Many parishes hold Thanksgiving celebrations. This time of year is commonly devoted to giving thanks to God and engaging in fellowship with others over a delicious meal. For parishioners at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Norman, they have celebrated the fall holiday for generations. For the past 100 years, starting in 1922, they have watched it grow into an event for all ages that requires many volunteers and careful planning.
Their celebration was recently held on Nov. 13. As in 1922, it is typically held the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
Father Joseph Irwin has been the pastor at Saint Joseph Catholic Church for more than four years, but saw the biggest crowd, and subsequent success, this year.
“We had a huge turnout,” said Father Irwin. “We probably had more than 500 people come through there. The event was held through ticket sales, both pre-orders, as well as the same day. The tickets cost $15 a piece.”
The event was held in the gym, with many supporters filling the facility.
“The gym holds 200 – 300, and we also took to-go orders, so people were coming and going,” explained Father Irwin.
An event of this size takes many hours of coordination – spaced over several weeks – to put together. The parish has a committee working to make the Thanksgiving dinner happen. They begin in October by reaching out to parishioners to find volunteers to help make the food.
“People will volunteer, and there is a process of people coming in to cook the turkey, get in the process of getting everything cooked and organized,” said Father Irwin. “We have an army of volunteers who give their time to prepare the food.”
Through decades of Thanksgiving dinners at the parish, the volunteers have developed a book on what needs to happen to make the dinner a success – starting with those preparing the meal.
“Over the years they developed a book called the ‘Thanksgiving Bible,’ with all the recipes and the schedule of who needs to be there,” commented Father Irwin .
The food shared at the dinner includes turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, casserole, cranberries and a of pies.
Much of the volunteer effort is achieved by word of mouth.
“We just get the word out that we need workers, and people reach out to the community,” said Father Irwin.
The group of dedicated volunteers work together to ensure the meal is ready to eat when the patrons sit down. That includes making sure all the food is ready in advance.
“Everything is prepared beforehand, and everyone comes and eats,” said Father Irwin. “No one brings food from their house, but they do volunteer to cook and prep.”
The meal begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m. – though patrons hang around longer to enjoy the company of friends they know and to meet new people.
“People can find a time, either after or before whatever Mass they go to,” explained Father Irwin.
Father Irwin estimates between $2,000 -$3,000 was earned through the dinner, which will be poured back into the parish.
“A lot of our Confirmation candidates, sixth – 12th grades, help serve,” said Father Irwin. “A lot of the volunteers have a real love for the work that goes into it.”
This dinner tradition is a chance to celebrate as a community and to give thanks to God for all that he has provided.
Everett Brazil, III is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.