The Dick Fiegen Memorial Fund
St. Catherine Catholic Church hosts its Christmas Eve Dinner every year, creating a
Volunteers cook up donated turkey, sides and desserts to share with those who come to the meal. Behind the scenes of St. Catherine Catholic Church’s Christmas Eve Dinner, the Dick Fiegen Memorial Fund furnishes hams and coleslaw for the meal, helping to create a special place for community members to gather and enjoy food and fellowship in celebration of the holy holiday.
“We rely on the continued support of donations to make [Dec. 24] a great evening for the people to enjoy with a great meal,” John says. “To make it a time to be together, not alone, on Christmas Eve.”
The Dick Fiegen memorial was founded by Joe Lunde and John Biel almost 10 years ago to honor Dick Fiegen. He, along with his wife Rayma, had been involved in the Christmas Eve Meal for more than 20 years, and Rayma continues helping with it to this day. John and Joe were inspired to create the memorial as a project to give them purpose and ground them as they grieved the loss of loved ones:
John had lost his brother, Rodney, and Joe had lost his son, Evan.
“[It started with] one call to Rayma Biel Fiegen,” John says of the memorial’s birth, “and the rest is history.”
With the support of local community members, Viking Bowling League one of the very first to jump on board, the Memorial Fund donates food to the St. Catherine Church’s Christmas Eve Dinner. After that donation, the memorial takes what funds are left and gives them to the Salvation Army and the Barnes County Food Pantry.
John says that though it’s something many of us do not see or experience, the needs of the community are great, both this time of year and always.
“The Barnes County Food Pantry [also] needs our help and the help of the surrounding community,” John says.
While talking to Pat Hanson of Barnes County Senior Citizen Center, he learned that the demand is way up.
“Pat shared that she couldn’t believe how much help is needed to feed people locally,” John says. “The food pantry has already given out over 2,200 individual food boxes and that they expect 100-200 more Christmas basket requests.” And they not only need help with donations to provide the food, but also in packaging and delivering them.
“This food pantry is supported by donations of food products and monetary donations to help keep individuals and families in the area from going hungry,” John says. “With the Dick Fiegen Memorial and the Barnes County Food Pantry, I am asking for your support in keeping these projects going.”
He sees the value of these community-focused groups, all dedicated to helping friends, neighbors and maybe even strangers in our area get the things they need.
It’s hard to see how
many people the Salvation Army, Dick Fiegen Memorial, and Barnes County Food Pantry support in the area, and it’s even more difficult to see how much their services mean to people who are struggling.
John says that in these 18 years with the Dick
Fiegen Memorial, collaborating with the Salvation Army and Food Pantry, he has felt comfort knowing that he is helping people in making their lives just a little bit better. He wants others to be able to feel that, too.
If you would like to help, checks can be made out to the Dick Fiegen Memorial Fund and sent to John at 829 4th St SW, Valley City, ND 58072.
Remembering the reason for the season and the importance of community, John finishes by saying this: “God has blessed us to be a blessing together!”