Stueve Visits Braille Workcenter Based At St. John’s New Minden

Braille Workshop Volunteers include, Front row: Betty Weihe, Joyce Michael, Roy Michael, Marilyn Stevenson – coordinator, Eunice Carroll, JoAnn Hohman. Second row: Pearl Twenhafel, Norma Tucker, Mary Ann Leutner, Howard Hohman. Third row: Bernice Hemminghaus, Del Meyer, Roy Bassen, Jean Bassen, Ray Richert. Fourth row: Joyce Boester, Neoma Meier, Walter Brinkman, Karen Rixman, Pastor Tim Mueller. Fifth row: Mary McQuaid, Carolyn Bartling, Shirley Hanenberger, Pastor Dennis Steuve. Back row: Geraldine Twenhafel, Brad Lietz. Not shown: Jim McQuaid. Other volunteers not present: Palma Stiegman, Eunice Witte, Kathey Reu, Lois Schorfheide, Cathy McQuaid, Harold Wright, Carla Knolhoff, Veronica Liszewski, Ed Paszkiewicz, Laura Paszkiewicz, Dorothy Lange, Shirley Schnitker, Esther Sprehe, JoAnn Detering, Trudy Windler, and Alma Muenter.

Rev. Dennis Steuve, President, California Braille Workers; Marilyn Stevenson, Coordinator of New Minden Braille Center, and Rev. Tim Mueller, Pastor, St. John’s Lutheran Church, New Minden.

Rev. Dennis Stueve, President of Lutheran Braille Workers (LBW), located in Yucaipa, CA, recently came to visit with volunteers from Braille Workcenter #315 located in the “Schoolhouse” at St. John’s Lutheran Church, New Minden.

Workcenter coordinator Marilyn Stevenson reports that 23 volunteers attended the February 3 meeting. They included people from Okawville, Nashville, Covington, New Minden, Hoyleton, and Hoffman. St. John’s Pastor Timothy Mueller was also in attendance.

Rev. Stueve shared that he has been a parish pastor for 34 years. While serving on the LBW board of directors, the position of president came up. When asked, he accepted the position. He is now going around the United States to visit all the workcenters – there are 130 such centers to visit.

Stueve went on to say that the LBW task could not be completed if it were not for the volunteers who generously give their time and financial support.

Workcenter #315 has about 40 volunteers. They come on different days and times to produce a devotional book that is mailed to subscribers around the country and in several foreign lands.

Rev. Stueve also visited with Bob Langrehr, a volunteer who operates a plate-embossing device (PED) in the basement of St. John’s Schoolhouse.

The PED machine converts computer files of text of various magazines and books into zinc plates. Bob then mails the zinc plates to various workcenters around the country, which in turn use the zinc plates, to produce multiple copies of each book.

Thankfully, the Post Office will ship materials for the blind and visually impaired at no cost.

Nationally, LBW provides Braille and large print materials in 30 different languages, which are sent to 120 different countries. LBW prints Braille and large print Bibles, hymnals, devotional books, and magazines.

Financial support helps pay for the supplies that are used to make the books. Volunteers assemble the books; then they are sent to each subscriber free of charge.

There are 285 million blind and visually-impaired people worldwide, 39 million of which are completely blind (ten million in the United States). Nine of ten visually-impaired people are unchurched.

Workcenter #315 produces the daily devotional called Today’s Light, which takes the subscriber through a study of the entire Bible in two years. This study enables each blind or visually-impaired person to know of Jesus and to be certain of salvation through Him.

You may call Lutheran Braille Workers at 1-800-925-6092 for Braille, large print, or audio materials. To volunteer at Workcenter #315 or to give a donation, please call Marilyn Stevenson at 327-4873, Mary McQuaid at 478-5774, or Pastor Tim Mueller at 478-5544.