There was a bit of everything for the hungry folk who showed up at the Christ-King Catholic Church's parish hall on Sunday, Oct. 16 for the inaugural fall spaghetti supper.
The event was held to raise money for the church's maintenance and repair, as now that the roof has been repaired, it's time to work on repairing and upgrading the interior.
Circun Gendre, archivist and one of the church's secretaries, said that the evening went very well.
"We were very happy with the results," she said. "About 100 people were served, and that's not including the volunteers. We had planned for 150, just in case."
The event was made possible by the 20 or so volunteers who spent time working at the stove and oven, or dishing up the final result to those who came by with plates and an eye to a filling spaghetti dinner.
"We had spaghetti, a garlic spaghetti, meat sauce, a meatless sauce, Caesar salad and buns," she said. "We had homemade garlic butter for the buns, too."
There was also a gluten-free variety of spaghetti available for those who may be gluten intolerant, and the sauces were gluten-free as well.
"We wanted to make sure our parishioners could have supper," Gendre said.
Dessert was a wide variety of squares, prepared by members of the Catholic Women's League.
Father Donatus Ihekwoaba said he was very grateful to the support from parishioners, the Stettler faith community, and the community at large.
"It makes me feel so good," he said. "We appreciate that we're part of the Stettler community. The faith community supports each other very much."
It's the first time the church has held a fall supper, as its usual supper is held by the Knights of Columbus in the spring. That supper has the knights serving up sausages and sides to raise funds.
The list of upgrades and repairs needed at the church, in addition to regular maintenance, has grown rather substantive, Gendre admitted.
"The cornerstone was laid in 1948," she said. "There's not been a lot done since."
Old rotting windows are being replaced, and stained glass windows are being repaired. Water damage on the interior, caused by the formerly leaky roof, is now dry and on the list to be fixed.
Though the final numbers weren't available by press time, Gendre estimated the evening brought in roughly $1,500 for the church maintenance and repair fund.
A silent auction, which started in early October and runs until Nov. 20, the church's feast day, was on display during the dinner for people to make bids. The items being auctioned off will go toward the repairs and maintenance as well.