QUALITIES OF LIFE, CAPE GIRARDEAU; SPECIAL REPORT: CULTURAL/RECREATION; PARTICIPATION IN CHURCH, LEISURE ACTIVITIES ON THE RISE IN CITY

People in Cape Girardeau are finding themselves at the park, at the theater, in the library and at church in ever-growing numbers.

According to the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's Quality of Life report, the number of churches has been growing steadily, park lands and facilities are up and the amount of revenue the city's cultural centers collect has been growing every year since 1990.

The Rev. Wes Wright, pastor of Mount Auburn Christian Church and president of the Cape Girardeau Ministerial Alliance, said the rise in churches in the area, from 64 in 1990 to 87 in 1995, is an indicator of the presence of the Christian faith in the community.

"I think there is a very strong Christian influence here," Wright said.

More churches mean more variety in the way people can worship, he said. "Different styles and different creeds just make people feel more at home."

Wright said the churches do not compete against each other for members. "It's a different expression of the same faith," he said.

Two more churches have plans to move into Cape Girardeau this year. The Gospel Assembly of God Church and Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church will add their styles to the various churches already established in the city.

There is also movement within the established churches. Lynwood Baptist Church, 1712 Randol, is moving to Lexington Avenue at the north end of town.

The Rev. Mark Anderson, pastor of Lynwood Baptist, said the relocation is only about 2 miles. He said the new church will be the fourth building to house Lynwood's congregation in its 35-year history.

Lynwood's move will not leave a void in that section of the city, Anderson said, because another church, Bethany Baptist, has already agreed to move into their old building. In addition, a third church has contracted with Bethany Baptist to take over its building when it leaves.

"Our commitment wasn't to leave an area; we just needed to find more space," Anderson said.

Space has also been on the mind of Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Director Dan Muser. The parks department has increased in acreage, facilities and expenditures since 1990.

The biggest leap occurred in 1993 when the city acquired the land for the Osage Community Centre and the Shawnee Park Sports Complex. Both facilities were completed this year.

Those facilities, which cost about $4 million total, also represent the last big projects the department has planned for the near future, Muser said. Work continues on a hiking/biking trail that winds through the city.

"After the hiking/biking trail is finished I guess that will the end the major expenditures for the immediate future," Muser said. "We have various capital improvements that we make in the park, but not anything of the magnitude of what we've spent in the last several years."

The Shawnee Park complex added five softball fields to the list of city facilities. Arena Park and Capaha Park also have softball fields. The city also has basketball, volleyball and tennis courts in its parks system.

Osage is a 34,000-square-foot facility with a 16,000-square-foot main floor. It offers two full-size basketball courts, four volleyball courts, a weight room and meeting rooms.

Osage Recreation Supervisor Penny Blandford said the facility seats about 1,800 people on the main floor. That number will grow, she said, when bleachers are installed. The 58-year-old A.C. Brase Arena Building also seats 1,800 while the Show Me Center seats 7,200.

The Show Me Center, a facility that is jointly owned by the city and Southeast Missouri State University, has been showing a slight drop in bookings since a high of 528 in 1993.

The center, which opened in 1987, has had a hard time turning a profit in recent years with bookings and attendance dropping off and repair costs increasing. It finished fiscal year 1995 about $15,000 in the hole and had a rough start in 1996.

Another university facility, University Theatre, has also reported a drop in earnings since 1990. According to the Quality of Life report, the theater has shown a decrease in earned income every year since 1990, with the exception of 1994.

That has already changed in 1997 with the unprecedented success of "The Music Man," which sold out every one of its seven performances, Dennis Seyer, former University Theater director, said. That show earned the theater $20,000 in ticket sales.

Seyer, who helped compile the arts organizations figures for the chamber, said the theater does not put up large numbers in earned income because of the types of shows that are usually put on. The theater will occasionally field a commercially known production, like "The Music Man." But it also offers its theater students a chance to perform in a wide variety of productions, many of which are not well known.

Seyer said the University Theater, which was one of Cape Girardeau's first live theaters and opened in the 1930s, is committed to providing this learning experience to its students.

Overall, the city's cultural community is showing a steady rise in support. The Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts, KRCU and the Friends of Music have all shown reported growth in revenue and support since 1990.

When residents are not busy at the park, theater or church, the library has reported that a significant number of them are reading its books.

Phylis Jackson, Cape Girardeau Public Library administrative assistant, said the library regularly serves between 16,000 and 19,000 people every year.

"That's about right for a library of this size," Jackson, who has been at the library for 28 years, said.

It currently has about 200,000 volumes of material. In 1995 it reported a holding of 5.48 books for every Cape Girardeau resident. The library, which has been updating its computer system since its installation in 1989, has plans to expand some day.

"But that's way down the road," Jackson said.