By Katie Patrick
When I sat down to write this article last Friday, I knew that I wanted to share with you the behind-the-scenes effort of our daily lunch program in Lincoln. I wanted to find a way to describe to you the jovial and steadfast group of Knights of Columbus (Msgr. Maurice Helmann Council #11280 of St. John the Apostle Parish in Lincoln) who come several times a month to prepare sandwiches for our clients.
So, as any good Catholic with an average ability to quote the Bible, I started typing… “Where two or three are gathered together in my Name there am I in their midst” and stopped. No doubt this particular Bible verse is a cornerstone of our faith in God and in prayer. And while it was a good and honest attempt at describing the coming together of a dozen or so men who delegate the responsibilities of slicing meat, laying out slices of bread, layering the meats, spreading the peanut butter and bagging up the final product whilst praying the rosary and sharing updates on family and church life, I decided to take a different approach.
Retirement. That glorious time in life when the decades of our good and honest work have come to an end and when new adventures and friendships await. Yes, what Dennis, Gary, Jim, Rich, Tom, Pat, Mike, Jack, Nick, James, Mike P., Mark, and Greg bring to the table at Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska, is much more than lunch.
In 2021, these men came 26 times; gave more than 278 hours of service; and made a total of 7,938 sandwiches for the poor and those in need. Additionally, one of the Knights donated nearly 800 loaves of bread used to make the sandwiches! Their camaraderie certainly has us millennials at CSS anticipating the day (though not too soon) when we too can look back at our busy work schedules and take that leap into retirement with a keen sense of service to the poor and to our parish.
As one of the Knights recently put it, “The sandwich program is really a perfect service opportunity. CSS provides the location where those in need can be served while also supplying substance (meat/peanut butter/jelly) for the sandwiches. And it keeps a bunch of old guys who prepare the sandwiches out of trouble for a while.”
So if you find yourself getting into too much mischief in retirement, give us a call and we’ll be happy to connect you to one of our many programs across the diocese. Until then, be well and stay out of trouble. May God Bless You!
