, demonstrated how his audio Bible works. The battery-operated device is the size of a small paperback book. It has buttons on the side panel that allow him to choose the Bible book and verse he wants to hear.

Bangert said he would like the group to do a fundraising project to be able to provide audio Bibles to visually impaired people in the community. The audio Bibles cost about $60 each.

For many of the visually impaired, the result of their condition is isolation, Bangert said.

"Most people depend on one or two people for their livelihood outside their home," he said. "This is a way for them to meet some new people. You can't meet anybody sitting at home."

Bangert also hopes by providing resources and education, program participants will learn about Jesus Christ in a subtle way.

Sabrina Fowler, who recently moved to Cape Girardeau from Kansas City, took part in a similar blind outreach program there.

"I enjoy the fellowship, the meals and I learned from the Bible studies we had," said Fowler, who has been blind since she was born prematurely.

"There is life after blindness," she said. "We can do just about anything that sighted people can do. We just use different methods and technologies."

Members at Good Shepherd Lutheran Chapel were inspired to start the ministry after blind pastor David Andrus spoke at the church in October. He coordinates the national Lutheran Blind Mission program.

Monthly program topics at other outreach centers vary from health and safety issues to resume writing and job-seeking skills, Watts said.

"Anything to make life easier and a little less scary," Watts said.

For more information on the Good Shepherd Outreach Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired or to arrange transportation to the next meeting, call the church at 335-3974.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

1904 W. Cape Rock Drive, Cape Girardeau