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VIDEO | Fish Fridays flourish
By Don Shilling
LENTEN traditions
Fish Fridays flourish
Video
More local churches see fish fries as a way to add fun and funds.
St. Brendan Church has been serving Lenten fish dinners for so long that no one can recall when the Friday tradition started.
Mike Infante of Austintown, who runs the dinners at the Catholic parish in Youngstown, figures it’s been at least 50 years.
That’s plenty of full bellies and smiling faces. After all, people come to the parish hall not just to eat $8 dinners but also to be with friends.
“It’s become a social event for the West Side,” said the Rev. Jim Daprile, parish pastor.
Recently, however, organizers began to worry about their long run of success. Other parishes — including St. Joseph in Austintown, St. Christine in Youngstown and St. Luke in Boardman — have added fish fries to raise money and create an event that draws people together.
Infante said he thought more choices for diners would mean less profits for St. Brendan. But it hasn’t worked out that way.
“It hasn’t hurt us at all. We’ve having the biggest year this year that we’ve ever had,” he said.
The number of diners this Lent has reached about 500 a week, and profits for the church are close to $3,000 a week.
Each church has its own uses for the cash generated by a fish fry.
At St. Brendan, the parish has had the event for so long that it counts on the income to help fund its operating budget. The money is used for programs for the elderly, youth ministry and to meet salaries.
St. Christine started its fish fry last year to raise money for a new gymnasium at the parish school.
The parish had a balance of $166,000 that had yet to be paid on the gym. Fish fry organizers donated $20,000 in profits to the gym fund last year and will be handing over a much larger amount this year, said Linda Messing, president of the fund-raising committee.
The number of diners has grown from 400 last year to 800 in recent weeks. The cost is $9.50 a dinner.
Messing said parish officials want her committee to keep running the weekly dinners all year long, but she is thinking that once a month after Lent may be realistic.
“It’s a lot of work for those involved,” she said.
People do enjoy it, though. The dinner ends at 9 p.m. Everything is cleaned up by 10 p.m., but people are still in the parish hall at 1 a.m.
“Everyone stays to visit and have a good time,” Messing said.
St. Joseph just started its fish fry this year. The parish’s Knights of Columbus council was created recently, and its members were looking for a project that would raise money and provide a social event for the parish, said Al Leo, grand knight of the council.
The number of diners has increased from 130 the first week to about 200. Leo figures the fish fry will raise between $1,500 and $2,000 this Lent. The money will go toward helping the parish, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and other charities.
A dinner costs $7.50, but the price probably will be raised to $8 next year, Leo said.
“We don’t want to get to the point where families can’t come and get a good meal,” he said.
The Knights council at St. Luke started a Lenten fish fry at that parish five years ago.
“I call it six weeks of penance,” Bert Wainio, event organizer, said with a laugh.
Actually, the volunteers enjoy themselves as they put together the meals, which are carry-out only and cost $8. Wainio recalls when the parish pastor, the Rev. Joe Fata, joked with the volunteers about their work habits.
“Father Fata said, ‘This is all wrong. You guys are having too much fun,’” Wainio said.
Wainio said the Knights council uses cash from the fish fries to support its programs, which include a breakfast for the parish, a family camp-out and a reception for confirmation students.
Fun and fundraising aren’t the only reasons for having fish fries, said Father Daprile from St. Brendan. The dinners also honor the Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays, he said.
Though the fish, halusky and pirogi served by churches are good foods, they make up simple meals, he said. By choosing a simple meal, a person is reminded to change his point of view on daily life, he said.
“This is a day to stop and think a little bit,” he said. “Friday is the day we recall the passion and death of Jesus.”
shilling@vindy.com