A local parish has gone above and beyond this Lent by hosting a “Teaching Men to Fish Fry” in their parish hall.
St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Atlantic City, NJ decided to forgo the customary Fish Fry to instead teach people how to fry fish. They were so successful that the local population has eaten for all of Lent so far, with signs that they may be fed for an entire lifetime.
“This is service in action!” pastor and permanent deacon Gill Watershed said. “Every Friday we teach people how to fish, clean their catch, and most importantly deep fry it in pancake batter–and what do ya know but the whole city seems to be eating on their own now!”
Many expressed admiration to the parish staff for teaching them how to feed their families in perpetuity.
“Unfortunately due to the loss of Fish Fry revenue we had to let all the staff go,” Deacon Watershed said. “But I hope they know how much our whole community is indebted to them and their forward-thinking service!”
The Fish Fry was St. Mary’s main source of income after the parishioners’ tithes were gambled away at the local casinos. Fortunately, the Fish Fry was fairly lucrative due to the area’s constant demand to eat and limited ability to find fish on their own. Unfortunately, the Fish Fry quickly became unprofitable after the parish program flooded the market with easily caught fish.
“The school shut down last week,” Deacon Watershed said solemnly. “I’m afraid everything is totally bankrupt. The bank’s coming to take the church building this afternoon.”
At press time, Deacon Watershed was seen fleeing a gang of professional fishermen he inadvertently put out of business.