Sparta parishioners cook meals for parish priests to thank them

SPARTA  Pat Convey of Our Lady of the Lake (OLL) Parish here puts the finishing touches on cooking one of her signature dishes, shrimp scampi, for her and her husband. This particular evening, she makes and packages up two extra helpings for dinner later — not for members of her large family but for the two priests, who serve the Sussex County parish.

“It’s fun. I like to cook. I make shrimp scampi for the priests like I do my family. It’s simple and festive,” said Convey, part of Portions for Priests, a three-year-old ministry at OLL. A small army of 30 cooks — from homemakers to professional chefs — take turns cooking and delivering homemade dinners on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings to Father David McDonnell, pastor, and Father Kamil Kiszka, parochial vicar. “This is a great way to say ‘thank you’ on a regular basis to our priests for all they do,” she said.

The cooks whip up a wide menu of basic “meat-and-potatoes” type meals of various kinds of meats, seafood, and soups for the priests, who are not fussy eaters. There is one important distinction: Father Kiszka loves spicy foods, while Father McDonnell — not so much. These restaurant­quality culinary creations are simple and usually hot and ready to serve or be baked if necessary. They also might end with dessert. As the name Portions for Priests suggests, cooks are asked to prepare one serving for each priest that is light and typically healthy, said Lori Kelly, OLL’s bookkeeper, who started the ministry three years ago.

“It’s nice to know that something is prepared for dinner. The meals are delicious. It’s thoughtful of the cooks to do that,” said Father McDonnell, who looks forward to the variety of meals — from spaghetti and meatballs to pork and potatoes to soups and salads. But no peppers, please! “Sometimes, we eat things that we hadn’t thought of before. But the Lord tells us to be open to surprises. It also gives us great flexibility. Sometimes we have the meals for lunch or dinner the next day,” the priest said.

From time to time, some cooks will serve up some ethnic favorites. Father McDonnell, an Irishmen, has been treated to potato leek soup from the land of his birth. Meanwhile, Father Kiszka from Poland has enjoyed pierogis, kielbasa, and bigos, or hunter’s stew. The priests also have voiced their preferences. On their appointed day, the cooks bring their meals to the parish office by 4:30 p.m. Soon thereafter, the priests “dig in” at the table in the rectory kitchen, they said.

Coordinating Portions for Priests is Kelly, who piloted the ministry three years ago after seeing the priests struggling with meals. Later, she opened up the schedule to more parishioners, who range from professional chefs to individuals, couples, and families. They sign up to cook specific meals once a month or more using an online calendar, she said.

“We want our priests healthy not hangry and appreciate lighter meals and smaller portions — no large trays of lasagna. It’s tiring, unhealthy, and costly to have to go out to restaurants so often,” said Kelly, who sends out funny email reminders to the cooks. “Father Kamil is fearing starvation during Lent without meat but we’ll do our best to get him through it. Please pull out those recipes and let’s keep on it! They really appreciate it!” she wrote in one reminder.

On the other nights that the cooks do not send over meals, the priests often cook for themselves. Father McDonnell said he makes fish, chicken, and vegetables — having learned in his 21 years previously as pastor of St. Matthew the Apostle Parish in Randolph and learning from the Food Network. Father Kiszka said he cooks up steaks.

Another Portions for Priests cook, Sharon Sullivan, enjoys making favorites for the priests, such as baked salmon with baked potatoes. In her early 80s, she cooks for the priests twice a month, when she makes meals for her and her husband. She also has regaled the priests with potato pancakes, sausage and cabbage, and blood pudding. For Father Kiszka, she will be more adventurous, making meals that add peanut sauce or sriracha, a hot sauce. Sullivan’s desserts might feature watermelon, a baked apple berry tort or Chinese almond cookies, she said.

“It’s an opportunity to do what I do well. I like feeding people,” said Sullivan, who tries to make the priests vegan meals close to the ones she makes at home — whole-food, plant-based, and organic — for health reasons. Her husband helps with shopping, delivery of the food, and meal planning. She admitted that vegan cooking requires more spices for flavor. “I make big pots of soup and buy copious amounts of vegetables. I like sharing them with the priests,” she said.

Recently the two priests sat down to enjoy a meal by Victor Puglio: pork ribs, roasted potatoes, and asparagus.

“I like everything, especially anything with peppers. I feel the kindness of our parishioners,” said Father Kiszka, who noted a social dimension to Portions for Priests. “This gives Father David and me extra time to sit and talk, enjoy a meal together, and play a crossword game afterward,” he said.