VETERANS HOME DEDICATES PORTABLE CHAPEL; PLANS TO INITIATE DRIVE FOR BUILDING

An Easter chapel dedication at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau means residents of the home will now have a makeshift chapel on the grounds.

Desma Reno, administrator, said some residents have expressed a need for a place to worship, and a temporary, or portable chapel is the best immediate answer.

"Many of these veterans have been in VA hospitals, which have a room for worship or a chapel," Reno said. "They've indicated it means a lot to them to have a room to go to for organized services or just some private time."

A dedication for the makeshift chapel was held Sunday. More than 20 veterans and their families attended the afternoon ceremony.

Reno said an effort will now start to raise money for construction of a chapel building. It would be either an additional room at the Veterans Home or a separate building on the grounds, she said.

The makeshift chapel consists of an altar similar to one found in churches. It is portable but will mainly be used in the multipurpose room.

The fund-raising effort for the makeshift chapel has been spearheaded by the American Legion Post No. 63 of Cape Girardeau, which also donated materials for the altar. Other organizations have also donated time, materials and money for the chapel.

Church services are held at the home each Sunday and throughout the week. They are conducted by area ministers who volunteer their time, she said.

Reno said the permanent chapel will be funded through donations of money and materials, but plans for it will have to be approved by the state. It will likely be a year before construction will begin, she said, and no cost estimates have been projected.

"Only one of the four veterans homes in Missouri currently has a church on the grounds, and that's the one in St. James," she said. A fifth home is now under construction in St. Louis.

Reno said plans for a chapel building in Cape Girardeau are still in the beginning stages.

"We're putting together the specifics right now, but we have no architect at this point," she said. "It all depends on donations."

Reno said Easter was chosen for dedication of the altar to call attention to many of the residents' need for a place to worship.

"A place for them to go that has been blessed is of real importance to them," she said. "I think the fact that the homes have been built without a chapel has to do with the separation of church and state. But many of the veterans want to have a place to satisfy their spiritual needs. I think they're very pleased."

The Cape Girardeau home is 95 percent full, but all beds are spoken for, Reno said.