St. Patrick Church in Binghamton recently celebrated the end of Ordinary Time by having a Mardi Gras themed “gymboree” in the parish gym.
The celebration was organized by the church’s Faith Formation program—Director Jeanne Higgins and Youth Ministers Lisa Payne and Karen Leighton.
The event offered music, beads, face painting, food, carnival games, mask making, dance-offs and a best Mardi Gras dressed. The children learned that this was a chance to play, eat sweets and have fun prior to the start of Lent, when we quiet down to hear our Lord in prayer and strengthen our spirits by giving up the material things we enjoy, in order to rely on Jesus more.
Pictured is Therese McGuire, a parishioner at St. Thomas Aquinas in Binghamton, who was the Mardi Gras Queen. The children were true Christians in offering congratulations to Therese. (Photo courtesy Catherine McCarthy)
