UPDATED: Annual fish fry brings community together

Symbols of Christianity were all around: the serving of fish, an identifying sign used by the earliest Christians, and the Stations of the Cross commemorating the passion of Jesus.

But the most potent symbol on display at the Good Friday Fish Fry at Lawrence Park may have been the event itself, which attracted people from across the area.

“It brings the whole community together …,” said the Rev. Joy Comeaux of Pharr Chapel United Methodist Church. “It’s a way we can minister to our community.”

Pharr Chapel and Trinity Episcopal worked together on this year’s fish fry. They’re two of the churches that came together for the first community fish fry more than a decade ago.

Cornerstone and Walmsley UMC also played roles in the origin of the annual event.

Planning for this year's fish fry began n January and gets underway during Holy Week, as about 35 volunteers do as much preparation, some of whom wore green Community Fish Fry T-shirts as they served plates with fried fish, white beans and rice, slaw, bread and cookies.

Among the people who at-tended was Cherie Rigaud, one of the people who read at each of the Stations of the Cross. She moved out of state from St. Mary Parish and has since returned.

“I started attending Pharr Chapel because it was my mom’s church,” Rigaud said.

Howard Pinkston and Gail Jackson were sitting at one of the tables set up in Lawrence Park for the event. Both live in Gibson, although Pinkston is originally from Morgan City.

“We’re familiar with the Stations of the Cross and the event,” Pinkston said. “This has been a good experience for us so we thought we’d come and see what we could do.”

“It’s a nice post-COVID event,” Jackson said.