A Surprise Lunch

Sunday morning I decided to attend the 11:00 o'clock mass at the Shrine of St. Anne because it had snowed and I live closer to St. Anne than my own parish of Spirit of Christ Catholic Community. A Bible Study class member arrived and sat down next to me. After mass there was a spaghetti dinner being served and I decided to eat lunch at the church. It would save me from fixing something for myself at home and I would be helping the parish and the school.

The surprise came when in line to pay my eight dollars I saw another friend from Spirit of Christ. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "Oh," she replied, "there are about six people from Spirit of Christ here." One of the persons helping people find places (a YAH member) pointed to a table and said, "Go to table three." She asked if I wanted white or red wine and when I arrived at table three, I found a cup of red wine waiting for me.


At the table sat seven persons I know from my parish. The persons milling around helping were Young At Heart members. I saw about five persons who belong to our Young At Heart group and they told me that St. Anne is their parish. I felt very much at home with so many persons I knew. Young students served and I had barely sat down when a salad was placed in front of me. When I finished the salad, a plate of delicious spaghetti with two meat balls took the place of the salad. Celery and carrots sticks were on the table along with Italian bread and dishes of Parmesan cheese. When I finished my spaghetti I was given a cup of ice cream for dessert.

After eating, I wandered over to the tables that had items for sale and saw another YAH person selling the gift items.

It was impressive to see the organization at the dinner/lunch. From the purchasing of tickets, to being directed to where I should sit, to the smiling, young students serving, to the women who supervised, and to the table settings it was an organized affair and from what I could see, it was a huge success!

"No man is lonely

eating spaghetti;

it requires so much

attention!"

Christopher Morley