Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
December 4, 2002
Turkeys humiliated, harassed, hacked — all for a good cause 10th annual
Samaritan House Turkey Carve-off highlights plight of homeless
By Jack Bacon
Fowl play not only was suspected, it was obvious.
Evidence was overwhelming. The perpetrators not only weren't penitent, they were rewarded. Most were easily identified because of frequent media exposure.
It was a roguish gallery — Peter Boyles, Ron Zappolo, Jim Benneman, Anne Trujillo, Libby Weaver; the list went on.
They worked in teams, competing in their desecration of members of an avian species that narrowly missed being elected the national symbol, losing out to a pompous predator of minimal nutritional consequence.
But, strangely, it wasn't a crime scene. The victims were of the sacrificial variety, offerings as it were to divine ordinance: Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless ...
The occasion was the 10th annual Turkey Carve-Off conducted by Catholic Charities Samaritan House to publicize the organization's attempt to meet the pressing needs of the many unfortunate among us, the homeless, the undernourished, the disabled, the victims of poverty in its myriad miserable forms.
The teams assembled Nov. 26 to perform in a lighthearted contest centered on the tasty barnyard bird that symbolizes the holiday feasts most of us enjoy at this time of year, which also happens to be the season when the plight of the poor becomes more poignant and the contrast of their struggle with the abundance of our society becomes most obvious.
This year, according to Catholic Charities, closing that gap is getting more difficult all the time. A lagging economy moved more of our fellows into the ranks of the needy at the same time it lightened the pockets of businesses and individuals relied upon for the contributions that fund charity programs. The crunch also affects governments that respond by cutting their support of both public and private programs.
Catholic Charities is on the front line of the struggle in all of its more than 40 assistance programs throughout the state. It served more than 200,000 Coloradans last year alone, and finds the battle intensifying now, in its 75th anniversary year.
So the Turkey Carve-Off is competition everybody wins. Teams from TV's WB2, 9News, Channel 7 and Fox 31 and the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Catholic Register fielded their "expert" designers and cutters. Contest efforts ranged from elaborate dress-up themes to actual dismemberment of the turkeys provided each team.
Capuchin Franciscan Father John Lager, Samaritan House director, and Msgr. James Rasby, who was instrumental in opening the first shelter in the old Cathedral/Central Catholic High School building, sliced up a turkey, too, but just to provide some nutritious fuel for the competitors.
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