Most days, Fr. Richard Rinn, CSV, can be found wearing the colors of some of his favorite teams, from his beloved Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bears to Our Lady’s university, Notre Dame. But one day a year, he dons a different kind of festive gear: a turkey headdress for Thanksgiving.
Fr. Richard Rinn in his holiday gear
He started wearing it when he was asked by the preschool and kindergarten teachers at St. Viator Parish School in Las Vegas, to participate in an outdoor Thanksgiving prayer service before returning to their classrooms for a holiday feast.
“It wasn’t until Fr. Rinn joined our celebration that this tradition blossomed into something special,” says Mrs. Susan Crame, one of the preschool teachers. “The children began to learn about the first Thanksgiving, how pilgrims arrived in America and met the Wampanoag people and together helped each other out and lived in peace. The children learned about crops they planted and what the pilgrims and Native Americans wore.”
In preparation for the celebration, children began to design their outfits, choosing to portray a pilgrim or Native American. The headdress with feathers was the final touch.
“As a joke one year, we invited Fr. Rinn to wear a turkey headband like the preschoolers, but we jacked his up with pictures of his dog, Sox, and emblems of his Chicago sports team, the White Sox and the Bears,” Mrs. Crame explains. “We really didn’t think he would actually wear it, but he did and with pride. And it melted our hearts.
“Families all come to this prayer service,” she adds, “and they all are touched by Fr. Rinn’s willingness to join in the fun.”
(L-R) Fr. Rinn, Associate Deacon Michael Underwood and Fr. Dan Belanger
This cherished Thanksgiving tradition has become memorable not only for these young students and their families, but for Fr. Rinn himself. He even incorporates the story of Thanksgiving and of the children offering up a prayer for peace on this day, into his homily at Thanksgiving Mass. He even wears his headdress on the altar.
Mrs. Crame describes it as a “solemn prayer and song moment” that kicks off their Thanksgiving week, but it also carries out the mission of the Viatorians, which is to “build up communities where faith is lived, celebrated and deepened.”