By Mary Kroner
TECUMSEH (SNR) – A Catholic community is once again celebrating their fall fundraiser event Saturday, Sept. 25 from 5 to 9 p.m.
The celebration, hosted by St. Andrew Parish in Tecumseh and St. Mary in St. Mary, includes a raffle, a silent and live auction, and dinner.
Pastor Father Craig Clinch said the annual event began in 2005.
“There was a great auction and dinner planning committee led by Missy Fleck,” he said. “Each year it got bigger and better.”
Father Clinch said he was able to be a part of the event as pastor in 2015, 2016 and 2017, but he knew how valuable the fundraiser was for the parish under its previous pastors, too.
“It was an important fundraiser to help us with different projects to build up the church, especially since one of our key missions is supporting St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School,” Father Clinch said. “What’s exciting this year is not only are we bringing it back but we are teaming up with St. Mary Church in St. Mary. Parishioners from St. Mary are contributing greatly and I think it is great both parishes are working together to host an event like this.”
Clinch explained that after conducting a strategic plan over the past year, they recognized the importance of the fundraiser to help the annual budget at both parishes.
“We also have some building and maintenance projects at both churches we would like to support now and in the near future,” he said. “At St. Andrew, we just put a new roof on the parish hall. At St. Mary, a new well and updates to the rectory sewer system were recent projects, in addition to the church renovation.”
Timothy Sisco, member of St. Andrew and head of the organizing committee, believes this fundraiser is essential for the community in light of the fact that it has not been held the last couple of years.
“It’s the main fundraiser for our church and especially for our school. To support the school, we have to have this auction dinner and it almost funds the whole school. Without this, we won’t have a school and we’ll have a dying parish, in my opinion.”
The parish has also been deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the fundraiser is playing a significant role in bringing people together again.
“COVID has hit this parish really hard,” Sisco said. “The event is getting people more excited to come back and do stuff for the church.”
“Hosting an event like this takes a lot of planning, collaboration, lots of sharing of time and talents,” Father Clinch said. “Within all of that, a community can grow, we can encourage one another and build one another up. That is especially important at a time such as this,” he said. “And the evening itself with a delicious dinner… allows us to host our Catholic communities but also the larger community in Johnson County and beyond and can be an excellent occasion to exercise hospitality and share Christ’s joy, hope, and love with all who walk through our doors.”
The highlight of the event is the raffle, for which the grand prize is a brand new 2021 Silver Chevy Colorado. Raffle tickets are $100 each, and only 600 are sold.
Nearly every item in the auction is donated by the community, with Catholics and non-Catholics alike donating to support the parish and coming together to enjoy the event.
Sisco said, “We get such good support from people. A lot of people have missed it over the years and we loved having it. There’s not many events in Tecumseh like this so bringing this back gets people excited.”
The fundraiser will take place at the St. Andrew Parish Hall, located at 560 Jackson St., Tecumseh.
“I am so grateful to our planning team led by Tim and Emily Sisco,” Father Clinch said, “and all who will come out to support our event on September 25th!”
