Our Lady of Mercy Carnival

Our Lady of Mercy held its annual parish fair on September 28 on Marion Avenue and Fordham Road. (By Sabrina Sandrelli)

The festival featured games, rides for children, raffles, and international food.

Hundreds of people came support the church and enjoy the entertainment on hand for children and adults.

An array of international food was for sale: Puertorican pernil, arroz con gandules, Dominican sweet beans desert, Filipino pastries, baked Vietnamese egg rolls, and Ecuadorean ceviche.

Father Ambiorix Rodriguez, the pastor of the church, started the fund-raising festival in 2003 so that people of the community could come together to celebrate. The money raised is used for maintaining the church.

Through this festival people can see that the church is not only for prayer, but there are many social functions that a church can offer to its members.

Children enjoy the rides and get their faces painted by a clown.

There were raffles, for up to $7,000 on a $20 ticket.

Ismael Ortiz, who has been part of the community and church since 1978, has seen many changes. When he first started attending the church, everyone was Irish, Italian, and Jewish. At one time, says Ortiz, the mass for Spanish congregants was done in the basement of the church. Now the church community is predominately Spanish, he says, a little Puerto Rican, more Dominican and a lot of Mexican.

Ortiz says he likes the church better now because there is more involvement of community members. Now, there are also baptism, first communion and confirmation classes being offered at the church.