By Isabel Widdoes
In celebration of Shrove Tuesday, the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church held its annual Pancake Supper for the public. The Men’s Group of the Church put the event together with many volunteers, both members and non-members of the Church, helping cook and clean. The whole Church was decorated with signature gold, green, and purple colors. Smiles and chitter-chatter filled the church with a warm and comforting feeling.
The Good Shepherd Episcopal Church has been around since 1901 in Sapulpa. The Pancake Supper has been going on since the 1930s, where they celebrated and cleared the church out of its sweets and feast before Ash Wednesday. And after nearly 100 years of this event, they have made sure that the tradition stays as close to as the event originally was.
On Ash Wednesday they would begin their lent, fasting, or deprivation of choice, for 40 days and will continue to do so. Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras is a Christian event where a feast is held before Ash Wednesday.
Father Fallis believes in the importance of keeping the community like a family, which is why these events are so important to the Church. This is put on by the church to bring the community together. “This is only a building where people congregate to worship. The real Church is the people, the community.” Father Fallis states. “And that’s what Church will always be about: the community.”
Many people of the Church were glad that the Pancake Supper happened because, over the pandemic, it was hard to keep having these events. The tradition of Mardi Gras is for people to get together and eat all of the foods they wish before Lent. Christians participate in Lent as a way to sacrifice something for God before Easter Sunday.
The sacrifice shows the dedication to God and how you are asking for forgiveness of all sins by going through Lent. The traditional way of fasting is to eat one meal a day, but you can also have only two snacks, that when combined do not equal a meal, before dark. Another way people fast traditionally is by only drinking water during the day, then eating once the sunsets.
However, a more modern way to fast would be to give up one specific thing to deny, like coffee or candy, for the duration of Lent. This is a Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday tradition that is expressed in many different ways, including small church get-togethers and big festivals and parades.
For Lisa Nelson, a member of the Church for a few months, it was her first time at the Pancake Supper. Nelson loves the church and found it very welcoming when she first started attending. “I had been looking for a church that had that homey feeling and a lively energy,” Nelson says. “I found that here. A family-like and welcoming church.”
A big thanks to the Church for opening their building to the public so everyone could celebrate with them and eat pancakes.
