MERRILLVILLE – St. John the Evangelist Parish in St. John and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish in Merrillville joined hearts and hands for the first time together to prepare and deliver freshly cooked turkey dinners to households and charities throughout the Diocese of Gary – stretching from Cedar Lake to Chesterton, Gary, and surrounding communities.
Brookelyn Skrezyna, pastoral associate for discipleship, service, and parish life at SJE, coordinated this year’s effort and said her goal was to strengthen collaboration across the Diocese of Gary.
“Along with that goal, I wanted to see as many faces as possible show up to serve Jesus this Thanksgiving,” Skrezyna said. “And boy, they sure did! What a joy it was to work with Our Lady Queen of Martyrs and with their team and all of the volunteers.”
And a Mass held at the Merrillville parish on Thanksgiving was also a joint effort, with musicians, readers and celebrants from both parishes joining in full force.
“This is such a beautiful ministry and Mass that we want to continue together every year,” Skrezyna said.
From the kitchen to the packing stations, parishioners poured in to help. Volunteer Jay Kelley of Queen of Martyrs, who spent the morning before Thanksgiving assembling the boxes of meals, said he simply wanted to contribute. “I just wanted to help in any way possible. This was very good for us all,” he said.
The meals, prepared through the generosity of chefs Michael Lanzerotte and Andy Kaptur, were organized into nearly 60 delivery routes. Boxes were packed according to family size and destination, ensuring each household received the right number of dinners.
John Hemmerling, a longtime volunteer for SJE, which developed the program about seven years ago, said the experience is significant. “My family brings meals to a single mom with a special needs child that we know. She is so appreciative and always enjoys the food. She says the meal is better than any turkey she has ever made.”
There are so many people who made this possible, beginning with the Almighty, according to Skrezyna. “God truly is good and has been the biggest provider of this meal drive,” she said. “Hearts are full, and tummies are even fuller thanks to the many people who dedicated time and energy to making this happen. All for the greater glory of God!”
More than a dozen volunteers packaged food, while others sliced desserts, prepared meal sets, and loaded boxes.
Laura Collins, who has served in the ministry for two years, said the outpouring of support is always remarkable. “One thing that amazes me every year is the immediate and enthusiastic response we get when we reach out for volunteers,” Collins said. “The overwhelming sentiment is gratitude… volunteers expressing so much joy for being given the opportunity to serve. It’s truly inspiring.”
Route coordination was led by Karen Morario and Nancy Jaskierski, whom Skrezyna praised for their dedication. Collins agreed, “Those two women worked really hard to coordinate routes. They did an amazing job!”
This year’s Thanksgiving meal deliveries kicked off with more than 350 people at 9 a.m. at Queen of Martyrs. A special blessing followed the Mass before the distribution of nearly 1,000 turkey dinners, each including roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, rolls, dessert and individual placemats began.
“This effort is a beautiful expression of gratitude and service,” said Lynda Hemmerling, communications coordinator for St. John the Evangelist. “It’s what Thanksgiving is all about – coming together as one community to share our blessings with others.”
Caption: Parishioners from St. John the Evangelist and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs proportion meals for delivery Nov. 26. (Provided photo)
