Usual church festivals disappearing for 2020
Summer staples hit by pandemic cancellations
In any other year, St. Dominic Catholic Parish in Brookfield would be getting ready for its four-day festival right now.
With live music, rides, games and specialty dinners — a fish fry, barbecue ribs, chicken — it brings parishioners and visitors together every July, and helps pay for all the services the parish offers through the rest of the year. Not surprisingly, that has changed. Church festivals, as much a staple of summer weekends as backyard grillouts, have disappeared from the calendar. No Feast on the Blacktop at St. Alphonsus in Greendale; no Elvis bingo at St. Mary in Hales Corners, no homemade Italian beef at Holy Rosary in Kenosha.
St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Waterford typically kicked off its summer with the Country Fair, complete with a pig roast, wine and craft beer tasting, and a silent auction. This year, the cow pie bingo raffle was salvaged — but parishioners enjoyed it from home.
The Country Fair usually makes up about 20% of the parish’s annual budget, said parish administrator Blaise Beaulier. Although the parish was granted a PPP Loan and held some virtual fundraisers, the fair’s cancellation was a major setback.
“It’s still going to be a challenge — the loss of income, and the camaraderie, the community events,” Beaulier said. “That was the biggest loss: not having a place for people to come and enjoy like they normally do.”
St. John Vianney in Brookfield also would have held its festival in June, marking the end of the school year and kickoff to summer. The pandemic made this year’s 35th edition of the event impossible.
The parish had considered rescheduling for August but realized it wasn’t feasible, said Robert Lied, director of administrative services and the business manager. It’s a big hit, socially and financially.
“We’re planning to be back next year bigger and better than ever,” Lied said. “And hopefully by the time it rolls around next year, there will be plenty of pent-up demand, where people will be ready to get out and go to a festival again.”
Andy Gaertner, director of development at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, said the impact has varied across the 193 parishes, spread over 10 counties. Some Milwaukee-area parish festivals, he said, raise more than a quarter-million dollars each year. And while some of those parishes may find new ways to raise funds, there’s almost no way to salvage what is lost.
The festival cancellations also come as faith communities already are facing challenges on multiple fronts.
“We’re dealing with illness, we’re dealing with an economic downturn and we’re dealing with the lack of ability to gather,” Gaertner said.
St. Eugene Congregation in Fox Point and St. Monica Parish in Whitefish Bay have found new ways to worship and stay connected. Parishioners could attend a drive-through confession, where a priest would sit in a chair at a safe distance and provide the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. They could also tune in to Two Priests in a Podcast and listen to their priests joke around and reflect seriously on the Gospel.
“It was really a chance to reach out to many new people,” said Anne Rice, director of stewardship for St. Monica and St. Eugene.
Online giving has gone up 23% at St. Monica’s and St. Eugene’s, and many parishioners have sought out ways to help over the past few months.
St. Monica’s and St. Eugene’s are also among several parishes that have rescheduled their festivals, in the hope that they might be possible at a later date. St. Monica’s has rescheduled its festival for Aug. 15, and St. Eugene’s has rescheduled for Sept. 13.
Even as churches improve virtual outreach efforts, many Catholics still miss the in-person community and worship experience. On May 31, Archbishop Jerome Listecki allowed Milwaukee-area
Catholic churches to reopen at 25% capacity. But for many older and immunocompromised churchgoers, virtual worship is the only option.
“What we’re still hearing from a lot of our parishioners is, ‘When are things going to get back to normal? Are they going to get back to normal? How do I continue to connect with my fellow parishioners?’” Beaulier said.
In his 32 years working professionally with the Catholic Church, Gaertner has navigated many crises — from economic downturns to 9/11. This pandemic, however, has challenged him and other Catholic leaders to support the community in new ways.
“With those challenges, we have found blessings in all of that,” he said. “We just want to make sure, though, that we’re doing our job as a church to reach out to as many people as we can.”