Newkirk parish celebrates patron’s feast day

It was a late Sunday morning at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Newkirk. Shortly after Mass, a long row of tables in the church gym was covered with a variety of dishes, from fried chicken to salads, chips and dips, and desserts. Kids played outside on the playground, in bouncy houses, and colored their own pumpkins to take home to their families.

It could be seen as a celebration of the fall season, but in this case, it is a celebration of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of Newkirk's parish. After several years on hiatus, it was truly a spectacle as the church went full-blown into the celebration of its patron saint.

The feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi was Oct. 4. The event was organized by the Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church Outreach Committee, an organization that seeks to bring parishioners into active participation in the church.

"The outreach committee reaches out to those who are not as involved in the parish and presents them with something that may be of interest to them," said committee member Desiree Wathor, who joined about six other younger parishioners to plan activities members can be involved with.

It was estimated that 150-200 people were at the celebration.

Kelsey Vap is also on the committee with Mathor.

"I think it went really well. I heard from several people that they hadn't seen that many people (attending an event) in 15 years," Vap said.

The event began a weeklong celebration of the parish's patron saint, culminating the next Saturday with a special blessing of parishioners' pets and animals.

Father Carson Krittenbrink celebrated the Mass that morning, tying in a short biography of the saint in his homily. Deacon Bill Horinek also reflected on the life of Saint Francis.

"Saint Francis was important because he was a good role model for all of us. He was a pious person, meaning that he loved God, loved all of creation, and he was also very close to God," Deacon Horinek said. "Before he became a very pious person, in his youth, he was a very raucous rebel; he was a wild person, but he had a conversion, and it was a very abrupt conversion, and he went from being wild to very pious toward God."

Church attendees congregated in the gym following Mass as outreach committee members organized the potluck items on that row of tables, starting with fried chicken and working their way through a table of desserts. Outside the gym, the kids soaked in an early fall sun in the playground, on the swings, in bouncy houses – having fun with one another.

It was the first festival for the feast day in recent years and the first feast day with the children activities outside the gym. In addition to the playground and bouncy houses, there was also a "money in the haystack" game where kids dived into a haystack, looking for quarters, and pumpkin decorations in time for the fall season. It was the biggest feast day celebration in terms of kids' activities. Other activities included door prizes of mums, won through a trivia contest of Saint Francis of Assisi.

"This was the first year we had all the extra activities," Wathor said.

The week culminated with the annual Blessing of the Pets that Saturday.

"He was known to love nature and love animals, and that is how he became the patron saint of animals, because he was in tune with nature and loved nature," Deacon Horinek said. "He is known as the patron saint of animals, and we have the Blessing of the Pets on Saint Francis' feast day."

Wathor said, "Saint Francis took everything to an extreme, but if you look at all of the other saints, they are people just like you and me. Our daily activities can keep us focused on sainthood by looking at the saints who have passed before us."

Everett Brazil III is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.

Photos Everett Brazil III/Sooner Catholic.