St. Patrick’s Parish in Joliet is working in conjunction with the University of St. Francis to celebrate a “Service for the Hungry” at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 15. The idea was started by Donna Eakle from the Alumni Relations office at the University of St. Francis. Donna got in touch with Father Pete Jankowski, the pastor at St. Patrick’s, and told him that a group of soon-to-be graduates were interested in a “mentoring” program with some of the community leaders of the city to get them geared for the outside world. Donna and Father Jankowski worked on an idea to get the students invested at St. Pat’s so the idea they came up with involved serving the hungry.
What that means is they have been sending out a Service for the Hungry Flyer to the parish’s food pantry recipients who live in their zip code area. They have invited them to come to an ecumenical service of the Word this Saturday at 10 a.m., at which time they will receive an invitation card to a breakfast. Those who come with a ticket will be served at breakfast until the food runs out. They will be serving egg casserole, fruits, breads, and drinks, and the food pantry folks will be handing out some (or all) of the 100 pre-made bags for the recipients. The parish’s kids’ choir will provide the music, and students from the university will be helping with the food distribution.
St. Patrick’s is located at 710 W Marion St., Joliet. For more information, call the church office at (815) 727-4746.