The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is holding its monthly Community Meal on Wednesday, May 11, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Cathedral Church Dining Room. The meal is free and open to everyone.
The Community Meal’s menu will include orange-glazed chicken with rice, mashed potatoes, a vegetable, bread, and dessert, that Church members and volunteers will serve to the public. However, the Church also welcomes volunteers who wish to help with the meal, “Some of the Religious Education Kids have helped, but it’s mostly ladies that have come to volunteer, and we have a couple of gentlemen who do dishes, which we really appreciate. So, we have volunteers who have helped since the beginning, and some of them are repeat volunteers. Anybody that wants to come and help, we just appreciate their help,” Cathedral member and meal organizer Faye Overgaard explained. She also explained that if anyone wishes to volunteer to help, they can call her or the Cathedral Church and leave their name to be given to her. Overgaard and the Cathedral also wish to tell the public that the meal is free to everyone and a nondenominational event. “Our purpose and mission is to bring people together, spend time together, and have a meal together with their families, friends, and maybe neighbors. It’s more of a ministry than anything so that people can bring their ministry to the table, so to speak,” Overgaard explained.
The Cathedral first began the Community Meals in December 2021, after the priest, Father Joe Richards, joined the Church in the summer and presented the idea of having a meal that brought everyone in the community to the Cathedral, regardless of their faith. “Father Joe Richards came up with the idea, and as we talked about it, he wanted to bring together people of the community, not only of the Catholic Church,” Faye Overgaard explained. “So, he wants to bring together people from all churches, from all walks of life, and especially people who may be having a meal alone or maybe they didn’t prepare a meal for themselves, but we can get together and have community over supper,” she added. The Church had to delay the meals during the winter months of 2022 due to the weather and COVID-19 concerns but began the meals again on April 13. The Church now plans to hold these dinners for the Community on the second Wednesday of every month. The church currently has the dinners scheduled until August 10 but intends to schedule them for the rest of the year.
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception has a few upcoming events they are also inviting the public to come to, such as a Spiritual Book Study on Wednesday, May 18, the Graduation Ceremony of their Kindergarten class on Friday, May 20, and a Baccalaureate Mass on Sunday, May 22. They are also beginning their planning for their Harvest Festival in early October.
“We would like to invite everyone in the community to come dinner at the Cathedral, from 5:00 to 7:00 on Wednesday evening tomorrow. Everyone is invited, young and old, rich and poor. Whether you have supper made or not, please put it in the refrigerator and come and join us. We would love to have you,” Faye Overgaard invites. The event is free to everyone and a nondenominational event. If you are interested in volunteering for the meal or for one in the future, you can contact Faye at 218-289-1400 or the Cathedral Church at 218-281-1735.
