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St. Patrick Church in Hubbard serves up compassion at community dinner
By Bob Jackson
HUBBARD
Parishioners at St. Patrick Church aren’t talking turkey when it comes to serving the community.
Well, maybe they are.
More than 100 adults and youths from the church spent Sunday afternoon serving a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to about 250 people. It was the church’s first time hosting such an event, but the Rev. Father Michael Swierz said plans are already in the works to do it again next year.
The goal, he said, is building a bridge between the church and the community.
“As we reach out to you, you reach out to us as well,” Father Swierz said to the guests just before he blessed the meal. “In that sharing and interaction, we all become friends.”
The dinner was publicized in local media, and people were asked to contact the church in advance so members would have an idea how many people they would serve. Walk-ins, though, were not turned away.
Swierz said the meal was primarily intended for the less fortunate and for shut-ins who normally don’t get to have a Thanksgiving meal among friends and family. But it also was for the divorced and people who’ve lost a loved one, and who don’t have a family with whom to spend the holidays.
Like Scott DeMine of Warren, who attended and had dinner with his son, Joseph, 34.
Scott, 61, lost his wife of 35 years, Betty, in September. Both his parents also died within the past year, he said. For him and Joseph, the people at Sunday’s dinner were a surrogate family.
“We wanted to be with people,” Scott said while buttering a dinner roll. “This is so nice. They’re really making us feel welcome.”
Joe and Barbara Frush of Hubbard heard about the dinner from their friend, Linda Bernard, also of Hubbard, and the three attended and ate together.
“They have this organized like you were at a restaurant,” said Joe, 75. “The kids come right to the table and serve you anything you want. You don’t have to get up, you don’t have to get anything. They bring it right to you.”
Bernard, 70, said she enjoyed being in the company of so many other people.
“This is just such a good thing for the community,” she said.
Joe chuckled when it was pointed out that had mixed his corn into his mashed potatoes before eating them.
“I learned that from her,” he said, pointing to Barbara, 82. “I never did that before I met her.”
He also didn’t hesitate when asked whether the couple would be back next year.
“Oh, heavens yes!” he said.
Emma Garon, 12, of Hubbard was among the dozens of church youths who volunteered to help serve the dinner. She wore an apron that said, “Let the Stuffing Begin,” and a headband with two small pumpkins extended from it.
“We do this for the underprivileged families that really don’t have that much for Thanksgiving,” said Emma, a seventh-grader at Hubbard Middle School. “To know that we can do something to make them happy feels really good. “It’s such a welcoming feeling and vibe here today.”
Dan Benton, 63, “born and raised” in Hubbard, was impressed by the number of youths who helped out with the dinner and enjoyed the interaction they had with the visitors.
“Everybody said kids these days don’t do anything good, but just take a look around at all these kids and how hard they’re working,” he said. “That shows a strong ministry here at the church.”
Benton said he didn’t know most of the people at his table, so he enjoyed the opportunity to make new friends.
Father Swierz said all the volunteers, adult and youth alike, were there of their own accord.
He said the idea for the community dinner was first brought forth several months ago by Bill Bancroft, a parishioner and deacon of the church. All the food was donated by church members.
“I always wanted to do something to volunteer at Thanksgiving,” said Bancroft. “I figured, what better place to do it than here in our own back yard. I don’t want to say it’s just for the less fortunate, though. They may be more fortunate than we are. We don’t know and it doesn’t matter. This is for everyone.”
Father Swierz said parishioners also had collected winter coats of all sizes, which were given away to any visitors who needed one.