‘It’s all about the people’

‘Two parishes, one family’ help make Thanksgiving happen for their neighbors

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Above, A trio of guests enjoy an early Thanksgiving meal at Divine Mercy Parish in Central Square. Sister Mary Megan of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate is flanked by Judy at left and Alicia on her right. 

By Dc. Tom Cuskey, Editor

Hosting Thanksgiving at your home this year? If it’s a “yes”, then how many guests are you expecting?

Well, as you’re slaving over the hot stove, imagine what it would be like to have anywhere from 250 to 270 people come through your door, each one treated to turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn and dessert.

And then multiply that by two.

The parishes of Divine Mercy in Central Square and Sacred Heart in Cicero – “two parishes, one family” is their motto – have already fed at least 500 people between them this week as part of their Thanksgiving sharing program. That works out to about 70 to 80 families per parish.

At each site, there are about 25 to 30 dedicated volunteers who make it happen according to their pastor, Father Christopher Seibt. Divine Mercy is in their fourth year of the program, while Sacred Heart has just completed their first year of Thanksgiving service.

“It’s all about people,” Father Seibt told us. “We are helping humanity; people are struggling at all different levels.”

The teams at the parishes know that because most of the Thanksgiving clients participate in the year-round food pantry programs each parish offers. Two days a week at each site, people can come and augment their home cupboards with food from the parishes.

The Thanksgiving meal is a special event for the pantries, and an opportunity to engage people in need.

“Each family also received a church bulletin and an Advent letter,” along with their feast, Father said. “We also wanted to establish a relationship with them, to get to know them and to understand what their needs are a little bit better, and then to respond to those so they get to know us as well.” Father stressed that their invitation extends well beyiond Thanksgiving. “Just to say that the parish is always here for you, and you are welcome to join us for worship and other events that are going on.”

Community collaboration

It’s not just about the contributions of Divine Mercy in the local community. The parish works year-round with the school district and other local churches in the area to make sure folks don’t go hungry.

“Everyone works together really well,” Father said. We work with the school district to supply lunches for kids who don’t have them. We help with the Brewerton Food Pantry, the United Methodist Church. It’s a nice collaborative effort going on here.”

None of this would happen without a team of dedicated volunteers. Carol Bunn is the volunteer coordinator of the Divine Mercy pantry and their Thanksgiving program. She has seen the event mature in the relatively short time it’s been offered.

“The first year was a Covid year so everything was takeout,” she told us. “We started it, and after every year, we’ve changed it a little bit. Now that we are four years in everyone knows what they’re doing.”

To Bunn and the others, the effort becomes personal. “I can’t describe it … all the clients that come to the food pantry, you get to know them so well and they are all very special to me and all our volunteers.”

Learn as you go

A dine-in option was added in the second year at the Central Square church, but most patrons choose take-out. They are served in a very efficient drive-through process. Deacon Brian Lauri and diocesan seminarian Doug Villanella were busy this day greeting guests in the drive-through lane while another group of volunteers brought out the meals.

Father told us that in the first couple of years, families received a frozen turkey to prepare at home. Unfortunately, the team soon learned that many turkeys were wasted because patrons didn’t have the means or know how to prepare it.

“So why don’t we provide a meal for them?” was Father Seibt’s solution to the challenge.

We chatted with Alicia and Judy, two guests who dined in on Monday. They shared a table with Sister Mary Megan, a “neighborhood missionary” as described on the website of her religious order, the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate. They thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the welcoming atmosphere at Divine Mercy. “Makes you feel good, like you’re part of the family,” Alicia shared.

Second effort

Meanwhile, about eight miles south down U.S. Route 11, the team at Sacred Heart Church in Cicero were underway with their inaugural Thanksgiving effort. Their approach is slightly different but also very efficient, especially for a first outing.

At Sacred Heart, patrons picked up their meals inside the building instead of the drive through. The goal is simple: invite people in, make them feel welcome and let them know the doors are always open.

Father Seibt said that “a conversation about outreach,” between the two parish teams sparked Sacred Heart to start their program this year, “but also the same desire to establish a ministry for those in need in a more personal way.”

Father added that “Staffs are great at both pantries. Both places are so good at figuring out logistics and coming together. They’ll learn from each other.”

Sacred Heart volunteer pantry coordinator Karen Spera added that “Most of our [pantry] volunteers have been here 15 years. They volunteer and they just don’t leave. They really enjoy seeing the people.”

Donna Barrett is one of those volunteers. “We work as a team because we are a family,” she said. Anthony Rojas – described as a “behind the scenes” volunteer – is new to helping in this ministry but has been around the parish long enough to understand the dynamics of giving and service.

“Once you start building relationships and understanding how welcoming everyone is, you want to become involved, you want to be more supportive,” he said. “When you get the call to participate, you can’t say no.”