Feb. 7 Is 'Fat Sunday' In Evansville
All Saints Parish and its “A-Men’s Club” bring “Fat Sunday” to Evansville. From 8 a.m. to Noon CT at the St. Anthony of Padua campus on Feb. 9, club members will be serving a hearty breakfast for a great price, with all proceeds going to fund improvement projects at the parish’s St. Anthony of Padua and St. Joseph campuses.
“We tried a pancake breakfast two years ago, and enjoyed pretty good success that first year,” said parishioner Deavron Farmer, who serves as A-Men’s Club president. One of our members spoke up at our regular meeting and said we ought to make it a breakfast buffet, so that’s what we’re doing this year. The menu will include scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, mixed fruit and, of course, pancakes. Guests will enjoy the buffet and their choice of beverage for $7 per person.
“We have replaced the garage door at St. Anthony and replaced storm doors,” Farmer said. The group also funded some gutter work, and is expanding its list of projects to include needs on the St. Joseph campus, which is located at the northeast corner of Washington and Garvin streets.
Farmer got involved with the men’s group shortly after he and his wife began attending St. Anthony Parish. “I am an Evansville native, grew up Baptist and attended the Baptist school through eighth grade,” he said. “Mom sent me to Mater Dei for high school. I graduated from the University of Southern Indiana, and I married a ‘cradle Catholic’ from Jasper.
He recalled that neither of them enjoyed active faith lives – until about 2 ½ years ago. “We decided we needed to begin going to church again regularly, and my wife mentioned that she passed by this beautiful old church just about every day,” Farmer said. “That was St. Anthony; and the minute we entered the church the first time, we felt instantly that it was the most awesome place.”
They began attending Mass weekly at St. Anthony, and Farmer began the RCIA program. He entered the Catholic Church formally about six months later.
“At the parish, I asked whether there was a men’s group,” Farmer recalled. “There was a core group of 6-8 who met regularly, and I began attending.” It wasn’t long until the group had heard more than a few good ideas from Farmer – so they elected him the new president!
“I told them I thought we needed a true purpose,” he said, so the group moved forward with a focus on small improvement projects around the St. Anthony campus. “We did not have a lot of experience, individually or collectively, when it came to undertaking various projects – but we all believed we could successfully raise money to pay professionals to complete the projects we identified.”
The group has proven that with their “Fat Sunday” pancake breakfasts, and they’re stepping it up with this year’s breakfast buffet. “At our last meeting before the event, one of the positions we’re going to fill is ‘emergency runner,’” Farmer said. “We will have someone ready to make runs for groceries in case we start getting low on items after we start serving.”
