Norwich — An apparent rift between St. Joseph’s parish and the St. Vincent de Paul Place soup kitchen, which occupies the former parish hall, has led to the cancellation of the popular Lenten Fridays fish and chips fundraiser this year.

Father Bob Washabaugh announced the cancellation in a frank church bulletin message Feb. 24, followed by a March 3 message calling for prayer and reconciliation. Washabaugh said it’s possible the annual event and church fundraiser can return in future years but wrote that “important work of communication and reconciliation” is needed before the event can return.

“It has been a significant and tumultuous year for relations between St. Joseph Parish and St. Vincent de Paul Place,” Washabaugh wrote in the Feb. 24 bulletin message. “The agreement whereby the diocese would take legal ownership of the building and thereby fund its restoration, has taken painfully long. A smoldering anger on the part of both sides has been with us for a long time, but recently, it has erupted in several very open hurtful interchanges. Unfortunately, efforts to heal the relationship and bring about better harmony haven't produced results. People from the parish and the soup kitchen find it hard to talk about our situation with each other in a healing way. As a result, while the parish could force the St. Vincent de Paul Place to host our Lenten suppers, but it would be at the cost of deepening resentments rather than healing them.”

In the March 3 bulletin, Washabaugh called for parishioners to use the Lenten season to pray for a resolution.

“The time has come to put our situation in God’s hands and to mount a campaign of prayer for our parish,” Washabaugh wrote. “We pray not against our opponents, but for God to bring about a breakthrough that by ourselves we cannot make happen. I am asking for us to join in prayer for this cause at all Masses during Lent and for all parishioners to come together for an evening of prayer on the Feast of St. Joseph, Tuesday, March 19.”

St. Joseph parish and the diocese-run St. Vincent de Paul Place soup kitchen have had an uneasy relationship since the soup kitchen moved into the former cafeteria of the shuttered St. Joseph School at 120 Cliff St. in July 2012. The basement cafeteria had served as the parish hall and kitchen for the adjacent St. Joseph Church.

St. Vincent’s move into the school immediately raised concerns about the future of the popular Lenten fish and chips dinners. But the dinners continued, and last year raised $11,000, with more than 250 meals served on Good Friday alone, head chef Tim Lawson said Monday.

Lawson and his wife, Kathleen Lawson, have been members of the church for decades. Kathleen’s mother and aunts attended St. Joseph’s School. The couple have worked church fundraisers for more than 40 years, including the fish dinners for more than 20 years.

He and Washabaugh both called it “a delicate situation” Monday. Lawson said Washabaugh made the decision to cancel the dinners.

“Part of the congregation is not pleased with the priest, and the fish and chips committee, which I’m part of, we were kind of blind-sided by the cancellation,” Tim Lawson said.

He said the “hard feelings” resulted mostly from miscommunication he felt could be resolved. He said the core 20 volunteers, ranging in age from parish youths to adults in their 50s through 80s, were ready to go for this Friday. But with the short timespan, they would be unable to gear up in time for this year.

St. Vincent Executive Director Jillian Corbin declined to comment Monday. Washabaugh said Monday he has been talking to people involved and said a lot of “angry spin” has been put on the decision. Washabaugh stressed the importance of progressing slowly toward reconciliation.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Norman Gauthier, another 20-year volunteer at the Lenten dinners. “I’m one of the people that’s very unhappy with that. … The team that did it was ready and raring to go. The whole team that did it was very disappointed.”

Lawson said he understands that the fish dinners place a burden on St. Vincent’s staff. The soup kitchen staff must rearrange the kitchen and move a large oven every Thursday during Lent to make room for the three large fryers.

Lawson also praised Corbin for her work.

“Jill is caught in the middle,” he said. “She has a mission to do. And she does an extraordinary job. She is a remarkable woman. We, the committee, never had problem with the soup kitchen per se. We never had any problems that weren’t resolved almost immediately. We collectively all made it work.”

Lawson and Gauthier both wondered if the fish dinners will come back in the future, noting the hard work and the aging volunteer staff.

“It’s going to be very, very difficult to get it started again,” Gauthier said.

“We just want to extend thanks to the greater community who so graciously participated in the dinners and donated pastries for 20 to 25 years,” Lawson said, “and the local merchants who took care of us through thick and thin whenever we needed something. If this is the end, then fine. If this is not the end, we’ll be back in the future begging for more support.”

c.bessette@theday.com