Pasty Sale in Grand Rapids is effort of — and for — community

A “Play by Play” account of the annual event

There was busy-ness and laughter and energy in the air on Friday and Saturday, September 28 and 29, along with the smell of pasties baking. The Annual Pasty Sale at Christ Church, Grand Rapids, is sponsored by the Men’s Group, and they are the ones who really invest a lot of their time to make it work. This is, however, a celebrated parish event, and all members seem willing to offer their hands to help it succeed.

Getting things organized

Because the men have many years experience hosting this event, it is a very organized effort. Here is a summary of the process.

The groundwork begins a month before the sale. Advertising is arranged and tickets are distributed. Supplies are ordered and delivery is checked. Just before the sale days, the “factory” is set up — a very efficient production line designed over the years.

The “Men of Experience” get things ready so that when volunteer workers show up, everything is ready to go. Chopped vegetables, thawed hamburger, and seasonings are laid. The crust dough is stirred up, and it’s time to begin. First, the dough is divided into chunks and patted firm. It is run through a flattening roller machine and put on a plate. Trimmers remove the excess. The plate is passed to the ‘fillers’ and the inside ingredients are added. The artistic “crust crimpers” seal the pasties with beautiful edging. The pasties are put on the cooking sheets and are now ready for baking. The hot pasties are moved to cooling racks and left long enough so there are no soggy crusts. Packaging and distributing are the final steps.

The two days of actual baking are a marathon session. When tickets are being sold, people are asked which day they wish to pick up their pasties. That number is kept track of, and that’s the number of pasties made that day.

Community benefits

The guys put in many, many hours and long days to make this event work. There is always a good group of people from the parish who rally to meet the challenge. It is a very satisfying gathering, promoting parish togetherness and camaraderie, as well as Christian giving.

This year, 1299 pasties were sold. The money raised is distributed to worthy causes as decided by the Men’s Group. Christ Church, of course, receives a portion; but North Central Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Grace House, Itasca Youth for Christ, and the Thistledew Chaplaincy have all benefited because of the funds collected from this sale.

Vic Shoaf, Stan Ringold, and Sam Dickinson were the core group of the sale this year, and are to be commended for their excellent service. It truly is amazing how much effort they put into this event. Their willingness to invest their time is extremely appreciated because it couldn’t have happened without them.