St. John Fisher Roman Catholic Church, 1239 Third St., North Catasauqua, held its annual Lenten fish dinner Feb. 20 in its social hall. The dinner included fish with halushkies or potatoes, corn, coleslaw, a roll with butter and an outstanding array of homemade baked goods.

A fun team of volunteers assisted to make the dinner a success. Fish dinner director Annette Englert is a hands-on volunteer leader and was in the kitchen staffing the fish frying stove top. Englert was ever smiling as more diners streamed into the social hall.

At the door selling tickets and collecting prepaid tickets was the father and son duo of Joe and Joseph Keglovits.

Volunteer servers Louise Seng, Mary Ann Cavallucci and Tina Snyder, all of North Catasauqua, and Sharon Carpenter, of Catasauqua, enjoyed working together to serve attendees.

Two kitchen volunteers who preferred anonymity said they were on KP duty. KP is short for Kitchen Police in the military, referring to enlisted members assigned to assist the culinary staff with manual labor in a military kitchen or dining hall. The volunteers were military veterans.

The homemade baked goods selection nearly rivaled an upscale restaurant. Phyllis Keglovits and Brandon Lively staffed the baked goods table with warm smiles as attendees needed some time to make their choices because of the wide dessert selections offered.

Bill McCullough, of North Catasauqua, happily discharged his volunteer duties as the event’s busboy, helping keep the space clean for the dinner guests.

Father Eric Tolentino, St. John’s pastor, was delighted about the friendliness of all present, the happy volunteers working together to make the dinner a good experience for attendees and the wide array of homemade baked goods offered.

The dinners were offered for dine-in or takeout. Betty Rabenold, of Catasauqua, and Barbara Verba, of Whitehall, enjoyed friendly conversation as they ate their dinner.

Friday fish dinners at Catholic churches are ubiquitous. Many Catholics refrain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent, which runs from Ash Wednesday through Easter. Worshiping Catholics, up until 1966, were forbidden to eat meat on any Friday via church law.

In 1983, the Code of Roman Catholic Church Canon Law revised the rule that allowed Catholics to eat meat on Fridays except for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The U.S. Council of Bishops then extended the law to include abstaining from meat consumption to all Fridays in Lent.

It is reported that, about 45 years ago, the first McDonald’s restaurant opened in a Cincinnati area that was heavily Roman Catholic. With the total Catholic ban at that time on meat consumption Fridays, there was marked decrease in business every Friday. The owner of the McDonald’s restaurant decided to develop a fish sandwich that became very popular. It allegedly led the way for the current McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich.

Attendees and volunteers at the St. John Fisher fish dinner were treated to good food, great desserts and a social gathering of fellowship that celebrated church history and the importance of understanding abstinence for a greater good.