Parish Kitchen breaks ground on multipurpose space, prayer room, expanded facilities

Maura Baker

Staff Writer

On an overcast summer morning, June 25, employees and volunteers of Catholic Charities and its ministry, Parish Kitchen, gathered on the Parish Kitchen campus, Covington, to celebrate the groundbreaking for a new multipurpose building and prayer room to be built onto the Parish Kitchen campus.

The project, which includes space for Parish Kitchen’s Mobile Food Pantry — a truck that brings necessary food items to the Diocese of Covington’s six southernmost counties — will also feature a quiet prayer room, complete with a donated Stations of the Cross and additional space for storage. Also occupying the new space, in part, will be aspects of the Pickett’s Corner ministry, dedicated to providing working bicycles to those in need of a reliable, affordable and healthy transportation option.

Construction on the space will begin officially on July 13, said Deacon Barry Henry, who was hired as Catholic Charities’ Director of Community Ministries and Outreach ahead of the project.

“We’re really excited about getting this project started,” Deacon Henry said, looking forward to having more space for mobile food pantry and Pickett’s Corner facilities, and especially the prayer room, which will serve as a quiet place for guests and volunteers to connect and reflect. “I think that it will be a very big blessing.”

Chris Goddard, executive director, said that the idea for the project originated with Bishop Emeritus Roger Foys — who wanted to bring Parish Kitchen’s mission past the three northern counties of the diocese. This began with the mobile food pantry — but as needs grew, so did the necessity for space and facilities to support the growing ministry.

The ministry serves as “not only a potential way to be the hands and feet of Christ,” Mr. Goddard said, “but then also to minister to the spiritual needs of our volunteers.”

Parish Kitchen, to bring the project to life, is working with their construction partner, Century Construction, as well as architect Craig Chamberlain — who additionally works at the Parish Kitchen as weekend staff, a chance opportunity which Mr. Goddard described as a “gift from God.”

“The whole campus there is intended to live out the great commission of spreading the good news,” said Mr. Goddard, with Parish Kitchen serving through actions, words and evangelization — these additions underway, especially the added prayer room, support this mission.