“Well, Carl, what are you going to cook this year?”

For the last 18 years, Carl has provided dinner for the choir and the participants in the Easter Vigil. In the years BEFORE his 1992 sabbatical, we used to start the Easter Vigil at 11:00 pm and the service ended at 1 am or later! Then Carl spent Holy Week and Easter at Church of the Advent in Boston, where they started their Easter Vigil at 7:30 pm. “Hey, if Church of the Advent can start at 7:30 pm, LCH can too!”

That meant we would have a choir rehearsal at 5:45 pm, break for dinner about 6:45 pm, then sing the service at 7:30 pm. Carl said, “Since these people are here for almost four hours, we have to give them something to eat!” In the early years, he just ordered pizza and made a salad. But for the last 15 years or so, he has personally cooked a meal for the choir and participants, about 45 people in all.

Carl prides himself on never repeating an entrée over these many years, and so here are some of the dishes he remembers preparing: Salmon Vera Cruz, Ziti with Three Cheeses and Peppers, Shepherd’s Pie, Chicken Veronique, Pork Tenderloins, Thai Chicken with Lemongrass and Coconut Milk, Swedish Meatballs, Chicken Parmesan, Turkey Sausage Lasagne,and Chicken Cacciatore. I personally think Carl is crazy to take on this responsibility, because I have a feeling no one in his right mind would  want to cook a dinner for 45 people on Easter Vigil night, among all the other Holy Week rehearsals and services.

Who knows, this may indeed be the Last Supper?

Carl says, though, that food is such an important part of the Crosier household, and the act of feasting especially at holidays is part and parcel of who he is. He believes it’s important to have not only high quality food, but spiritual food as well.

I remember in 1975 when we were still having a late night Easter Vigil, that Carl invited me to a party afterwards — that’s right, afterwards, which meant that the party started about 1:30 am! Good thing we didn’t have a Easter Sunrise service the next morning!