By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic
Photographer: JIM DAVIS | FC
Nita Amsden shows one of the 10 headsets for those who need a little help to hear the Mass at St. Pius X.
FORT LAUDERDALE | "They worked beautifully!" Nita Amsden said, pulling off her headphones after Mass at St. Pius X Church. "I heard every word plainly! Best I've ever heard!"
That was music to the ears of Father Biju Vells, who purchased 10 of the headsets in December. With half of the congregation over 65, it just made sense, he said.
"We all have to hear the gospel," he said. "How can I help (parishioners) in their relationship with God if they can't hear?"
The Archdiocese of Miami is just starting to equip and coordinate ministries to people with various disabilities — sight, hearing, autism, dyslexia and others — but the basics are simple: a sympathetic eye and ear, and a drive to help.
The headsets were part of the new sound system — a badly needed upgrade amid the hard, echoing marble and glass of the church interior. "The acoustics were really bad for the elderly who were hard of hearing," said music minister Kristen R. Noffsinger.
Besides the headgear, the $24,000 system helps in other ways. Speakers were set up along the side walls, as well as the front of the church. And through a technological trick, sound from the front speakers is delayed until it comes from the rear speakers, defeating the echo effect.
The system carries not only Father Vells' homily but Noffsinger's singing voice. That helps people worship in song as well as by the word, Father Vells pointed out.
His sympathy for those with physical needs is heightened by his own disability: He was born with spina bifida, an opening in the spinal cord that can cause nerve damage. Surgery can close the opening, but accompanying nerve damage can cause several disabilities including paraplegia.
Father Vells does walk, though with a rocking gait. He also needs a crutch while distributing Communion, and he has chronic lower back pain.
Photographer: JIM DAVIS | FC
Father Biju Vells distributes Communion at St. Pius X, with help from a crutch.
Photographer: JIM DAVIS | FC
Kristen R. Noffsinger leads music at St. Pius X, with Andrew Reid on piano.
But he tossed off his ailments with a smile. "Who doesn't have back pain? We all have to carry our crosses. I have limitations, so I can understand (hearing problems)."
Sympathy also drives another parishioner in his new outreach. Bob Yurkanin, who has attended St. Pius X since 1976, already serves as an usher, sacristan and extraordinary minister of Communion. In June, he began an outreach to area Alzheimer's support groups.
That's when he graduated from the archdiocese's two-year School of Ministry. Students were allowed to specialize in fields like prayer, evangelization and youth outreach. Yurkanin chose an Alzheimer's focus because his late father had the ailment.
Now he makes a circuit of eight support groups in Broward and South Palm Beach counties. He offers Bible verses and Catholic readings, such as selections from Henri Nouwen's book "The Wounded Healer."
"Working with the families and caregivers is rewarding," Yurkanin said. "I have the feeling of a mission, of being a disciple. And I feel like I'm spiritually connected with them. Like part of a family."
He has other, harder-edged reasons for serving: "The number of Alzheimer's sufferers are going up all the time. Many people need help. Life is short, and you ought to help as many people you can."
This is part of a package of stories on Church outreach to the disabled that appeared in the July 2016 edition of the Florida Catholic. See related stories:
