COURTESY PHOTO

Neighborhood residents who had been without power for a whole week enjoyed a free dinner at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Greenhills.

Parishes offer ‘unplugged’ neighbors dinner

ST. MARGARET MARY DEANERY — Seven days without power were enough to make a hot meal a real treat, so offer a great home-cooked free meal, and folks will come. That’s exactly what a group of parishioners from Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Greenhills pulled off a week after Hurricane Ike wreaked havoc on the area Sept. 14.

On the evening of Sept. 20, the parish posted its sign on Winton Road: "Still No Power — Free Dinner!" At all weekend Masses, Father Pete Helmlinger, the pastor, challenged those who had electricity to bring food of the pot-luck variety to the church and to invite their friends and neighbors who were still without electricity to come to a free dinner

On Sept. 21 an energetic group of volunteers began cooking donated meats, converting them into a feast of soups, roasts and spaghetti.

"Basically, we were going out on a limb, having faith that our parishioners would come forth with a variety of casseroles, side dishes, salads, and desserts to feed anyone who came in our door!" said Kathy Klich, pastoral associate.

Persons from near and far attended the meal and were warmed by great food and hospitality. Carryout meals were taken to folks in nearby Winton House who were stranded without power. There were eve some leftovers to go to Our Daily Bread.

According to Bob Crowley, business manager at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, the church also served multiple hot dinners on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings for folks without electric.

The spirit was also found in other parts of the archdiocese.

At St. Mary Parish in Franklin, a group of parishioners hosted meals at the parish each evening during the blackout.

Led by Rocky and Rose Adams, the group scoured food pantries and businesses for donations of food. They fired up a propane grill for cooking and used a generator to provide some power.

"They organized a community kitchen for that week when the power was out. They got food from our food pantry in Franklin," said Deacon Steve Bermick, the parish’s pastoral administrator. "They went and solicited from area businesses who were going to have to throw food out."

A large sign announcing the dinner was placed outside the parish and announcements were made through the media.

The effort was an expansion of a dinner the parish group does each week, Deacon Bermick said. That dinner has been going on for several months.