We Have The Best Coffee and Donuts!

From the Pastor:    We Have The Best Coffee and Donuts!

     You all know that the title above is true. We have the best coffee and donuts you have ever had at church! Just as I believe that God deserves to have the best that we can offer at any given time (note that that varies from person to person, time to time, parish to parish, etc.), I also believe that we should treat ourselves pretty well while gathered at church, too. Years ago, when we had very few people, almost no money, and I was picking up donuts either Saturday night or between the Sunday Masses, we sometimes had WalMart donuts and sometimes had Dunkin'. Coffee was either Folgers or Costco. People even personally baked breakfast casseroles and other goodies to bring in, enough to cover everyone attending Mass (at their own expense, I might add, although they never mentioned it). We did the best we could do and we not only survived but thrived. But as we grew, it became impossible to bake for everyone and to keep up the load with the same people doing all the work every week. When things got rough, more people stepped up and volunteered to help. “Here’s the best donuts shop,” and “Have you tried this coffee?” became common helpful hints. Soon enough we found some great suppliers and people started commenting on how delicious the donuts were and how much they appreciated the great coffee. What? They told me something good about even the coffee? Yes, indeed! We have also branched out a bit and now have (gluten-free) yogurt, bagels and cream cheese after the High Mass, and, every once in a while, leftovers from some event held Saturday night. Yes, we have turned the social hall into a high-class eatery.
     The 10:30 Mass has a rotating group of volunteers who put in all of the manpower (and womanpower and even childpower) and I have told each group that if the donations exceed the cost of the food and drinks, they may keep it for their groups’ use, so they see it as a fundraising event as well as a service to the parish. It really should be no trouble to make money on these days, since we still have many people who donate various foods/drinks out of love of God and neighbor (and maybe to avoid the Bishop’s tax!) so the donations should certainly outdo the expenses. But, as it turns out, it is usually only if I mention it during the Mass announcements that we turn a “profit” for the groups. The donation jar seems to turn virtually invisible in subsequent weeks.
     “Perhaps,” I was thinking to myself, “the people are giving generously but don’t realize how many times their children return for a fourth glass of chocolate milk and yet another donut, without having taken a single sip or bite but rather have left the others out on a picnic table or bench and couldn’t remember where they left them.” That might be the case, as there are always nearly untouched leftovers sitting around once the place empties, mingled with the rest of the half-consumed food and drink that nobody bothers to pick up. (People rarely claim the pairs of shoes, pants, sweaters, books, phones, missals, mantillas, backpacks, and other non-edible things they leave behind, either, so it is not a surprise that they leave food behind without bothering to pick up after themselves!) “But it is also quite possible,” I reply to myself in argument, “that the people really don’t know what a donut costs, for they never have donuts anywhere but church. And they don’t pay attention to the cost of milk, juice, and other items, either, since it is all rolled up into a seemingly endless grocery bill instead of being itemized by the portion.” That, to me, also makes a lot of sense. After all, when I gripe, “Two-hundred and thirty-seven dollars for one person!” when I hit the Costco checkout line, I don’t break down what the cost of one individual hamburger is going to be once I get home to make dinner. It also may be that families don’t have enough money to spend on coffee and donuts (it is a rather frivolous expenditure, after all, rather than a necessity) but don’t want to deprive themselves and their family of the great friendships that come out of spending time with the group after Mass. That is one that I hope never discourages anyone from eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves after Mass. As I have said many times before, if you cannot afford it, please don’t hesitate to stay and eat and drink anyway. Even if you are experiencing rough financial times I think Sunday coffee and donuts (and all that goes along with it) is important enough that I have always offered to pay for anyone who cannot do so themselves, rather than see them turned away as if this were a money-making gig. Seriously. Where else can you surround yourself with so many people who really believe in God and His teachings and who want to share their lives with you both here and in Heaven? “Pray” and “play” go hand in hand.
     Regardless of why donations don’t always cover the expenditures, I thought it would help if you saw actual figures of what these items truly cost. I had the staff put together a list which will go up in the social hall for your reference. It does not include the price of plates, napkins, cups, electricity, or anything of that sort, just the cost of the food and drinks. It is not meant to be the “price” as if this were a diner, just a reference sheet. I hope you find it helpful.

With prayers for your holiness,
Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka