Immaculate Conception serving up fish dinners through Lent
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Elizabeth Adams, a JFK parent, volunteers in the kitchen at Immaculate Conception Church every Thursday to prepare for Friday’s fish fry. Adams manned the cole slaw station on a recent Thursday evening.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Desiree Morrell shares a laugh with other volunteers while preparing the chipotle cream sauce for fish tacos Thursday evening. Volunteers hand-make halushki, cole slaw and macaroni and cheese Thursdays, ahead of the Friday Lenten fish fry.
On Friday evenings during Lent, Immaculate Conception in Washington is the place to be.
“You walk down there in the evening and just about every table is taken,” said Jim Weaver, who is in his first year as coordinator of the annual fundraiser. “Whole families are sitting at the table. Friends meet up. There’s just a lot of talking going on.”
A crowded church hall is something parishioners and the community missed last year, when the fish fry was take-out only due to the global pandemic.
“I think people are really enjoying having the option to come in and sit down,” Weaver said.
The church has for decades welcomed diners inside to enjoy locally famous fried and baked fish dinners and staple sides, including cabbage and noodles, pierogies and hush puppies. Shrimp dinners are a fan favorite, and homemade clam chowder hits the spot on chillier Lenten Friday evenings.
“We don’t bread our own shrimp. But everything else, literally, is handmade,” said Elizabeth Adams, a parent volunteer whose children started at John F. Kennedy Catholic Elementary School last school year. “We make our own mac and cheese, the cole slaw, everything.”
Everything, including the chipotle cream salsa that tops IC’s seasoned fish tacos, said Desiree Morrell, in her second year as a parent volunteer.
The fish tacos graced the menu until last year, when they were deemed too messy for a take-out menu. They’re back this year.
“It’s very popular,” Weaver said. “The first week, I grossly underestimated the number of taco shells we needed. We had to run out and get more.”
In the past, fish fry proceeds benefited the church. Last year, JFK took the reins. This year, the two entities are working together and splitting profits 60-40, with 60% of proceeds benefitting the school, while the remainder goes to the church.
The church hall at 119 W. Chestnut St. is open for dinner between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. every Friday in Lent. Orders may be placed on-site, or ahead of time by either emailing fishfry@jfkcatholic.com or calling 724-222-9737.