Divine Redeemer Parish in Sewickley to offer fish fry takeout for Lent

Volunteers at Divine Redeemer Parish in Sewickley are eager to hear the sizzle of fish in the fryers on Fridays during Lent.

“We wanted to get some normalcy back to the parish,” said Karin Masterani, parish office manager. “It’s part of the Catholic tradition.”

All fish fries within the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will be takeout only this season due to covid restrictions.

Parishioner and leadership crew member Bill Monskin said Divine Redeemer volunteers will have their temperature checked and wear masks, among other safety precautions.

Divine Redeemer Parish includes Saint Mary Church in Aleppo and Saint James Church in Sewickley. All fish fry events will take place at Saint James in Sewickley.

Patrons can order via phone or online through the parish’s website. There will be a tent outside with a cashier and other volunteers directing traffic and bringing meals to cars.

“We’re looking forward to having a success,” he said. “We are putting in a lot of effort to maximize the safety so that we can get people back into a little bit of a routine of the Lenten fish fry custom that we have.”

Contactless delivery is also available for residents who can’t make it to the parish.

Masterani urged people to have patience as things get underway.

“This is all an experiment for us,” Masterani said. “The first week’s going to be a little tough till we get everything where we want it to go and make sure it’s running properly. It’s a new thing for all of us.”

The menu has been limited to fried and baked cod and salmon dinners with mac and cheese, fries and coleslaw. Sandwiches also will be available a la carte.

All dinners are $13. There will be no haluski, pizza, drinks or desserts.

Monski said they removed most of the items because of a reduction in volunteers due to both restrictions on indoor operations and health concerns.

“For this type of preparation, you really can’t have the older volunteers,” he said. “You need to protect them.”

Divine Redeemer only hosted two fish fries last year before the diocese shut them all down when the pandemic first began to peak.

“For the most part, week one was almost like business as usual,” Monski said. “Week two, we started to see there was more hesitation and started to see attendance go down. That’s when we all became more concerned about everybody.”

The parish raised about $4,000 per fish fry in previous years.

“It hit us hard because it’s one of our fundraisers,” Masterani said. “We lost money because we had to order stuff ahead of time. We couldn’t have anyone come in. It hit at the wrong time. Here we are a year later.”

Parish losses were estimated at around $16,000 last year.

Monski said he hopes to raise about half that or more without indoor dining and a full menu.

Fish fries are Fridays from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 200 Walnut St.

Call 412-741-5540 or go to divine-redeemer.org for more information.