Read about Sister Margey Schmelzle (Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity) who shares how much pasty sales contribute to a strong ecumenical spirit at St. Augustine, Republic, MI in the Diocese of Marquette.
The pasty sale has come and gone and we are a little more tired!!!! We made 1,212 pasties on Saturday and everything went very well – not a single glitch!
Because our community of St. Augustine is small, we have generous help from our friends from the Baptist, Methodist, and Lutheran churches. It truly is an ecumenical endeavor with St. Augustine making the money. Isn’t that a good deal???
Just a few interesting things about the origin of the pasty sale at St. Augustine.
The new St. Augustine Church, built in 1963, was known as “the church that pasties built.” The women of the parish would put the ingredients together in the parish house and then take the pasties to people in the neighborhoods to be baked and brought back to be sold. When the kitchen facilities in the new church were completed, the women thought they died and went to heaven! The Republic mine was in operation at the time and the women would take orders from the miners and then deliver them for lunch!
The pasty sales continue to this day and help to pay for the winter expenses at St. Augustine. Far more important though, is the wonderful working relationships with our friends and neighbors from other churches. The spirit of cooperation and joy is without comparison.
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