St. Joseph Altar cakes feed Rebuild Center clients

Hundreds of worshipers attended the St. Joseph’s Day Mass at St. Joseph Church on Tulane Avenue, during which Vincentian Father Tom Stehlik blessed a large altar created by parishioners and other volunteers.
But the ultimate purpose of the altar came into sharper focus after the Mass at The Rebuild Center next to the church. Through Lantern Light, a ministry of the Presentation Sisters, the center fed hundreds of street “guests” a hot lunch of pasta and vegetables on March 19.

Some of the cakes that came from the altar were served. Mass-goers also enjoyed the lunch and sat down with the center’s regular clients. In all, about 500 people were fed.

“What so impresses me is that the people who come to the center will go out of their way to say thank you,” said Presentation Sister Vera Butler, who directs Lantern Light. “All the volunteers, when they come here, are amazed.”

Remembered a kindness
One man who was helped by the center to get an identification card left New Orleans for a job in Texas. A few weeks later, Sister Vera said, an envelope arrived with a $20 bill inside.

“He wrote a little note that said, ‘You helped me get my ID. I’m returning this money to help somebody else get his,’” Sister Vera said.

A dozen juniors from Cabrini High School helped serve the meals during the two-hour lunch. Each year, religion teacher Nadine Pizer takes every Cabrini junior in a rotation to volunteer at the center and interact with the clients. Pizer said the experience has led to amazing conversions.

Students are transformed
One girl, in an effort to look “cool,” had removed her shoelaces and was walking around on the tops of her shoes. A homeless man reached into his backpack and found a pair of black shoelaces and gave them to her.

“She had the great sense to accept the gift rather than say, ‘That’s, OK, I have some,” Pizer said. “We ask each student to write a reflection after they come here, and there have been some amazing reflections I’ve received.”

“It’s amazing how open they are in sharing their story about living in poverty,” said Alana Dison, a Cabrini junior. “I thought everyone was going to be mean, but it was the exact opposite.”

“My expectations before coming here were kind of low,” added Cabrini student Logan Jackson. “I respect people more now and I understand I shouldn’t judge anyone. You can’t judge until your hear their story. Everyone wants to be treated like a human being.”

Isaac Trice, who was formerly homeless, volunteers for clean-up duty every day at the center, and he enjoys the students’ visits. He rides his bike to the center every day from his apartment.

“It makes me feel good that kids are learning more about what I do,” Trice said. “This place means a lot to me because you have some place to go to eat. You don’t have to walk the street doing things and getting in trouble. I’m trying to do something good.”

Father Stehlik said the St. Joseph Altar is “a beautiful expression of what we have in an ordinary family celebration.”

“Today, there are no strangers, no guests,” he said. “Everyone is part of the family.”

For information on Lantern Light, contact lanternlight.org or call 273-5573. Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at [email protected].