Carmen Benzenberg of Assumption Parish in Morristown adds extra — and intangible — ingredients to batches of Christmas cookies she makes each year for U.S. troops. She makes sure to sprinkle pinches of love, appreciation and Christmas cheer — as well as a taste of home.
That’s because, baking the sweet treats reminds Benzenberg that the soldiers miss their families at holidays as they make the sacrifice to keep America safe — like her brother did in the Vietnam War.
“This is done from the heart,” Benzenberg said. She was among dozens of parishioners from Assumption and St. Virgil in Morris Plains, a neighboring parish, who baked and packaged up a record more than 500 pounds of cookies for U.S. troops, who serve locally. “To be separated from your loved ones can be hard, so we want them to experience something from home. We put our hearts into them so we can fill our soldiers with happiness.”
Early this month, most of those cookies made their way into the hands and mouths of Reserve and active-duty airmen stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst by Father Michal Falgowski. He is pastor of St. Virgil’s and a U.S. Air Force reserve chaplain at the base. The rest of the cookies, 18 boxes worth, were mailed to deployed troops in Kuwait. They were scheduled to receive them last week, Father Falgowski said.
“It was a team effort between Assumption and St. Virgil’s,” said Father Falgowski, who loaded his car with cookies. He distributed them to members of the 514th Air Mobility Wing, which he serves, and 87th Air Base Wing at the base. The packages included many cards of love and thankfulness from parishioners and students of Assumption School. “The troops were overjoyed. Some of them had tears in their eyes. The cookies and cards brightened their day. Our folks at the parishes are spreading the joy, despite these difficult times economically and giving respect to those who are putting their lives at risk for us.”
People from all walks of life pitch in to make these delicious delectables from professional bakers to amateurs — even those who have never baked before. They ranged from traditional sugar, chocolate-chip and oatmeal cookies, which Benzenberg made, to “cookies from around the world,” including Italian, Irish and Latin-American. Some were gluten-free, nut-free and sugar-free for some troops, said Father Lukasz Wnuk, Assumption’s parochial vicar.
The baking reminds Benzenberg of when her mother would send tins of store-bought Danish butter cookies to her brother in Vietnam.
“He would share them with the guys, who would get excited. The Vietnamese did their laundry on the base. My brother would give them a sleeve of cookies.” Benzenberg said.
Bakers at Assumption and St. Virgil’s wrapped the cookies in packs of six and delivered them at their respective parishes in late November. Father Falgowski then picked up the cookies from Assumption. They were then sorted for transport to the base on the Dec. 3–4 weekend or for mailing to Kuwait. Non-bakers contributed hundreds of dollars for the mailing.
This Christmas tradition started a few years ago with Father Falgowski and Father Wnuk, who are friends who share Polish heritage. Early on, a team of bakers at Assumption would make cookies in the kitchen of the parish school.
Father Wnuk said the soldiers “feel at home” enjoying the cookies. He also cited the “very nice” cards that accompany the special deliveries which “express Christmas wishes to the soldiers and thank them for their service.”