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 This
retreat from the heat features shaded seating, cooling fans, and
play areas for children, free snacks for kids and cold water for
anyone, as well as Lego tables, a video game station, and a
projector for evening movies. This is the third year the Logan
County Catholic churches have hosted a hospitality tent and the
second year in this location.
The hospitality tent was conceived and organized by
Beth Sasse of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Atlanta. Sasse says that
she was talking with the priest and deacon three years ago about how
to tell their story. Sasse says, “They said to just start, and I
thought the fair is the place.” She describes the hospitality tent
as a place “for reprieve and reset from heat and noise and life.
Everyone is welcome whether in church, formerly in church, or no
church. People don’t recognize they need rest.” The Reverend Joseph
Dondanville, also known as Father Joe, who came to pastor the
Catholic churches of Logan County in 2021, added that the tent was
“outreach and hospitality and being present. It’s a resource for
young families to sit and relax and eat. It’s our way of giving back
to the community.”
Father Joe was at the hospitality tent for “Pizza
with the Padre,” a special youth event held on Friday evening. Logan
County youth in grades 5th through 12th grade were invited to enjoy
Stuffed-Aria pizza and soft drinks and to take advantage of the
opportunity to engage with the priests in an informal setting. Sasse,
who also organized this event, explained that when she was growing
up religious sisters and priests were very involved in her school
and so she wanted to provide an opportunity for youth to interact
and talk with priests in a less formal setting. “It’s a chance to
connect. Kids like pizza, priests like pizza. Fifth through 12th
grade is a crucial age range to connect with adults. But everybody
is welcome [to the event]. There is always more than enough.”
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Father Joe said that the Catholic Church in Logan
County is actively working on relaunching their youth ministry,
Active Catholic Teens (ACT), which went on hiatus during the
pandemic. ACT is “an opportunity to gather, worship, study,
fellowship, and have fun. Placing our center as Christ, everything
grows from there. This [Pizza with the Padre] is an event [for
youth] to spend a few minutes and hopefully it [the youth ministry]
grows from there.”
Volunteers at the hospitality tent also offered Faith
and Fellowship Events throughout the week of the fair. Tuesday
morning was an Adult Scripture Group and Tuesday night was a Mom’s
Group Study. Wednesday, which was Kids’ Day at the fair, was a noon
playgroup followed by a Mom’s Night Out on Thursday night. Sasse
said that these fellowship events aim to give “a taste of life in
the Catholic Church.” Sasse stated that “trying to live
Christianity, we are there to get each other down the road, to share
with each other. The hospitality tent allows people to come at their
own speed. We love because we were loved first. That’s where it
comes from. Everyone has that in them– the ability to love.”
The Catholic Church in Logan County, which includes Holy Family in
Lincoln, St. Mary’s in Atlanta, St. Thomas Aquinas in Mt. Pulaski,
and St. Patrick’s in Elkhart, will continue to host a hospitality
tent at future Logan County Fairs. Anyone, Catholic or not, should
feel welcome to stop by the tent for some peace and refreshment at
next year’s fair.
[Stephanie Hall]
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