The Ferris wheel provides a nice view of the crowd, church, school grounds and the
neighborhood surrounding St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church and School.
Photo provided
By Tim Pallesen
The big festival at St. Vincent Ferrer this month isn’t just great family fun — it also is a fundraiser projected to raise $300,000 for the parish school.
More than 1,000 volunteers pitch in Feb. 20-22 to produce an annual event expected to draw 10,000 adults and children.
The carnival midway with 20 thrill rides such as Rock Star and Power Surge is the biggest attraction for kids.
Live entertainment includes Irish step dancers, an Elvis impersonator and tribute concerts to Jimmy Buffett and the Eagles.
Food varies each day, starting with a Friday night fish fry where Monsignor Tom Skindelski serves his signature New England clam chowder. Saturday is barbecue day, and corned beef and cabbage are slated for Sunday.
“It’s a weekend where adults can have as much fun as the kids,” said Lola Swanson, a school parent.
Cafe SVF serves iced coffees, and the vodka booth has margaritas. New this year is the Man Cave, where men can play bocce ball and watch basketball on big-screen TVs.
The Delray Beach festival — now in its 48th year and by far the largest for any Catholic parish in the diocese — is the largest source of revenue for the school.
The festival includes a popular flea market projected to raise $37,000 alone. Maria Sesto teams with Skindelski after every Mass to sell $100 raffle tickets projected to raise another $70,000.
“Between me and the monsignor, we try to get everyone to buy tickets,” Sesto said. “Who is going to say no to the monsignor?”
Admission and festival parking are free at the parish, at 840 George Bush Blvd. Call 276-6892 for more information.
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Family Promise, the heralded ecumenical effort that rescues homeless families with children, is losing two key leaders from its board of directors.
The terms of board president Michael Diamant and local founder the Rev. Andrew Sherman ended this year.
Extraordinary Charities of Palm Beach County recently named Family Promise of South Palm Beach County as one of the most successful and effective charities.
Family Promise was launched in 2008 just as a recession caused widespread unemployment and loss of housing for many families with small children.
Congregations of all faiths joined together to temporarily house families in churches and synagogues while helping the parents find a job and get a permanent home.
The dozen Boca Raton and Delray Beach congregations that banded together are Advent Lutheran, B’nai Torah, Cason United Methodist, B’nai Israel, First United Methodist, Grace Community, St. Gregory’s Episcopal, St. Paul Lutheran, St. Paul’s Episcopal, Temple Beth El, the Chapel of St. Andrew and Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Each congregation needs 50 to 70 volunteers to host up to four homeless families for a week. Additional volunteers help out from other congregations that include the Islamic Center of Boca Raton.
“We’re taking our faith and bringing it to life,” Family Promise executive director Kokie Dinnen said. “We don’t let theology get in the way.”
Cindy Winter, a vice president of Iberia Bank in Boca Raton, takes over as board president. Diamant and Sherman will stay involved on a new advisory board.
“We’re not riding off into the sunset,” said Sherman, the rector of St. Gregory’s Episcopal in Boca Raton.
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The music programs of Family Promise congregations join together on Feb. 8, for the third annual Sounds of Promise concert.
The 3 p.m. concert will be hosted by First United Methodist Church, 625 NE Mizner Blvd., behind the Mizner Park amphitheater in Boca Raton.
Choirs from First Methodist, B’nai Torah and the Abundant Life Christian Center will perform in addition to musicians from other congregations.
Tickets are $20 for adults with children age 12 and younger for free.
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Jewish and Christian teenagers will glean vegetable fields west of Delray Beach together on Feb. 16 in a unique interfaith event.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County has teamed with Christians Reaching Out to Society Ministries in hopes the teens of different faith will “get to know each other and build bridges of respect” as they harvest the fields to feed the poor.
Call CROS gleaning director Keith Cutshall at 233-9009 for more information.
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Advent Lutheran became a “church without walls” on Jan. 25, as members fanned out to eight places in the community to make a difference in the lives of others.
The Rev. Richard Barbour challenged his Boca Raton congregation to emulate the ancient church that didn’t have buildings.
“They were not insulated or isolated from the world around them,” Barbour said. “They shared the good news with anyone who would listen and helped anyone in need.”
So teams of volunteers packed grocery bags for the poor, hosted a pancake breakfast for at-risk youths, visited the elderly, cleaned the beach, beautified the Family Promise day house and Tri-County Animal Shelter plus other tasks for the community instead of their normal Sunday morning worship service.
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The search to find a new rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach has been unsuccessful.
The lengthy search began after the Rev. Chip Stokes left in May 2013 to become Bishop of New Jersey. Two finalists who visited the church last month were not offered the job.
“The sense of the search committee and the vestry is that we haven’t found a new rector yet,” committee chairman Mike Armstrong said.
A second search will begin after Easter.
Tim Pallesen writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Email him at tcpallesen@ aol.com.
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