The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Saint Margret Mary's Catholic Church held a community fish fry last Friday for Lent. A steady stream of patrons came through during my time at the event, which is noteworthy as there was a wrestling event in town that evening. The Fish Fry was held as a fundraiser for the youth program, which set up the event, served guests, and ensured that those who attended had an enjoyable experience. They will be holding a second fundraiser fish dinner on March 31st, which will feature fish tacos rather than the traditional fried fish.

Judy Yirsa runs the youth program at the Catholic Church. She explained the purpose of the fundraiser in support of the youth program: "Working with them, I think I've shared my love of travel. We went on a pilgrimage to Mexico City this summer, and I think the kids were hooked a little bit. Right now, we're going over Old Testament stories. There's this desire to someday go to Israel. Sometimes we talk about other stories of the church, so Europe is obviously another destination they'd like to go to. We're hoping to try again, maybe in a few years, but start slowly. We thought a fundraiser here and there would go a long way. Because this is the Lenten season for Christians and so, fish fry, we just thought that would be a great start." Eating fish on Fridays is a long held Catholic tradition, particularly during Lent. The custom originates with the practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays during the season, though fish is considered an acceptable dietary alternative.

Judy has been involved with Youth Ministry at Saint Margret Mary's for several years. "I went to Confession one day and Father asked me, 'Would you like to lead the youth group?' It wasn't on my radar. But I said 'Sure.' The lovely ladies here at the church, they were ready to sort of pass on the torch to somebody. He saw that I was interested in kids. So, I started working with the youth group."

The church has done fish fry-type events in the past, though recent events have put the breaks on everything. "Obviously COVID put a damper on some of our plans, because we were hoping to have a few over that period of time. But we did have one last year. It was a little chaotic. So we thought we'll just break it up. Maybe have one with fish, and then maybe another night with tacos, fish tacos, which will be the last Friday of March."

Judy displayed visible pride when talking about the kids and their involvement in the meal service: "I think just seeing the kids in their service. They really stepped up. It's really nice to get to see that side of them. And it's good for the community to see that, too."

Judy describes her work with the kids at the church as particularly rewarding: "I've always liked working with kids, but I think to be able to share my faith and to help them to grow in faith. When you hear them repeat a story that we talked about a few weeks ago, it's just super rewarding to know those things stick. Sometimes they're like 'I didn't even know I knew that' which I really love... I'm really proud of them. They're a really good group of kids. It's really fun. Because I have babies, I only do it every other Wednesday. But the kids always ask me can it be every Wednesday? And I'm like: 'Yes. When my kids are bigger... I'm so sorry... But yes. Eventually, we will make it every Wednesday. It's just tricky right now."

In recent years, participation in the youth program has grown. "We have 17 kids. When I first started, there were four. We've grown quite a bit. And yeah, we have fun." Listening to Judy explain her teaching approach and some of the activities they have been doing makes it clear that the growth has taken place in response to a well run program.

The next Youth Fundraising Fish Dinner will take place the last Friday in March. As a guest for the last meal, I can attest that the food, fellowship, and young people's acts of service are more than worth the time to visit and support the program.