Ministry at St. Joseph in Farmington offers hospitality and homecooked meals to all
Our Father’s Table volunteers Tom Benoist and Kelley Speakar, parishioners at St. Joseph in Farmington, placed a tray of macaroni and cheese in a serving area before an Our Father’s Table gathering Aug. 18 at St. Joseph Parish in Farmington.
A familiar Bible verse is painted above the cafeteria serving window at St. Joseph School in Farmington: “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”
One Sunday afternoon a month, volunteers with Our Father’s Table ministry bring that verse to life in a literal way, welcoming anyone and everyone for a free homecooked meal.
“It’s like God the Father’s table: Everybody can come and eat at this table,” volunteer Stephanie Koppeis said. “It’s a table of plenty.”
Our Father’s Table began at the parish about 15 years ago with a mission of hospitality, said Tom Benoist, who now leads the ministry with his wife, Tammy.
“It serves a need for those in need, definitely, but I also feel that it’s a way to introduce the non-Catholic people to the Catholic way,” Tom said. “We’re all about the community. We’re all about giving back and doing what we can. So it’s a way of letting people know that we’re here for them.”
Our Father’s Table volunteers Samantha Wade, Judy Davis and Tammy Benoist, all parishioners at St. Joseph in Farmington, talked with Anne Randall of Farmington during the event Sunday, Aug. 18 at St. Joseph Parish in Farmington. The monthly gathering, open to anyone, on this occasion featured burgers, bratwursts, macaroni and cheese, beans, coleslaw and dessert.
On the third Sunday of each month, the team of about 10 volunteers gathers in the St. Joseph School cafeteria to cook food for about 50-75 people. On Aug. 18, a handful of men headed outside to grill hamburgers, bratwurst and hot dogs while the women prepared macaroni and cheese, coleslaw and baked beans, mixed pitchers of lemonade, and cut cakes into slices.
Tammy is the head cook overseeing the food, with plenty of help from the others, she’s quick to add. The team makes a point to plan a variety of delicious and balanced meals, and the food is served on real dishes with real silverware — no paper or plastic in sight. Volunteers wait on the guests, inviting them to sit and relax while taking their orders, bringing their meals and refilling drinks.
“We want it to be like a restaurant,” Tammy said. “We wait on you, you know?”
Besides the food, Our Father’s Table also offers a place for conversation and company for those hungry for connection.
“We have regulars that come, and you know, some are needy, and some just come for the community,” Tammy said. “You sit down, and you know who needs to talk to you. And you just sit and listen.”
Our Father’s Table volunteer Rick Harris, a parishioner at St. Joseph in Farmington, served Brenda Miller and Michael Rhodes, both of Farmington, Aug. 18 at St. Joseph Parish in Farmington.
The regulars become friends they look forward to seeing, she said. One older gentleman named Jim came with his nephew every month for years. Jim recently passed away, and at his memorial at the VFW hall, Tammy put a few dollars in a donation jar she assumed was collecting money for the VFW. The next day, Jim’s nephew showed up to the Our Father’s Table meal with the jar — which, it turns out, had been collecting donations for the Our Father’s Table ministry he loved so much.
Some frequent guests are St. Joseph parishioners, while others are people from around the community who have found out about the meals in various ways. Several have been invited by members of the parish’s Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Others have seen it advertised on the church marquee; volunteers have brought leftovers to people living on the street and invited them to come next time.
When the ministry had to shut down for several months during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tammy cooked and delivered meals to homebound parishioners once a week. Now, parishioner Anne Crawford swings by at the beginning of the monthly meal to pick up to-go containers for about 15 homebound people of the parish, making sure they know they’re not forgotten.
As empty plates started coming back to the kitchen, Deacon Mark Byington stationed himself at the dishwasher. In his eyes, the ministry imitates the way Jesus gathered together those on the fringes of society — which today includes the elderly, the lonely and those who are unhoused, he said.
The volunteers show them God’s love by taking the time to make them feel truly seen and known, he added.
“I think that our approach opens the door, and it gives them a moment of hope, brings them into the community,” Deacon Byington said. “And I have seen a couple of them come back to the church for a service or come back to fish fries because they want to be part of the community.”
High school sophomores Kynlee Wade and Alexis Cassimatis have served with Our Father’s Table since childhood, two of the youngest of the volunteer team children who have served alongside their parents. When they were younger, Kynlee recalled making Christmas cards for guests at the December meal and seeing their joy at receiving something homemade. One year, Tom and Tammy Benoist’s son, T.J., collected enough donations to give presents to every guest during the holidays.
The November and December Thanksgiving and Christmas meals typically draw a large crowd for feasts of turkey and ham and all the trimmings, noted volunteers Chad and Kelley Speakar.
Barbara White was served by volunteer Kynlee Wade, 15, during an Our Father’s Table gathering Aug. 18 at St. Joseph Parish in Farmington.
“I think the holiday (meals) are the best, because you don’t really know what backgrounds people are coming from, and you don’t know if they’re going to have something special during the holidays, and you don’t know if they’re going to have family around,” Chad Speakar said. “A lot of people come, and so I think this gives them something to enjoy.”
Rick and Rita Harris moved about the room greeting guests, delivering plates, filling and refilling drinks, cleaning tables and often, stopping to sit down and chat with people as they ate. The couple started volunteering with Our Father’s Table about a year ago after moving to Farmington from Illinois.
“We can spread the word of God, whether it’s through missionary work or just sitting down and having a meal and visiting,” Rick Harris said. “Don’t we, as Christians, reflect what Jesus asked us to do?”
Toward the end of the evening, he pulled up a chair to eat his own dinner alongside Anne Randall and several other guests. Randall has been coming to the meal nearly every month since a friend invited her soon after the ministry began, she said. She always feels welcomed by the volunteers and has gotten to know several of the other regulars, lingering around the table in conversation after they’d finished their meals.
Volunteers Tammy Benoist and Rick Harris, parishioners at St. Joseph in Farmington, talked during the Our Father’s Table event Aug. 18 at St. Joseph Parish in Farmington.
On her way out the door, Randall stopped to talk with the volunteers in the kitchen for a minute as they began to clean up. Over the past decade, she’s seen their children grow up and wanted to ask how they were doing in college and elsewhere.
“It’s been a wonderful time. I’ve gotten to know the people, and some of them give me a hug when I come up,” Randall said. “That’s how nice it is here; that’s how good they are here. Sometimes that’s all you need, is a hug.”
