Today officially starts the St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic. Most people know this picnic as the Fancy Farm Picnic. We are world famous. A lot of people don’t have clue that this is a picnic put on by St. Jerome Parish and we have been doing that for 134 years. I love it when people think that the Picnic is held on this really big farm called Fancy Farm. Nope. That’s the name of the town. I like it when people think this is only a political event. It’s not. There are politicians who attend the picnic but they come for the crowd. This is just a simple church picnic that serves as a homecoming and fundraiser.
The first official activity of the Picnic is Mass. It is held at 7 o’clock on Friday morning. That’s early. But we have a lot of work to do. We have to get up early. You see the Picnic does not just happen. It’s a lot of work. A lot of people work really hard to get ready for the Picnic. And they work year-round to do that. It’s not something that is just done Picnic day.
During Mass this morning, Fr. Darrell spoke about being the salt of the earth. He told us that we are here to salt the earth. And that is so true. Because when it’s all said and done that is why we do what we do. We are here to host the thousands of people who show up at the Picnic each year. Maybe more people than that this year.
But more is expected of us than just playing host. Our job is to be the salt. Our job is to share the message of our faith and our community to the thousands upon thousands who come to Fancy Farm for the politics, for the barbecue, for the good weather, maybe a chance to win a car. Most of us are more than excited to do that, year in and year out.
And hopefully, when the national cameras are on this tiny western Kentucky community, they’ll see a people who live that salt, that live their faith.