After any major event there is a chance to sit back and ponder all that was done right, and what was done wrong. As a Monday morning quarterback we can all pick away at the good and the bad of the St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic. I like to think of all the good that happened at the picnic, like it was probably one of the biggest and best picnics we’ve ever had; that all of my family was in town; and that as a parish community we came together in harmony to raise a lot of money and witness what our faith is like to a whole lot of people who have never been to anything like this or who come back year after year.
You might not believe this but there are a lot of people who work the picnic who think that their job is the most important. I know that there are people who BBQ the meat that think the picnic would not be the same with it. And they’re right. Then there are a lot of Elder’s who are in the meat stand who believe that the bulk of the money is made in the meat stand. And they would be right. But if it wasn’t for the Carrico and Hobbs families we wouldn’t have any BBQ to sell by the pound. It’s the same all over the picnic grounds. The Cash family is very proud that they do the best job in the drink stand. And they are right. The picnic is held in August. If there are no drinks then a lot of our guests would be absolutely miserable in that heat. Many people believe that our picnic would not be the same without the political speaking. And they are right. But it is just one aspect of what we do.
We are one body. We are one body in Christ. We are one body at the picnic. If the meat was not cooked then we couldn’t sell it, or serve it. If all of the other vegetables and pies and fried chicken weren’t cooked then we couldn’t serve those either. And there would be a lot of people who would have to wait in line to buy BBQ sandwiches or hamburgers. If we didn’t raffle a vehicle then a lot of the buzz before the picnic just would not happen. And if there was no Bingo then “Katie bar the door!” The point is we could not have the picnic we have without every aspect of the picnic.
There are some who estimate that we had 15,000 people in Fancy Farm on Saturday. In order for those people to have the bucket list experience they were looking for then we all had to work together to make it that way for them.
We know all of this. We know all of this because of our faith, and our traditions. We know what is expected of us. If we aren’t out at the picnic grounds when we’re supposed to, someone will come looking for us. If we are not a part of our parish community then someone will come looking for us. Because we cannot be who we are as parishioners of St. Jerome church without contributing. If someone is missing then the body is not complete.
